StArt of Cool jazz students get BIG gig opportunities with our gear and staging!
Need something UPLIFTING? How would you feel, performing in front of more than 1000 people? These kids did just that, June 28, uunder Al Strong‘s wing, using Sonic Pie Productions’ gear, staging and crew at Durham Central Park. LISTEN to the ravishingly talented Ricardo Diquez, so generous of spirit, talk about how great they are, opening for him. UNC-TV, The Art of Cool Project, you rock. This is why sponsorships and grants are so needed.
This camp jazzes up summer for kids in Durham
The StArt of Cool makes jazz, well, cool for youth. ?This special summer camp, spun off the The Art of Cool Project, teaches elementary, middle and high school students the fundamentals of jazz. The week-long session culminates with the student ensemble performing as the opening act for the Friday night concert series in Durham Central Park.
Posted by UNC-TV on Thursday, September 26, 2019
The Curator: Tess Mangum Ocaña in Durham Magazine’s Women’s Issue
Sonic Pie Productions’ CEO Tess Mangum Ocaña is featured in the new issue of Durham Magazine!
Sonic Pie Productions presents All-Ireland Uilleann Piper JARLATH HENDERSON 5.1.19
Jarlath Henderson is a singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer and doctor. Hailing from County Armagh, Ireland, Jarlath Henderson is the first Irish solo artist to win the prestigious BBC Young Folk Musician of the Year Award, which has led to performances at festivals throughout Europe and to GlobalFest in New York City. Jarlath combines modern, rhythmically intense, percussive electronics to his traditional singing style to create a signature sound that is all his own. He is a masterful balladeer, three times ‘All-Ireland Champion’ Uilleann Piper, a teacher both in Ireland and Scotland and has featured in numerous BBC television programs on piping and music. A talented and versatile multi-instrumentalist, Jarlath also plays whistle, flute and cittern.
See them live at Rhythms Live Music Hall, in Lakewood’s Reuse Arts District, between The Scrap Exchange and Scrap Thrift Store. (Tons of free parking.) This is a seated, all-ages evening presented by Sonic Pie Productions. Tickets: $15 adv, $18 day of show
We Are Durham Movers & Shakers
The city of Durham, North Carolina celebrates its 150th birthday this year. We Are Durham is a project created by Unscripted Hotels to honor this through the art of storytelling and authentic experiences.
Last year, they interviewed some of the prominent movers and shakers in the community (such as Sonic Pie Productions’ CEO Tess Mangum Ocaña) and asked them to break it down. What is Durham’s special sauce? What are two words you’d use to describe it? They’ll be featuring a new face each month in a fun Q&A series that showcases the progressive energy that pulses through Bull City. Catch a preview of the interviews in the video below.
SPP Newsletter: HippieFest, Parade logistics, Mambo, Golden Belt, Drink Local and Shows We Love
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It was our BIGGEST September ever, and Sonic Pie Productions gives you backstage, front row and front of house access!
Erykah Badu, surrounded in by “pyramid” of magical light headlines the 5th annual Art of Cool Festival in downtown Durham, North Carolina. Sonic Pie Productions provided Production and Venue Management at five of this progressive jazz, soul, hip hop and R&B festival’s venues, September 28-29, 2018.
How about MAXWELL, last Friday night? “Fortunate” from between the barricade and stage. Night two of Maxwell’s ’50 Intimate Nights” North American Tour at the 5th annual Art of Cool Festival, Durham, NC.
Did you see Don Cheadle play Miles Davis in the biopic, Miles Ahead? The soundtrack and all the recreated “live” tracks were played by trumpeter Keyon Harrold, pictured right, in a full band set at the 250 capacity Pinhook (at full capacity!)
Plus, we provided sound production services at the 12 act, multi-stage Groove In The Garden (below), at Stephenson Amphitheater and Rose Gardenin Raleigh, North Carolina, on this beautiful WPA-built stage.
The game plan: what to do when tonight’s artist never got on the plane
Richie Havens, Odetta and Ani DiFranco are examples of cancellations Sonic Pie Productions’ founder Tess Mangum Ocaña navigated, but with ample advance notice, and one for unavoidable good reason (death). Sound Girls shows you how to handle patron disappointment (and anger) when the venue finds out the artist never got on the plane. The game plan has to be in place before #dayofshow https://theatreartlife.com/one-and-done/unexpected-show-cancellation/
Sonic Pie Productions past, present and future in Indyweek.com
Sonic Pie Productions Marks Five Years of Business in Durham This Weekend
Posted by INDY Music on Fri, Feb 9, 2018 at 3:50 PM
The music industry is notoriously dominated by dudes, but this weekend, one woman is celebrating her success as an independent promoter—and looking toward expanding her business.
Tess Mangum Ocaña runs Sonic Pie Productions, staging and promoting shows in the Triangle and all over North Carolina. She’s served stints booking for The ArtsCenter (for which the INDY gave her an Arts Award in 2012) and with Casbah (which is now Social Games and Brews), but more recently, she’s worked with the Art of Cool Festival, the Festival for the Eno, and the International Bluegrass Music Association’s annual World of Bluegrass festival downtown. One of her biggest current projects is booking the annual free summer music series in Durham Central Park, which begins on June 8 and runs through late August.
Ocaña is marking the anniversary with a party at The Rickhouse in Durham on Sunday afternoon. It’s free and open to the public, and features a performance from Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba that begins at 3:15 p.m. But even as the celebration approaches, Ocaña is still looking toward growing Sonic Pie into something bigger and better—she’s stepping into regional production with Hippie Fest, a series with stops in North and South Carolina, as well as in Michigan and Ohio.
