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"content": "\n\u003cp>In \u003cem>Every Saturday Night\u003c/em>, a world-premiere musical that opened Thursday in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>, a single mother living in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/fillmore\">Fillmore District\u003c/a> opens her old Victorian home to the Black community each week to keep the party going well after the clubs close. It’s the story of a time when the Fillmore was filled with jazz music, prosperous businesses and community.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Today, after so-called urban renewal in the 1970s decimated the cultural fabric of the neighborhood, and various attempts to recapture its “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11957757/why-san-franciscos-fillmore-district-is-no-longer-the-harlem-of-the-west\">Harlem of the West\u003c/a>” vibrancy, that same area tells a very different story. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994799\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec-2000x1334.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Donte (Darryl V. Jones), left, tells Adarè (Trevor Miller) about growing up in the Fillmore in SFBATCO’s ‘Every Saturday Night.’ (Alexa LexMex Treviño)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Cowritten by Michael Gene Sullivan and Danny Duncan and produced by SFBATCO, \u003cem>Every Saturday Night\u003c/em> casts the Fillmore itself as the show’s main character. Donte Coleman (Darryl V. Jones), tells stories of his childhood in the Fillmore to the teenage son of a new family looking to buy his home and move in. Having learned the history of the neighborhood, the family is shocked to see that it’s not what they expected. Samuel (Jon-David Randle), the new homebuyer, puts it plainly: “There aren’t as many Black people as I thought there would be.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Across its 70-year timeline, from the 1950s to present day, the script is constant in its message, if a little hard to follow at times. The production comes alive when it reenacts the different parties hosted by Donte’s mother Ardella (Cathleen Riddley), providing a “nice place where colored folks can rest” at the end of a busy work week. Between these lively parties with loud jazz and busy dance numbers (with music by Othello Jefferson and choreography by the director, AeJay Antonis Marquis), there’s also a fight to save the district from encroaching redevelopment, and to protect Black residents from the removal that its Japanese residents had faced a few years earlier. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932-2000x1334.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Doris (Imri Tate) speaks out against urban renewal and the displacement of the Fillmore’s Black community in SFBATCO’s ‘Every Saturday Night.’ (Alexa LexMex Treviño)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Doris (Imri M. Tate) is crusader for this cause, and convinces Ardella to join her. (“I don’t want to be moved out of my home because somebody wants to bleach the Fillmoe like a damn shirt,” Doris says.) In the original song “For the Greater Good of the Neighborhood,” Doris pleads for Ardella to keep her home, and the audience gets immersed into an anti-redevelopment protest. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Back to the present day, as Donte bonds with the new family’s teenage son, Adarè (Trevor Miller), similar efforts are underway. A “Western Addition Heritage Association” knocks on the door trying to purchase and flip the house, under the guise of keeping it in the community. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994801\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd-2000x1334.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Young Donte (Jacob Henrie-Naffaa), center, and others dance the night away at Ardella’s after-hours joint in SFBATCO’s ‘Every Saturday Night.’ (Alexa LexMex Treviño)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>San Francisco is an ever-changing city, for better or for worse. In \u003cem>Every Saturday Night\u003c/em>, emotional and comedic performances bring the city’s history into the present day. “There’s still efforts to disappear and erase the Fillmoe,” Marquis said during a pre-show discussion on opening night. “We are trying to keep it alive.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Every Saturday Night’ runs through Nov. 1 at The Strand (1127 Market St., San Francisco). \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/activate/every-saturday-night\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In \u003cem>Every Saturday Night\u003c/em>, a world-premiere musical that opened Thursday in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>, a single mother living in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/fillmore\">Fillmore District\u003c/a> opens her old Victorian home to the Black community each week to keep the party going well after the clubs close. It’s the story of a time when the Fillmore was filled with jazz music, prosperous businesses and community.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Today, after so-called urban renewal in the 1970s decimated the cultural fabric of the neighborhood, and various attempts to recapture its “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11957757/why-san-franciscos-fillmore-district-is-no-longer-the-harlem-of-the-west\">Harlem of the West\u003c/a>” vibrancy, that same area tells a very different story. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994799\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec-2000x1334.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Donte (Darryl V. Jones), left, tells Adarè (Trevor Miller) about growing up in the Fillmore in SFBATCO’s ‘Every Saturday Night.’\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Alexa LexMex Treviño)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994799\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Donte (Darryl V. Jones), left, tells Adarè (Trevor Miller) about growing up in the Fillmore in SFBATCO’s ‘Every Saturday Night.’\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Alexa LexMex Treviño)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Cowritten by Michael Gene Sullivan and Danny Duncan and produced by SFBATCO, \u003cem>Every Saturday Night\u003c/em> casts the Fillmore itself as the show’s main character. Donte Coleman (Darryl V. Jones), tells stories of his childhood in the Fillmore to the teenage son of a new family looking to buy his home and move in. Having learned the history of the neighborhood, the family is shocked to see that it’s not what they expected. Samuel (Jon-David Randle), the new homebuyer, puts it plainly: “There aren’t as many Black people as I thought there would be.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Cowritten by Michael Gene Sullivan and Danny Duncan and produced by SFBATCO, \u003cem>Every Saturday Night\u003c/em> casts the Fillmore itself as the show’s main character. Donte Coleman (Darryl V. Jones), tells stories of his childhood in the Fillmore to the teenage son of a new family looking to buy his home and move in. Having learned the history of the neighborhood, the family is shocked to see that it’s not what they expected. Samuel (Jon-David Randle), the new homebuyer, puts it plainly: “There aren’t as many Black people as I thought there would be.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Across its 70-year timeline, from the 1950s to present day, the script is constant in its message, if a little hard to follow at times. The production comes alive when it reenacts the different parties hosted by Donte’s mother Ardella (Cathleen Riddley), providing a “nice place where colored folks can rest” at the end of a busy work week. Between these lively parties with loud jazz and busy dance numbers (with music by Othello Jefferson and choreography by the director, AeJay Antonis Marquis), there’s also a fight to save the district from encroaching redevelopment, and to protect Black residents from the removal that its Japanese residents had faced a few years earlier. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Across its 70-year timeline, from the 1950s to present day, the script is constant in its message, if a little hard to follow at times. The production comes alive when it reenacts the different parties hosted by Donte’s mother Ardella (Cathleen Riddley), providing a “nice place where colored folks can rest” at the end of a busy work week. Between these lively parties with loud jazz and busy dance numbers (with music by Othello Jefferson and choreography by the director, AeJay Antonis Marquis), there’s also a fight to save the district from encroaching redevelopment, and to protect Black residents from the removal that its Japanese residents had faced a few years earlier. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Doris (Imri M. Tate) is crusader for this cause, and convinces Ardella to join her. (“I don’t want to be moved out of my home because somebody wants to bleach the Fillmoe like a damn shirt,” Doris says.) In the original song “For the Greater Good of the Neighborhood,” Doris pleads for Ardella to keep her home, and the audience gets immersed into an anti-redevelopment protest. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Doris (Imri M. Tate) is crusader for this cause, and convinces Ardella to join her. (“I don’t want to be moved out of my home because somebody wants to bleach the Fillmoe like a damn shirt,” Doris says.) In the original song “For the Greater Good of the Neighborhood,” Doris pleads for Ardella to keep her home, and the audience gets immersed into an anti-redevelopment protest. \u003c/p>\n"
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"\n\u003cp>Back to the present day, as Donte bonds with the new family’s teenage son, Adarè (Trevor Miller), similar efforts are underway. A “Western Addition Heritage Association” knocks on the door trying to purchase and flip the house, under the guise of keeping it in the community. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>San Francisco is an ever-changing city, for better or for worse. In \u003cem>Every Saturday Night\u003c/em>, emotional and comedic performances bring the city’s history into the present day. “There’s still efforts to disappear and erase the Fillmoe,” Marquis said during a pre-show discussion on opening night. “We are trying to keep it alive.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Every Saturday Night’ runs through Nov. 1 at The Strand (1127 Market St., San Francisco). \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/activate/every-saturday-night\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Every Saturday Night’ runs through Nov. 1 at The Strand (1127 Market St., San Francisco). \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/activate/every-saturday-night\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Full of vibrant jazz and activist camaraderie, this new musical brings the neighborhood’s history to life.",
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"title": "Review: ‘Every Saturday Night’ Captures a Fight for the Fillmore’s Soul | KQED",
"description": "Full of vibrant jazz and activist camaraderie, this new musical brings the neighborhood’s history to life.",
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"twTitle": "‘Every Saturday Night’ Captures a Fight for the Fillmore’s Soul",
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"socialTitle": "Review: ‘Every Saturday Night’ Captures a Fight for the Fillmore’s Soul %%page%% %%sep%% KQED",
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"headline": "‘Every Saturday Night’ Captures a Fight for the Fillmore’s Soul",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>In \u003cem>Every Saturday Night\u003c/em>, a world-premiere musical that opened Thursday in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>, a single mother living in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/fillmore\">Fillmore District\u003c/a> opens her old Victorian home to the Black community each week to keep the party going well after the clubs close. It’s the story of a time when the Fillmore was filled with jazz music, prosperous businesses and community.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Today, after so-called urban renewal in the 1970s decimated the cultural fabric of the neighborhood, and various attempts to recapture its “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11957757/why-san-franciscos-fillmore-district-is-no-longer-the-harlem-of-the-west\">Harlem of the West\u003c/a>” vibrancy, that same area tells a very different story. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994799\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec-2000x1334.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Donte (Darryl V. Jones), left, tells Adarè (Trevor Miller) about growing up in the Fillmore in SFBATCO’s ‘Every Saturday Night.’ (Alexa LexMex Treviño)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Cowritten by Michael Gene Sullivan and Danny Duncan and produced by SFBATCO, \u003cem>Every Saturday Night\u003c/em> casts the Fillmore itself as the show’s main character. Donte Coleman (Darryl V. Jones), tells stories of his childhood in the Fillmore to the teenage son of a new family looking to buy his home and move in. Having learned the history of the neighborhood, the family is shocked to see that it’s not what they expected. Samuel (Jon-David Randle), the new homebuyer, puts it plainly: “There aren’t as many Black people as I thought there would be.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Across its 70-year timeline, from the 1950s to present day, the script is constant in its message, if a little hard to follow at times. The production comes alive when it reenacts the different parties hosted by Donte’s mother Ardella (Cathleen Riddley), providing a “nice place where colored folks can rest” at the end of a busy work week. Between these lively parties with loud jazz and busy dance numbers (with music by Othello Jefferson and choreography by the director, AeJay Antonis Marquis), there’s also a fight to save the district from encroaching redevelopment, and to protect Black residents from the removal that its Japanese residents had faced a few years earlier. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932-2000x1334.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Doris (Imri Tate) speaks out against urban renewal and the displacement of the Fillmore’s Black community in SFBATCO’s ‘Every Saturday Night.’ (Alexa LexMex Treviño)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Doris (Imri M. Tate) is crusader for this cause, and convinces Ardella to join her. (“I don’t want to be moved out of my home because somebody wants to bleach the Fillmoe like a damn shirt,” Doris says.) In the original song “For the Greater Good of the Neighborhood,” Doris pleads for Ardella to keep her home, and the audience gets immersed into an anti-redevelopment protest. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Back to the present day, as Donte bonds with the new family’s teenage son, Adarè (Trevor Miller), similar efforts are underway. A “Western Addition Heritage Association” knocks on the door trying to purchase and flip the house, under the guise of keeping it in the community. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994801\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd-2000x1334.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Young Donte (Jacob Henrie-Naffaa), center, and others dance the night away at Ardella’s after-hours joint in SFBATCO’s ‘Every Saturday Night.’ (Alexa LexMex Treviño)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>San Francisco is an ever-changing city, for better or for worse. In \u003cem>Every Saturday Night\u003c/em>, emotional and comedic performances bring the city’s history into the present day. “There’s still efforts to disappear and erase the Fillmoe,” Marquis said during a pre-show discussion on opening night. “We are trying to keep it alive.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Every Saturday Night’ runs through Nov. 1 at The Strand (1127 Market St., San Francisco). \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/activate/every-saturday-night\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "lil-jon-new-book-memoir-too-short-e-40-bay-area",
"title": "In New Memoir, Lil Jon Salutes The Bay Area",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>So it’s 1999, right, and I’m a teenager at a sweaty house party on High Street in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland\">East Oakland\u003c/a>. There in the living room of the small apartment, kids in Carolina blue velour sweatsuits and grey Gap hoodies are dancing to CDs playing on a home stereo.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b8kTV4VtKA\">Couldn’t Be a Better Player\u003c/a>” comes on, the room \u003cem>erupts\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/128417476/lil-jon\">Lil Jon\u003c/a> track, featuring \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/too-short\">Too Short\u003c/a>, has strings that marinate with a menacing bass line, creating a beat that says “I’m cool but don’t test me” – the same edgy-player mentality is reflected in the lyrics.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the song rattles the living room, the kids in the center of the circle catch the beat, “hitting that shit,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13932887/turf-dancing-oakland-street-dance\">fuckin’ with it\u003c/a>.” All the other partygoers, myself included, bounce with a frenetic cadence. Heads turn and fingers twist in the air, as people rep their neighborhoods with exaggerated mean mugs on their faces.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/hyphy\">hyphy\u003c/a> in its natural state, before it became the movement we know today. It might’ve been the first time I went dumb at a party.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>It was definitely my first glimpse of what Lil Jon’s music can do to a function.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893.jpg\" alt=\"A smiling Black man wearing sunglasses, a grey hoodie and blue jeans sits on a couch next to a black wall.\" class=\"wp-image-13932756\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil Jon backstage before a DJ set at Temple Nightclub in San Francisco, 2016. (Kelly Sullivan/ Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In his new memoir, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/I-Only-Shout-So-You-Can-Hear-Me/Lil-Jon/9781668061473\">I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (Atria/Black Privilege Publishing), Lil Jon stresses that understanding his music doesn’t come from simply listening. In order to truly appreciate his art, he insists that his hyperactive rhythmic chanting needs to be physically experienced.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We didn’t rap,” writes the Grammy-award winning King of Crunk. Instead, Lil Jon says he and his collaborators the East Side Boyz brought people from all backgrounds into the the world of ATL nightlife. “You put on our music, you watch our videos, and you felt like you were right there in Atlanta, wilding the fuck out in the club.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Co-written by \u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Paul-Cantor/271704775\">Paul Cantor\u003c/a>, the book is a detailed account of Lil Jon’s middle-class upbringing in Southwest Atlanta and his years pounding the pavement while laying the foundation for his meteoric musical career. It also delves into Lil Jon’s spiritual side and the ways he’s navigated trauma, specifically the death of his son \u003ca href=\"https://www.wabe.org/body-believed-to-be-lil-jons-son-d-j-young-is-found-in-pond-near-atlanta/\">Nathan Smith\u003c/a>, who tragically drowned in February of this year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Born Jonathan Smith, the producer and entrepreneur grew up in the biggest house on his suburban cul-de-sac, where as a teen he threw raging parties. As he matured, he started hanging out in strip clubs. It was through the world of chicken wings and stripper poles, as well as the college students at the \u003ca href=\"https://discoveratlanta.com/stories/atlanta-university-center-the-epicenter-of-black-culture-and-academic-excellence/\">Atlanta University Center\u003c/a> and people attending \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48jmE2J05OY\">Freaknik\u003c/a>, that Lil Jon found his target audience.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He bottled that influence in a sound that resonated well beyond Atlanta, and especially with teenagers in East Oakland. It even reached Oakland-born former Vice President Kamala Harris.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“And seriously,” writes Lil Jon, “who would have thought that when we recorded “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYH7_GzP4Tg\">Get Low\u003c/a>” — a song that talks about skeeting — I’d be \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzWPCFA6c6A\">performing it two decades later at the DNC\u003c/a>?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1325\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994650\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75.jpg 1325w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-160x242.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-768x1159.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-1018x1536.jpg 1018w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1325px) 100vw, 1325px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil Jon‘s ‘I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me.’ (Simon and Schuster)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lil Jon’s resume is deep. He’s produced songs for the Ying Yang Twins, Ludacris and Snoop Dogg, Ciara and T-Pain. He’s made multi-platinum selling music with the likes of Los Angeles pop group LMFAO and Miami mega-star Pitbull. In 1996, he worked on the Ghost Town DJ’s classic contribution to the culture, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxRiwnmYjMg\">My Boo\u003c/a>.” Thirty years later, he produced \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/2Knrk6Q04i9itgxtTSguQN\">Something’s in the Water\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, the recent album by Vallejo rapper LaRussell.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The book takes readers deep into Lil Jon’s musical composition, be it revealing the origins of the repetitive squeak in “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZd2MEOvdQ4\">Some Cut\u003c/a>” by Lil Scrappy and Trillville or the story behind the beat for what’s still his best-known song, Usher’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxBSyx85Kp8\">Yeah!\u003c/a>“\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But what stands out, especially to the now-grown-up kid from that East Oakland house party, is Lil Jon’s intersection with the Bay Area titans E-40 and Too Short.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Too Short must have believed in me,” writes Lil Jon, explaining that he and the East Side Boyz had just released their first song, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKy4LoslZPk\">Who You Wit\u003c/a>,” when they realized they’d signed a bad record deal. Enter Too Short. “He bought us out of that contract for $50,000,” Lil Jon recalls.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Short signed Lil Jon to his own label, Dangerous Music, a subsidiary of Jive Records. (The first track they recorded? “Couldn’t Be a Better Player.”) Short also brought Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz on their first tour, where they started working on their next hit, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czpZvVyQN5o&list=RDczpZvVyQN5o&start_radio=1\">Bia Bia\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Eventually, not wanting to hold Lil Jon and his crew back, Short offered to let them out of the contract. His only stipulation, writes Lil Jon, was repayment of the $50,000 Short paid for his first contract and “free beats for life.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>(Evidently, the deal is still on: Too Short dropped \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/5KkGgCCpS0Rz4mVlME9SKK\">Sir Too $hort, Vol. 2 (Drink & Smoke),\u003c/a>\u003c/em> with beats produced entirely by Lil Jon, this past July.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2113\" height=\"2113\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13925972\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square.jpg 2113w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-2048x2048.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1920x1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2113px) 100vw, 2113px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil’ Jon and E-40, pictured onstage together in 2006. From his home base in Atlanta, Lil Jon produced the hyphy era’s two biggest nationwide hits: E-40’s “Tell Me When To Go” and Too Short’s “Blow the Whistle” — just one of many close ties between Southern and Bay Area hip-hop. (John Shearer/WireImage for MTV.com)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After Short let him loose, Lil Jon launched his BME imprint under Warner Bros., which would soon pay dividends for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/e-40\">E-40\u003c/a>. The two had already worked together on the songs “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0MrehzJcLI&list=RDZ0MrehzJcLI&start_radio=1\">Rep Yo City\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f01LZ-KTd4&list=RD6f01LZ-KTd4&start_radio=1\">Anybody Can Get It\u003c/a>” when E-40 called Lil Jon, letting the producer know he was stepping away from Jive Records and interested in BME.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The decision was simple,” writes Lil Jon, “I was a fan of E-40.” The two began working on \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/3VqKqWHOHYfZqttJ0WwQHl\">My Ghetto Report Card\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, an album that would introduce hyphy to the mainstream, for better or for worse.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I had already sold the culture of the South to the world,” says Lil Jon. “That became the blueprint for what I did with E-40. It was the same shit.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During one of the studio sessions, Lil Jon made a track with a bass line similar to Too Short’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwVJTvOO4yY\">Freaky Tales\u003c/a>.” He intended to give the beat to 40, but Uncle Earl said it sounded too much like Short. So Lil Jon passed it along.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That song became “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBJtzEKetBM\">Blow The Whistle\u003c/a>.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The biggest commercial hit of Too Short’s career, “Blow the Whistle” was accompanied by an instant-classic \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13987115/too-short-blow-the-whistle-20-year-anniversary\">music video, filmed in Oakland\u003c/a>. Lil Jon agreed the track was good, but admits he didn’t foresee it becoming what it is today: a song readily played at pro sporting events all over the United States.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Blow the Whistle” got a second life 10 years after its release when it was interpolated in 2016’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W6zD3L7H00&list=RD3W6zD3L7H00&start_radio=1\">For Free\u003c/a>” by DJ Khaled and Drake. It was revived again in 2020 when Saweetie sampled it for “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9qRc72BAjg\">Tap In\u003c/a>.” During the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2024 Super Bowl run, the song became \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eKY8MD7-ZHM\">their anthem\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz6MrrVqUZE\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Beyond its stories about the Bay Area, Lil Jon’s book is a turn of the millennium \u003cem>Forrest Gump\u003c/em>-esque tale of being just about everywhere and working with everyone.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He was an A&R for So So Def and Jermaine Dupri in the ’90s, he made the \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/3BsR98sDCwtj85pILXfjDk\">Crunk Rock\u003c/a>\u003c/em> album in 2010, and he coined the defining phrase of 2014 with his vocal on DJ Snake’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMUDVMiITOU\">Turn Down for What.\u003c/a>” In 2008 he founded \u003ca href=\"https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/rapper-producer-lil-jon-starts-108532/\">a winery\u003c/a>, in 2024 he dropped a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/03/03/1235606461/rap-artist-lil-jons-latest-album-is-a-guided-meditation\">set of meditative recordings\u003c/a> and last year he became \u003ca href=\"https://people.com/lil-jon-54-wins-3rd-place-in-muscle-beach-fitness-competition-11802475\">a competitive body builder\u003c/a>. He was a character on \u003cem>Chappelle’s Show\u003c/em> and he sat alongside Donald Trump on \u003cem>Celebrity Apprentice\u003c/em>. In Las Vegas, he’s both DJed major EDM events and performed with Usher at Super Bowl LVIII.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And last year, during \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz6MrrVqUZE\">an episode of \u003cem>Celebrity Family Feud\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, Lil Jon stood next to his chosen kin: E-40 and Too Short.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“How does that happen?” Lil Jon writes in his book, bewilderedly reflecting on the their individual paths leading to a game show set.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He was a kid from Southwest Atlanta who listened to Too Short in the 1980s and E-40 in the ’90s. He understood that they came from different backgrounds — Short a pimp rapper, E-40 a lyrical street hustler — but they combined forces and made timeless music.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“To this day we remain a trinity of close friends,” Lil Jon reflects. “You can’t write that. You cannot. You cannot dream or even imagine that.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Lil Jon’s memoir ‘I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me’ is out Oct. 20, 2026. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So it’s 1999, right, and I’m a teenager at a sweaty house party on High Street in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland\">East Oakland\u003c/a>. There in the living room of the small apartment, kids in Carolina blue velour sweatsuits and grey Gap hoodies are dancing to CDs playing on a home stereo.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As the song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b8kTV4VtKA\">Couldn’t Be a Better Player\u003c/a>” comes on, the room \u003cem>erupts\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/128417476/lil-jon\">Lil Jon\u003c/a> track, featuring \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/too-short\">Too Short\u003c/a>, has strings that marinate with a menacing bass line, creating a beat that says “I’m cool but don’t test me” – the same edgy-player mentality is reflected in the lyrics.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As the song rattles the living room, the kids in the center of the circle catch the beat, “hitting that shit,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13932887/turf-dancing-oakland-street-dance\">fuckin’ with it\u003c/a>.” All the other partygoers, myself included, bounce with a frenetic cadence. Heads turn and fingers twist in the air, as people rep their neighborhoods with exaggerated mean mugs on their faces.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>As the song rattles the living room, the kids in the center of the circle catch the beat, “hitting that shit,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13932887/turf-dancing-oakland-street-dance\">fuckin’ with it\u003c/a>.” All the other partygoers, myself included, bounce with a frenetic cadence. Heads turn and fingers twist in the air, as people rep their neighborhoods with exaggerated mean mugs on their faces.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/hyphy\">hyphy\u003c/a> in its natural state, before it became the movement we know today. It might’ve been the first time I went dumb at a party.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>It was definitely my first glimpse of what Lil Jon’s music can do to a function.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/hyphy\">hyphy\u003c/a> in its natural state, before it became the movement we know today. It might’ve been the first time I went dumb at a party.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>It was definitely my first glimpse of what Lil Jon’s music can do to a function.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893.jpg\" alt=\"A smiling Black man wearing sunglasses, a grey hoodie and blue jeans sits on a couch next to a black wall.\" class=\"wp-image-13932756\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil Jon backstage before a DJ set at Temple Nightclub in San Francisco, 2016.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Kelly Sullivan/ Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893.jpg\" alt=\"A smiling Black man wearing sunglasses, a grey hoodie and blue jeans sits on a couch next to a black wall.\" class=\"wp-image-13932756\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil Jon backstage before a DJ set at Temple Nightclub in San Francisco, 2016.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Kelly Sullivan/ Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In his new memoir, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/I-Only-Shout-So-You-Can-Hear-Me/Lil-Jon/9781668061473\">I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (Atria/Black Privilege Publishing), Lil Jon stresses that understanding his music doesn’t come from simply listening. In order to truly appreciate his art, he insists that his hyperactive rhythmic chanting needs to be physically experienced.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In his new memoir, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/I-Only-Shout-So-You-Can-Hear-Me/Lil-Jon/9781668061473\">I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (Atria/Black Privilege Publishing), Lil Jon stresses that understanding his music doesn’t come from simply listening. In order to truly appreciate his art, he insists that his hyperactive rhythmic chanting needs to be physically experienced.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We didn’t rap,” writes the Grammy-award winning King of Crunk. Instead, Lil Jon says he and his collaborators the East Side Boyz brought people from all backgrounds into the the world of ATL nightlife. “You put on our music, you watch our videos, and you felt like you were right there in Atlanta, wilding the fuck out in the club.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We didn’t rap,” writes the Grammy-award winning King of Crunk. Instead, Lil Jon says he and his collaborators the East Side Boyz brought people from all backgrounds into the the world of ATL nightlife. “You put on our music, you watch our videos, and you felt like you were right there in Atlanta, wilding the fuck out in the club.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Co-written by \u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Paul-Cantor/271704775\">Paul Cantor\u003c/a>, the book is a detailed account of Lil Jon’s middle-class upbringing in Southwest Atlanta and his years pounding the pavement while laying the foundation for his meteoric musical career. It also delves into Lil Jon’s spiritual side and the ways he’s navigated trauma, specifically the death of his son \u003ca href=\"https://www.wabe.org/body-believed-to-be-lil-jons-son-d-j-young-is-found-in-pond-near-atlanta/\">Nathan Smith\u003c/a>, who tragically drowned in February of this year.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Co-written by \u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Paul-Cantor/271704775\">Paul Cantor\u003c/a>, the book is a detailed account of Lil Jon’s middle-class upbringing in Southwest Atlanta and his years pounding the pavement while laying the foundation for his meteoric musical career. It also delves into Lil Jon’s spiritual side and the ways he’s navigated trauma, specifically the death of his son \u003ca href=\"https://www.wabe.org/body-believed-to-be-lil-jons-son-d-j-young-is-found-in-pond-near-atlanta/\">Nathan Smith\u003c/a>, who tragically drowned in February of this year.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Born Jonathan Smith, the producer and entrepreneur grew up in the biggest house on his suburban cul-de-sac, where as a teen he threw raging parties. As he matured, he started hanging out in strip clubs. It was through the world of chicken wings and stripper poles, as well as the college students at the \u003ca href=\"https://discoveratlanta.com/stories/atlanta-university-center-the-epicenter-of-black-culture-and-academic-excellence/\">Atlanta University Center\u003c/a> and people attending \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48jmE2J05OY\">Freaknik\u003c/a>, that Lil Jon found his target audience.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Born Jonathan Smith, the producer and entrepreneur grew up in the biggest house on his suburban cul-de-sac, where as a teen he threw raging parties. As he matured, he started hanging out in strip clubs. It was through the world of chicken wings and stripper poles, as well as the college students at the \u003ca href=\"https://discoveratlanta.com/stories/atlanta-university-center-the-epicenter-of-black-culture-and-academic-excellence/\">Atlanta University Center\u003c/a> and people attending \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48jmE2J05OY\">Freaknik\u003c/a>, that Lil Jon found his target audience.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He bottled that influence in a sound that resonated well beyond Atlanta, and especially with teenagers in East Oakland. It even reached Oakland-born former Vice President Kamala Harris.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>He bottled that influence in a sound that resonated well beyond Atlanta, and especially with teenagers in East Oakland. It even reached Oakland-born former Vice President Kamala Harris.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“And seriously,” writes Lil Jon, “who would have thought that when we recorded “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYH7_GzP4Tg\">Get Low\u003c/a>” — a song that talks about skeeting — I’d be \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzWPCFA6c6A\">performing it two decades later at the DNC\u003c/a>?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“And seriously,” writes Lil Jon, “who would have thought that when we recorded “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYH7_GzP4Tg\">Get Low\u003c/a>” — a song that talks about skeeting — I’d be \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzWPCFA6c6A\">performing it two decades later at the DNC\u003c/a>?”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994650\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75.jpg 1325w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-160x242.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-768x1159.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-1018x1536.jpg 1018w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil Jon‘s ‘I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me.’\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Simon and Schuster)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Lil Jon’s resume is deep. He’s produced songs for the Ying Yang Twins, Ludacris and Snoop Dogg, Ciara and T-Pain. He’s made multi-platinum selling music with the likes of Los Angeles pop group LMFAO and Miami mega-star Pitbull. In 1996, he worked on the Ghost Town DJ’s classic contribution to the culture, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxRiwnmYjMg\">My Boo\u003c/a>.” Thirty years later, he produced \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/2Knrk6Q04i9itgxtTSguQN\">Something’s in the Water\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, the recent album by Vallejo rapper LaRussell.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The book takes readers deep into Lil Jon’s musical composition, be it revealing the origins of the repetitive squeak in “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZd2MEOvdQ4\">Some Cut\u003c/a>” by Lil Scrappy and Trillville or the story behind the beat for what’s still his best-known song, Usher’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxBSyx85Kp8\">Yeah!\u003c/a>“\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But what stands out, especially to the now-grown-up kid from that East Oakland house party, is Lil Jon’s intersection with the Bay Area titans E-40 and Too Short.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Too Short must have believed in me,” writes Lil Jon, explaining that he and the East Side Boyz had just released their first song, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKy4LoslZPk\">Who You Wit\u003c/a>,” when they realized they’d signed a bad record deal. Enter Too Short. “He bought us out of that contract for $50,000,” Lil Jon recalls.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Short signed Lil Jon to his own label, Dangerous Music, a subsidiary of Jive Records. (The first track they recorded? “Couldn’t Be a Better Player.”) Short also brought Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz on their first tour, where they started working on their next hit, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czpZvVyQN5o&list=RDczpZvVyQN5o&start_radio=1\">Bia Bia\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Eventually, not wanting to hold Lil Jon and his crew back, Short offered to let them out of the contract. His only stipulation, writes Lil Jon, was repayment of the $50,000 Short paid for his first contract and “free beats for life.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>(Evidently, the deal is still on: Too Short dropped \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/5KkGgCCpS0Rz4mVlME9SKK\">Sir Too $hort, Vol. 2 (Drink & Smoke),\u003c/a>\u003c/em> with beats produced entirely by Lil Jon, this past July.)\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Eventually, not wanting to hold Lil Jon and his crew back, Short offered to let them out of the contract. His only stipulation, writes Lil Jon, was repayment of the $50,000 Short paid for his first contract and “free beats for life.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>(Evidently, the deal is still on: Too Short dropped \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/5KkGgCCpS0Rz4mVlME9SKK\">Sir Too $hort, Vol. 2 (Drink & Smoke),\u003c/a>\u003c/em> with beats produced entirely by Lil Jon, this past July.)\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13925972\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square.jpg 2113w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-2048x2048.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1920x1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil’ Jon and E-40, pictured onstage together in 2006. From his home base in Atlanta, Lil Jon produced the hyphy era’s two biggest nationwide hits: E-40’s “Tell Me When To Go” and Too Short’s “Blow the Whistle” — just one of many close ties between Southern and Bay Area hip-hop. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (John Shearer/WireImage for MTV.com)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After Short let him loose, Lil Jon launched his BME imprint under Warner Bros., which would soon pay dividends for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/e-40\">E-40\u003c/a>. The two had already worked together on the songs “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0MrehzJcLI&list=RDZ0MrehzJcLI&start_radio=1\">Rep Yo City\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f01LZ-KTd4&list=RD6f01LZ-KTd4&start_radio=1\">Anybody Can Get It\u003c/a>” when E-40 called Lil Jon, letting the producer know he was stepping away from Jive Records and interested in BME.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The decision was simple,” writes Lil Jon, “I was a fan of E-40.” The two began working on \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/3VqKqWHOHYfZqttJ0WwQHl\">My Ghetto Report Card\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, an album that would introduce hyphy to the mainstream, for better or for worse.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I had already sold the culture of the South to the world,” says Lil Jon. “That became the blueprint for what I did with E-40. It was the same shit.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>During one of the studio sessions, Lil Jon made a track with a bass line similar to Too Short’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwVJTvOO4yY\">Freaky Tales\u003c/a>.” He intended to give the beat to 40, but Uncle Earl said it sounded too much like Short. So Lil Jon passed it along.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That song became “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBJtzEKetBM\">Blow The Whistle\u003c/a>.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That song became “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBJtzEKetBM\">Blow The Whistle\u003c/a>.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The biggest commercial hit of Too Short’s career, “Blow the Whistle” was accompanied by an instant-classic \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13987115/too-short-blow-the-whistle-20-year-anniversary\">music video, filmed in Oakland\u003c/a>. Lil Jon agreed the track was good, but admits he didn’t foresee it becoming what it is today: a song readily played at pro sporting events all over the United States.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The biggest commercial hit of Too Short’s career, “Blow the Whistle” was accompanied by an instant-classic \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13987115/too-short-blow-the-whistle-20-year-anniversary\">music video, filmed in Oakland\u003c/a>. Lil Jon agreed the track was good, but admits he didn’t foresee it becoming what it is today: a song readily played at pro sporting events all over the United States.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Blow the Whistle” got a second life 10 years after its release when it was interpolated in 2016’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W6zD3L7H00&list=RD3W6zD3L7H00&start_radio=1\">For Free\u003c/a>” by DJ Khaled and Drake. It was revived again in 2020 when Saweetie sampled it for “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9qRc72BAjg\">Tap In\u003c/a>.” During the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2024 Super Bowl run, the song became \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eKY8MD7-ZHM\">their anthem\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Beyond its stories about the Bay Area, Lil Jon’s book is a turn of the millennium \u003cem>Forrest Gump\u003c/em>-esque tale of being just about everywhere and working with everyone.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He was an A&R for So So Def and Jermaine Dupri in the ’90s, he made the \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/3BsR98sDCwtj85pILXfjDk\">Crunk Rock\u003c/a>\u003c/em> album in 2010, and he coined the defining phrase of 2014 with his vocal on DJ Snake’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMUDVMiITOU\">Turn Down for What.\u003c/a>” In 2008 he founded \u003ca href=\"https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/rapper-producer-lil-jon-starts-108532/\">a winery\u003c/a>, in 2024 he dropped a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/03/03/1235606461/rap-artist-lil-jons-latest-album-is-a-guided-meditation\">set of meditative recordings\u003c/a> and last year he became \u003ca href=\"https://people.com/lil-jon-54-wins-3rd-place-in-muscle-beach-fitness-competition-11802475\">a competitive body builder\u003c/a>. He was a character on \u003cem>Chappelle’s Show\u003c/em> and he sat alongside Donald Trump on \u003cem>Celebrity Apprentice\u003c/em>. In Las Vegas, he’s both DJed major EDM events and performed with Usher at Super Bowl LVIII.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>He was an A&R for So So Def and Jermaine Dupri in the ’90s, he made the \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/3BsR98sDCwtj85pILXfjDk\">Crunk Rock\u003c/a>\u003c/em> album in 2010, and he coined the defining phrase of 2014 with his vocal on DJ Snake’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMUDVMiITOU\">Turn Down for What.\u003c/a>” In 2008 he founded \u003ca href=\"https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/rapper-producer-lil-jon-starts-108532/\">a winery\u003c/a>, in 2024 he dropped a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/03/03/1235606461/rap-artist-lil-jons-latest-album-is-a-guided-meditation\">set of meditative recordings\u003c/a> and last year he became \u003ca href=\"https://people.com/lil-jon-54-wins-3rd-place-in-muscle-beach-fitness-competition-11802475\">a competitive body builder\u003c/a>. He was a character on \u003cem>Chappelle’s Show\u003c/em> and he sat alongside Donald Trump on \u003cem>Celebrity Apprentice\u003c/em>. In Las Vegas, he’s both DJed major EDM events and performed with Usher at Super Bowl LVIII.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And last year, during \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz6MrrVqUZE\">an episode of \u003cem>Celebrity Family Feud\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, Lil Jon stood next to his chosen kin: E-40 and Too Short.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“How does that happen?” Lil Jon writes in his book, bewilderedly reflecting on the their individual paths leading to a game show set.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He was a kid from Southwest Atlanta who listened to Too Short in the 1980s and E-40 in the ’90s. He understood that they came from different backgrounds — Short a pimp rapper, E-40 a lyrical street hustler — but they combined forces and made timeless music.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“To this day we remain a trinity of close friends,” Lil Jon reflects. “You can’t write that. You cannot. You cannot dream or even imagine that.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The Atlanta rapper, producer and collaborator with Too Short and E-40 has a new memoir, ‘I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me.’",
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"title": "In New Memoir, Lil Jon Salutes The Bay Area | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>So it’s 1999, right, and I’m a teenager at a sweaty house party on High Street in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland\">East Oakland\u003c/a>. There in the living room of the small apartment, kids in Carolina blue velour sweatsuits and grey Gap hoodies are dancing to CDs playing on a home stereo.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b8kTV4VtKA\">Couldn’t Be a Better Player\u003c/a>” comes on, the room \u003cem>erupts\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/128417476/lil-jon\">Lil Jon\u003c/a> track, featuring \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/too-short\">Too Short\u003c/a>, has strings that marinate with a menacing bass line, creating a beat that says “I’m cool but don’t test me” – the same edgy-player mentality is reflected in the lyrics.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the song rattles the living room, the kids in the center of the circle catch the beat, “hitting that shit,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13932887/turf-dancing-oakland-street-dance\">fuckin’ with it\u003c/a>.” All the other partygoers, myself included, bounce with a frenetic cadence. Heads turn and fingers twist in the air, as people rep their neighborhoods with exaggerated mean mugs on their faces.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/hyphy\">hyphy\u003c/a> in its natural state, before it became the movement we know today. It might’ve been the first time I went dumb at a party.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>It was definitely my first glimpse of what Lil Jon’s music can do to a function.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893.jpg\" alt=\"A smiling Black man wearing sunglasses, a grey hoodie and blue jeans sits on a couch next to a black wall.\" class=\"wp-image-13932756\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil Jon backstage before a DJ set at Temple Nightclub in San Francisco, 2016. (Kelly Sullivan/ Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In his new memoir, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/I-Only-Shout-So-You-Can-Hear-Me/Lil-Jon/9781668061473\">I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (Atria/Black Privilege Publishing), Lil Jon stresses that understanding his music doesn’t come from simply listening. In order to truly appreciate his art, he insists that his hyperactive rhythmic chanting needs to be physically experienced.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We didn’t rap,” writes the Grammy-award winning King of Crunk. Instead, Lil Jon says he and his collaborators the East Side Boyz brought people from all backgrounds into the the world of ATL nightlife. “You put on our music, you watch our videos, and you felt like you were right there in Atlanta, wilding the fuck out in the club.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Co-written by \u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Paul-Cantor/271704775\">Paul Cantor\u003c/a>, the book is a detailed account of Lil Jon’s middle-class upbringing in Southwest Atlanta and his years pounding the pavement while laying the foundation for his meteoric musical career. It also delves into Lil Jon’s spiritual side and the ways he’s navigated trauma, specifically the death of his son \u003ca href=\"https://www.wabe.org/body-believed-to-be-lil-jons-son-d-j-young-is-found-in-pond-near-atlanta/\">Nathan Smith\u003c/a>, who tragically drowned in February of this year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Born Jonathan Smith, the producer and entrepreneur grew up in the biggest house on his suburban cul-de-sac, where as a teen he threw raging parties. As he matured, he started hanging out in strip clubs. It was through the world of chicken wings and stripper poles, as well as the college students at the \u003ca href=\"https://discoveratlanta.com/stories/atlanta-university-center-the-epicenter-of-black-culture-and-academic-excellence/\">Atlanta University Center\u003c/a> and people attending \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48jmE2J05OY\">Freaknik\u003c/a>, that Lil Jon found his target audience.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He bottled that influence in a sound that resonated well beyond Atlanta, and especially with teenagers in East Oakland. It even reached Oakland-born former Vice President Kamala Harris.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“And seriously,” writes Lil Jon, “who would have thought that when we recorded “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYH7_GzP4Tg\">Get Low\u003c/a>” — a song that talks about skeeting — I’d be \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzWPCFA6c6A\">performing it two decades later at the DNC\u003c/a>?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1325\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994650\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75.jpg 1325w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-160x242.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-768x1159.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-1018x1536.jpg 1018w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1325px) 100vw, 1325px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil Jon‘s ‘I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me.’ (Simon and Schuster)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lil Jon’s resume is deep. He’s produced songs for the Ying Yang Twins, Ludacris and Snoop Dogg, Ciara and T-Pain. He’s made multi-platinum selling music with the likes of Los Angeles pop group LMFAO and Miami mega-star Pitbull. In 1996, he worked on the Ghost Town DJ’s classic contribution to the culture, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxRiwnmYjMg\">My Boo\u003c/a>.” Thirty years later, he produced \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/2Knrk6Q04i9itgxtTSguQN\">Something’s in the Water\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, the recent album by Vallejo rapper LaRussell.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The book takes readers deep into Lil Jon’s musical composition, be it revealing the origins of the repetitive squeak in “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZd2MEOvdQ4\">Some Cut\u003c/a>” by Lil Scrappy and Trillville or the story behind the beat for what’s still his best-known song, Usher’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxBSyx85Kp8\">Yeah!\u003c/a>“\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But what stands out, especially to the now-grown-up kid from that East Oakland house party, is Lil Jon’s intersection with the Bay Area titans E-40 and Too Short.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Too Short must have believed in me,” writes Lil Jon, explaining that he and the East Side Boyz had just released their first song, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKy4LoslZPk\">Who You Wit\u003c/a>,” when they realized they’d signed a bad record deal. Enter Too Short. “He bought us out of that contract for $50,000,” Lil Jon recalls.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Short signed Lil Jon to his own label, Dangerous Music, a subsidiary of Jive Records. (The first track they recorded? “Couldn’t Be a Better Player.”) Short also brought Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz on their first tour, where they started working on their next hit, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czpZvVyQN5o&list=RDczpZvVyQN5o&start_radio=1\">Bia Bia\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Eventually, not wanting to hold Lil Jon and his crew back, Short offered to let them out of the contract. His only stipulation, writes Lil Jon, was repayment of the $50,000 Short paid for his first contract and “free beats for life.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>(Evidently, the deal is still on: Too Short dropped \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/5KkGgCCpS0Rz4mVlME9SKK\">Sir Too $hort, Vol. 2 (Drink & Smoke),\u003c/a>\u003c/em> with beats produced entirely by Lil Jon, this past July.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2113\" height=\"2113\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13925972\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square.jpg 2113w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-2048x2048.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1920x1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2113px) 100vw, 2113px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil’ Jon and E-40, pictured onstage together in 2006. From his home base in Atlanta, Lil Jon produced the hyphy era’s two biggest nationwide hits: E-40’s “Tell Me When To Go” and Too Short’s “Blow the Whistle” — just one of many close ties between Southern and Bay Area hip-hop. (John Shearer/WireImage for MTV.com)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After Short let him loose, Lil Jon launched his BME imprint under Warner Bros., which would soon pay dividends for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/e-40\">E-40\u003c/a>. The two had already worked together on the songs “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0MrehzJcLI&list=RDZ0MrehzJcLI&start_radio=1\">Rep Yo City\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f01LZ-KTd4&list=RD6f01LZ-KTd4&start_radio=1\">Anybody Can Get It\u003c/a>” when E-40 called Lil Jon, letting the producer know he was stepping away from Jive Records and interested in BME.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The decision was simple,” writes Lil Jon, “I was a fan of E-40.” The two began working on \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/3VqKqWHOHYfZqttJ0WwQHl\">My Ghetto Report Card\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, an album that would introduce hyphy to the mainstream, for better or for worse.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I had already sold the culture of the South to the world,” says Lil Jon. “That became the blueprint for what I did with E-40. It was the same shit.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During one of the studio sessions, Lil Jon made a track with a bass line similar to Too Short’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwVJTvOO4yY\">Freaky Tales\u003c/a>.” He intended to give the beat to 40, but Uncle Earl said it sounded too much like Short. So Lil Jon passed it along.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That song became “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBJtzEKetBM\">Blow The Whistle\u003c/a>.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The biggest commercial hit of Too Short’s career, “Blow the Whistle” was accompanied by an instant-classic \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13987115/too-short-blow-the-whistle-20-year-anniversary\">music video, filmed in Oakland\u003c/a>. Lil Jon agreed the track was good, but admits he didn’t foresee it becoming what it is today: a song readily played at pro sporting events all over the United States.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Blow the Whistle” got a second life 10 years after its release when it was interpolated in 2016’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W6zD3L7H00&list=RD3W6zD3L7H00&start_radio=1\">For Free\u003c/a>” by DJ Khaled and Drake. It was revived again in 2020 when Saweetie sampled it for “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9qRc72BAjg\">Tap In\u003c/a>.” During the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2024 Super Bowl run, the song became \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eKY8MD7-ZHM\">their anthem\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/rz6MrrVqUZE'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/rz6MrrVqUZE'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Beyond its stories about the Bay Area, Lil Jon’s book is a turn of the millennium \u003cem>Forrest Gump\u003c/em>-esque tale of being just about everywhere and working with everyone.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He was an A&R for So So Def and Jermaine Dupri in the ’90s, he made the \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/3BsR98sDCwtj85pILXfjDk\">Crunk Rock\u003c/a>\u003c/em> album in 2010, and he coined the defining phrase of 2014 with his vocal on DJ Snake’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMUDVMiITOU\">Turn Down for What.\u003c/a>” In 2008 he founded \u003ca href=\"https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/rapper-producer-lil-jon-starts-108532/\">a winery\u003c/a>, in 2024 he dropped a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/03/03/1235606461/rap-artist-lil-jons-latest-album-is-a-guided-meditation\">set of meditative recordings\u003c/a> and last year he became \u003ca href=\"https://people.com/lil-jon-54-wins-3rd-place-in-muscle-beach-fitness-competition-11802475\">a competitive body builder\u003c/a>. He was a character on \u003cem>Chappelle’s Show\u003c/em> and he sat alongside Donald Trump on \u003cem>Celebrity Apprentice\u003c/em>. In Las Vegas, he’s both DJed major EDM events and performed with Usher at Super Bowl LVIII.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And last year, during \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz6MrrVqUZE\">an episode of \u003cem>Celebrity Family Feud\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, Lil Jon stood next to his chosen kin: E-40 and Too Short.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“How does that happen?” Lil Jon writes in his book, bewilderedly reflecting on the their individual paths leading to a game show set.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He was a kid from Southwest Atlanta who listened to Too Short in the 1980s and E-40 in the ’90s. He understood that they came from different backgrounds — Short a pimp rapper, E-40 a lyrical street hustler — but they combined forces and made timeless music.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“To this day we remain a trinity of close friends,” Lil Jon reflects. “You can’t write that. You cannot. You cannot dream or even imagine that.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Lil Jon’s memoir ‘I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me’ is out Oct. 20, 2026. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "review-fjord-movie-film-religious-family-norway",
"title": "In ‘Fjord,’ a Religious Family Navigates Norway’s ‘Enlightened’ Norms",
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"headTitle": "In ‘Fjord,’ a Religious Family Navigates Norway’s ‘Enlightened’ Norms | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>Cristian Mungiu’s 2007 neorealist masterpiece, \u003cem>4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days\u003c/em>, followed the agonizing quest of two young Romanian women seeking an illegal abortion. Set in the 1980s during the long-running dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu, the film immersed us in the desperation of ordinary people thwarted and threatened by a ruthless, repressive system.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In his riveting new film, \u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em> (opening Friday, Oct. 9 in the Bay Area), Mungiu again considers the threats to personal freedom posed by political structures and self-righteous bureaucrats. Instead of a communist country in the old Soviet bloc, however, the setting is socially enlightened, present-day Norway.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em>, which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, unfolds within a welcoming community defined by physical proximity and relationships, where English is used to bridge any gaps. Notwithstanding its star casting, it is a low-key ensemble piece that is devoid of showcase moments. Though \u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em> is never less than involving, it lacks the emotional power of \u003cem>4 Months\u003c/em>, which also won the Palme d’Or.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1336\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord-Family-Picture-Photo-Credit-Tudor-Panduru-ccd9dd5b.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994604\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord-Family-Picture-Photo-Credit-Tudor-Panduru-ccd9dd5b.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord-Family-Picture-Photo-Credit-Tudor-Panduru-ccd9dd5b-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord-Family-Picture-Photo-Credit-Tudor-Panduru-ccd9dd5b-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord-Family-Picture-Photo-Credit-Tudor-Panduru-ccd9dd5b-1536x1026.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Gheorghiu family in ‘Fjord,’ directed by Cristian Mungiu. (Neon)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Gheorghiu clan — Mihai (Sebastian Stan, \u003cem>A Different Man\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Apprentice\u003c/em>), Lisbet (Renate Reinsve, brilliant in last year’s \u003cem>Sentimental Value\u003c/em>) and their five young children — have just arrived in a remote Norwegian town from Mihai’s native Romania. The pristine and stark environment evokes a new beginning, and a clean slate from whatever may have impelled the IT engineer and nurse to pick up and move their family to Lisbet’s country.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The early scenes have a faintly ominous tinge, which we might attribute to the awkwardness of meeting new coworkers and the anxiousness of making new friends. The flip side of that, the feeling of otherness that colors the locals’ perception of the newcomers, is the religiosity of the Gheorghius. When Mihai idly plays a hymn on the organ in the break room, what initially seems to be harmless noodling feels uncomfortably like inappropriate evangelizing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the oldest children, Elia (Vanessa Ceban) and Emmanuel (Jonathan Ciprian Breazu), who are sheltered and therefore young for their age, fall under the sway of a neighboring teenage girl. The impulsive Noora (Henrikke Lund-Olsen) lures them on an illicit late-night motorboat ride that seems designed to foreshadow horrible tragedies of youthful bad judgement.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"838\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_SebastianStan-92b39160.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994605\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_SebastianStan-92b39160.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_SebastianStan-92b39160-160x67.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_SebastianStan-92b39160-768x322.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_SebastianStan-92b39160-1536x644.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sebastian Stan in ‘Fjord,’ directed by Cristian Mungiu. (Neon)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I guess I’m still scarred nearly three decades later by \u003cem>The Ice Storm\u003c/em>, because parental indifference and neglect is the furthest thing from Mungiu’s mind as director. On the contrary, it’s an accusation that Mihai hit Elia — a charge, perhaps, instigated by language barriers, amplified by cultural differences and inflated by religious prejudices — that turns \u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em> on its head.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The film’s early sequences had pointed toward dual tracks: Mihai and Lisbet on one and Elia and Emmanuel on the other. Mihai’s potentially devastating criminal problem shifts the film’s structure to a talky legal procedural (with the foreigner Mihai in the crosshairs) on the one hand and Lisbet’s struggles as a mother and neighbor on the other.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>4 Months\u003c/em> made us feel its protagonists’ nightmarish dilemma without resorting to melodrama. \u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em> evokes a sense of injustice, and flashes of outrage, but not much else. That’s in part due to Mungui’s avoidance of emotional outbursts, close-ups, dramatic music and other techniques of audience manipulation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"838\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_04-c94291c1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994608\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_04-c94291c1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_04-c94291c1-160x67.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_04-c94291c1-768x322.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_04-c94291c1-1536x644.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve in ‘Fjord.’ (Neon)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Consequently, in lieu of a visceral emotional experience, we are given an intellectual conundrum. In trying to protect children from adults, has this enlightened Norwegian society lost its judgement and common sense? Are police and prosecutors doing their jobs diligently and properly or are they bigots who, because the Gheorghius are Christians and not Muslims, plausibly deny their xenophobia?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s possible, I suppose, to see \u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em> as a critique of so-called woke liberalism—the nanny state dialed up to 11 and misguidedly doing more harm than good. I doubt this is Mungiu’s intent, because it invites viewers across the political spectrum to retreat into, rather than examine, their belief systems, biases and values.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 1975, Swiss director Alain Tanner tapped into the zeitgeist with \u003cem>Jonah Who Will be 25 in the Year 2000\u003c/em>, an arthouse hit that depicted a post-hippie, post-revolutionary, quasi-utopian European society. The thirtysomething parents in the film — and by extension, their country — were messy and mistake-prone, sure, but well-intentioned, kind and optimistic.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"838\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_03-7f0fb205.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994607\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_03-7f0fb205.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_03-7f0fb205-160x67.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_03-7f0fb205-768x322.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_03-7f0fb205-1536x644.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A scene from ‘Fjord,’ directed by Cristian Mungiu. (Neon)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Maybe \u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em> depicts the inevitable aftermath of that generation of permissiveness and experimentation. The instincts to nurture and protect still exist, but they are swaddled in too many regulations, rules and procedures.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mingiu aims to position the Gheorghius as victims of an implacable system with endless power and resources. They have few options, and their decisions should have us on pins and needles. Even before its curious final shot, though, \u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em> feels like a parable more than real life.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Fjord’ opens in Bay Area theaters on Friday, Oct. 9.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Cristian Mungiu’s 2007 neorealist masterpiece, \u003cem>4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days\u003c/em>, followed the agonizing quest of two young Romanian women seeking an illegal abortion. Set in the 1980s during the long-running dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu, the film immersed us in the desperation of ordinary people thwarted and threatened by a ruthless, repressive system.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In his riveting new film, \u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em> (opening Friday, Oct. 9 in the Bay Area), Mungiu again considers the threats to personal freedom posed by political structures and self-righteous bureaucrats. Instead of a communist country in the old Soviet bloc, however, the setting is socially enlightened, present-day Norway.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In his riveting new film, \u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em> (opening Friday, Oct. 9 in the Bay Area), Mungiu again considers the threats to personal freedom posed by political structures and self-righteous bureaucrats. Instead of a communist country in the old Soviet bloc, however, the setting is socially enlightened, present-day Norway.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em>, which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, unfolds within a welcoming community defined by physical proximity and relationships, where English is used to bridge any gaps. Notwithstanding its star casting, it is a low-key ensemble piece that is devoid of showcase moments. Though \u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em> is never less than involving, it lacks the emotional power of \u003cem>4 Months\u003c/em>, which also won the Palme d’Or.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em>, which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, unfolds within a welcoming community defined by physical proximity and relationships, where English is used to bridge any gaps. Notwithstanding its star casting, it is a low-key ensemble piece that is devoid of showcase moments. Though \u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em> is never less than involving, it lacks the emotional power of \u003cem>4 Months\u003c/em>, which also won the Palme d’Or.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Gheorghiu clan — Mihai (Sebastian Stan, \u003cem>A Different Man\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Apprentice\u003c/em>), Lisbet (Renate Reinsve, brilliant in last year’s \u003cem>Sentimental Value\u003c/em>) and their five young children — have just arrived in a remote Norwegian town from Mihai’s native Romania. The pristine and stark environment evokes a new beginning, and a clean slate from whatever may have impelled the IT engineer and nurse to pick up and move their family to Lisbet’s country.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Gheorghiu clan — Mihai (Sebastian Stan, \u003cem>A Different Man\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Apprentice\u003c/em>), Lisbet (Renate Reinsve, brilliant in last year’s \u003cem>Sentimental Value\u003c/em>) and their five young children — have just arrived in a remote Norwegian town from Mihai’s native Romania. The pristine and stark environment evokes a new beginning, and a clean slate from whatever may have impelled the IT engineer and nurse to pick up and move their family to Lisbet’s country.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The early scenes have a faintly ominous tinge, which we might attribute to the awkwardness of meeting new coworkers and the anxiousness of making new friends. The flip side of that, the feeling of otherness that colors the locals’ perception of the newcomers, is the religiosity of the Gheorghius. When Mihai idly plays a hymn on the organ in the break room, what initially seems to be harmless noodling feels uncomfortably like inappropriate evangelizing.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The early scenes have a faintly ominous tinge, which we might attribute to the awkwardness of meeting new coworkers and the anxiousness of making new friends. The flip side of that, the feeling of otherness that colors the locals’ perception of the newcomers, is the religiosity of the Gheorghius. When Mihai idly plays a hymn on the organ in the break room, what initially seems to be harmless noodling feels uncomfortably like inappropriate evangelizing.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the oldest children, Elia (Vanessa Ceban) and Emmanuel (Jonathan Ciprian Breazu), who are sheltered and therefore young for their age, fall under the sway of a neighboring teenage girl. The impulsive Noora (Henrikke Lund-Olsen) lures them on an illicit late-night motorboat ride that seems designed to foreshadow horrible tragedies of youthful bad judgement.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the oldest children, Elia (Vanessa Ceban) and Emmanuel (Jonathan Ciprian Breazu), who are sheltered and therefore young for their age, fall under the sway of a neighboring teenage girl. The impulsive Noora (Henrikke Lund-Olsen) lures them on an illicit late-night motorboat ride that seems designed to foreshadow horrible tragedies of youthful bad judgement.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_SebastianStan-92b39160.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994605\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_SebastianStan-92b39160.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_SebastianStan-92b39160-160x67.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_SebastianStan-92b39160-768x322.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_SebastianStan-92b39160-1536x644.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sebastian Stan in ‘Fjord,’ directed by Cristian Mungiu.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Neon)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>I guess I’m still scarred nearly three decades later by \u003cem>The Ice Storm\u003c/em>, because parental indifference and neglect is the furthest thing from Mungiu’s mind as director. On the contrary, it’s an accusation that Mihai hit Elia — a charge, perhaps, instigated by language barriers, amplified by cultural differences and inflated by religious prejudices — that turns \u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em> on its head.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>I guess I’m still scarred nearly three decades later by \u003cem>The Ice Storm\u003c/em>, because parental indifference and neglect is the furthest thing from Mungiu’s mind as director. On the contrary, it’s an accusation that Mihai hit Elia — a charge, perhaps, instigated by language barriers, amplified by cultural differences and inflated by religious prejudices — that turns \u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em> on its head.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The film’s early sequences had pointed toward dual tracks: Mihai and Lisbet on one and Elia and Emmanuel on the other. Mihai’s potentially devastating criminal problem shifts the film’s structure to a talky legal procedural (with the foreigner Mihai in the crosshairs) on the one hand and Lisbet’s struggles as a mother and neighbor on the other.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The film’s early sequences had pointed toward dual tracks: Mihai and Lisbet on one and Elia and Emmanuel on the other. Mihai’s potentially devastating criminal problem shifts the film’s structure to a talky legal procedural (with the foreigner Mihai in the crosshairs) on the one hand and Lisbet’s struggles as a mother and neighbor on the other.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>4 Months\u003c/em> made us feel its protagonists’ nightmarish dilemma without resorting to melodrama. \u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em> evokes a sense of injustice, and flashes of outrage, but not much else. That’s in part due to Mungui’s avoidance of emotional outbursts, close-ups, dramatic music and other techniques of audience manipulation.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>4 Months\u003c/em> made us feel its protagonists’ nightmarish dilemma without resorting to melodrama. \u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em> evokes a sense of injustice, and flashes of outrage, but not much else. That’s in part due to Mungui’s avoidance of emotional outbursts, close-ups, dramatic music and other techniques of audience manipulation.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_04-c94291c1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994608\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_04-c94291c1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_04-c94291c1-160x67.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_04-c94291c1-768x322.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_04-c94291c1-1536x644.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve in ‘Fjord.’\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Neon)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Consequently, in lieu of a visceral emotional experience, we are given an intellectual conundrum. In trying to protect children from adults, has this enlightened Norwegian society lost its judgement and common sense? Are police and prosecutors doing their jobs diligently and properly or are they bigots who, because the Gheorghius are Christians and not Muslims, plausibly deny their xenophobia?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It’s possible, I suppose, to see \u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em> as a critique of so-called woke liberalism—the nanny state dialed up to 11 and misguidedly doing more harm than good. I doubt this is Mungiu’s intent, because it invites viewers across the political spectrum to retreat into, rather than examine, their belief systems, biases and values.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In 1975, Swiss director Alain Tanner tapped into the zeitgeist with \u003cem>Jonah Who Will be 25 in the Year 2000\u003c/em>, an arthouse hit that depicted a post-hippie, post-revolutionary, quasi-utopian European society. The thirtysomething parents in the film — and by extension, their country — were messy and mistake-prone, sure, but well-intentioned, kind and optimistic.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Maybe \u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em> depicts the inevitable aftermath of that generation of permissiveness and experimentation. The instincts to nurture and protect still exist, but they are swaddled in too many regulations, rules and procedures.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Mingiu aims to position the Gheorghius as victims of an implacable system with endless power and resources. They have few options, and their decisions should have us on pins and needles. Even before its curious final shot, though, \u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em> feels like a parable more than real life.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Fjord’ opens in Bay Area theaters on Friday, Oct. 9.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "As a morality tale, the Palme d'Or-winning film falls short of director Cristian Mungiu's earlier triumphs.",
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"title": "Film Review: ‘Fjord’ Falls Short of Cristian Mungiu's Earlier Triumphs | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Cristian Mungiu’s 2007 neorealist masterpiece, \u003cem>4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days\u003c/em>, followed the agonizing quest of two young Romanian women seeking an illegal abortion. Set in the 1980s during the long-running dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu, the film immersed us in the desperation of ordinary people thwarted and threatened by a ruthless, repressive system.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In his riveting new film, \u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em> (opening Friday, Oct. 9 in the Bay Area), Mungiu again considers the threats to personal freedom posed by political structures and self-righteous bureaucrats. Instead of a communist country in the old Soviet bloc, however, the setting is socially enlightened, present-day Norway.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em>, which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, unfolds within a welcoming community defined by physical proximity and relationships, where English is used to bridge any gaps. Notwithstanding its star casting, it is a low-key ensemble piece that is devoid of showcase moments. Though \u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em> is never less than involving, it lacks the emotional power of \u003cem>4 Months\u003c/em>, which also won the Palme d’Or.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1336\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord-Family-Picture-Photo-Credit-Tudor-Panduru-ccd9dd5b.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994604\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord-Family-Picture-Photo-Credit-Tudor-Panduru-ccd9dd5b.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord-Family-Picture-Photo-Credit-Tudor-Panduru-ccd9dd5b-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord-Family-Picture-Photo-Credit-Tudor-Panduru-ccd9dd5b-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord-Family-Picture-Photo-Credit-Tudor-Panduru-ccd9dd5b-1536x1026.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Gheorghiu family in ‘Fjord,’ directed by Cristian Mungiu. (Neon)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Gheorghiu clan — Mihai (Sebastian Stan, \u003cem>A Different Man\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Apprentice\u003c/em>), Lisbet (Renate Reinsve, brilliant in last year’s \u003cem>Sentimental Value\u003c/em>) and their five young children — have just arrived in a remote Norwegian town from Mihai’s native Romania. The pristine and stark environment evokes a new beginning, and a clean slate from whatever may have impelled the IT engineer and nurse to pick up and move their family to Lisbet’s country.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The early scenes have a faintly ominous tinge, which we might attribute to the awkwardness of meeting new coworkers and the anxiousness of making new friends. The flip side of that, the feeling of otherness that colors the locals’ perception of the newcomers, is the religiosity of the Gheorghius. When Mihai idly plays a hymn on the organ in the break room, what initially seems to be harmless noodling feels uncomfortably like inappropriate evangelizing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the oldest children, Elia (Vanessa Ceban) and Emmanuel (Jonathan Ciprian Breazu), who are sheltered and therefore young for their age, fall under the sway of a neighboring teenage girl. The impulsive Noora (Henrikke Lund-Olsen) lures them on an illicit late-night motorboat ride that seems designed to foreshadow horrible tragedies of youthful bad judgement.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"838\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_SebastianStan-92b39160.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994605\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_SebastianStan-92b39160.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_SebastianStan-92b39160-160x67.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_SebastianStan-92b39160-768x322.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_SebastianStan-92b39160-1536x644.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sebastian Stan in ‘Fjord,’ directed by Cristian Mungiu. (Neon)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I guess I’m still scarred nearly three decades later by \u003cem>The Ice Storm\u003c/em>, because parental indifference and neglect is the furthest thing from Mungiu’s mind as director. On the contrary, it’s an accusation that Mihai hit Elia — a charge, perhaps, instigated by language barriers, amplified by cultural differences and inflated by religious prejudices — that turns \u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em> on its head.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The film’s early sequences had pointed toward dual tracks: Mihai and Lisbet on one and Elia and Emmanuel on the other. Mihai’s potentially devastating criminal problem shifts the film’s structure to a talky legal procedural (with the foreigner Mihai in the crosshairs) on the one hand and Lisbet’s struggles as a mother and neighbor on the other.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>4 Months\u003c/em> made us feel its protagonists’ nightmarish dilemma without resorting to melodrama. \u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em> evokes a sense of injustice, and flashes of outrage, but not much else. That’s in part due to Mungui’s avoidance of emotional outbursts, close-ups, dramatic music and other techniques of audience manipulation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"838\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_04-c94291c1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994608\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_04-c94291c1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_04-c94291c1-160x67.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_04-c94291c1-768x322.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_04-c94291c1-1536x644.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve in ‘Fjord.’ (Neon)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Consequently, in lieu of a visceral emotional experience, we are given an intellectual conundrum. In trying to protect children from adults, has this enlightened Norwegian society lost its judgement and common sense? Are police and prosecutors doing their jobs diligently and properly or are they bigots who, because the Gheorghius are Christians and not Muslims, plausibly deny their xenophobia?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s possible, I suppose, to see \u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em> as a critique of so-called woke liberalism—the nanny state dialed up to 11 and misguidedly doing more harm than good. I doubt this is Mungiu’s intent, because it invites viewers across the political spectrum to retreat into, rather than examine, their belief systems, biases and values.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 1975, Swiss director Alain Tanner tapped into the zeitgeist with \u003cem>Jonah Who Will be 25 in the Year 2000\u003c/em>, an arthouse hit that depicted a post-hippie, post-revolutionary, quasi-utopian European society. The thirtysomething parents in the film — and by extension, their country — were messy and mistake-prone, sure, but well-intentioned, kind and optimistic.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"838\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_03-7f0fb205.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994607\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_03-7f0fb205.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_03-7f0fb205-160x67.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_03-7f0fb205-768x322.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Fjord_03-7f0fb205-1536x644.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A scene from ‘Fjord,’ directed by Cristian Mungiu. (Neon)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Maybe \u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em> depicts the inevitable aftermath of that generation of permissiveness and experimentation. The instincts to nurture and protect still exist, but they are swaddled in too many regulations, rules and procedures.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mingiu aims to position the Gheorghius as victims of an implacable system with endless power and resources. They have few options, and their decisions should have us on pins and needles. Even before its curious final shot, though, \u003cem>Fjord\u003c/em> feels like a parable more than real life.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Fjord’ opens in Bay Area theaters on Friday, Oct. 9.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "portola-festival-review-robyn-tove-lo-six-sex",
"title": "Robyn Proved Saturday at Portola Was for the Girls",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>When it comes to expressing yearning in all its emotional hues, few artists have it as dialed in as Robyn.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I used to be embarrassed that I could only write sad love songs. Like, get over it, get a life,” she told her massive crowd during her headlining set Saturday night at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/portola-festival\">Portola Festival\u003c/a> in San Francisco. “But then I realized life is embarrassing, and I leaned into it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Robyn opened the set with the retro-futuristic synth pulse of her 2010 song “Fembot,” which flowed seamlessly into “Talk to Me,” her 2026 paean to phone sex. During “Hang With Me,” she turned reverent and prayerful, as if kneeling at the altar of the erotic, while she rolled on the ground and made love to the camera for tens of thousands of fans to see. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And the crowd ate it up. For the fifth year of this annual electronic music festival, amid the hard techno and grimy dubstep, there was clearly a contingent who wanted to connect to storytelling and lyrics.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_046.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994259\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_046.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_046-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_046-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_046-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Robyn performs at the Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>People stood entranced as Robyn delivered a more stripped-down, melancholy version of “Honey,” her vocals confident and powerful, before changing out of her white mini-dress and into an oversized sequined T-shirt with bejeweled panties that gleamed beneath the lights. Exuding mature-woman sensuality, she sang about going out to clubs and feeling herself during a time in her life when she was trying to get pregnant on “Sexistential.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At the end of the set, Robyn gave the audience what they were clearly waiting for. When the disco beat of “Call Your Girlfriend” filled the air, people looked on rapturously, maybe even a little misty-eyed, and belted their hearts out. They kept swaying — and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DdxtadMKQcP/\">singing\u003c/a> — as she gave it her all for “Dancing On My Own.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_006.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994249\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_006.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_006-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_006-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_006-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Six Sex performs at the Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Six Sex, the Perreo-Rave Princess, Brought Campy Queer Joy\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>All the way from Buenos Aires, Six Sex transformed the smaller Ship Tent at the harbor’s edge into a horny fever dream, with strobes flashing as the perreo-rave princess commanded a fist-pumping queer crowd with every gyration of her hips. While the opening kicks of “Ultra Terrorific Fantasy” vibrated the small but enthusiastic audience’s eardrums, she took the stage in a hentai-esque outfit, with cleavage, micro shorts, platform rave boots and pigtails with dramatically long extensions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The bass and hard dance beats shook the crowd’s internal organs while Six Sex delivered cartoonishly coquettish X-rated lyrics with a bratty pout. (The two male ASL interpreters also deserve props for their particularly cunty enactments of her lyrics about group sex and gay boyfriends). As the set progressed, Six Sex had the audience wrapped around her finger, fist-pumping and jumping in ecstasy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_028.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994251\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_028.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_028-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_028-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_028-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tove Lo performs at the Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Tove Lo Invited Everyone to Dance Out Their Heartbreak \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tove Lo gave fans a solid, hour-long set of heartbreak bangers, mostly from her brand-new album \u003cem>Estrus \u003c/em>but also drawn from her catalog of 2010s hits. She set a mercurial tone for the show with the song “a lot of feelings, no solutions,” emerging in an all-black look with puffy feathered sleeves that looked like angel wings. With “I’m the cake,” she served snarky attitude with a kiss-off to a long-term lover who’s taking her for granted. She pulled the melancholy notes out of “des fleurs x stromae,” her duet with the deep-voiced French hitmaker Stromae. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There were moments of levity, too, when she introduced “source of life” with a gleeful proclamation: “It’s about pussy!” When she belted “Habits (Stay High),” her ubiquitous 2014 hit about drunkenly stumbling her way through post-breakup grief, the audience’s eyes shimmered with nostalgia as they screamed the lyrics and got their life. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>More photos below.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_065.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994258\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_065.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_065-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_065-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_065-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Melanie C performs at the Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_070.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994248\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_070.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_070-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_070-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_070-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Soulwax performs at the Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_008.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994255\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_008.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_008-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_008-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_008-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fcukers perform at the Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_035.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994252\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_035.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_035-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_035-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_035-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">DJ Shadow performs at the Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_055.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994254\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_055.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_055-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_055-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_055-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The crowd at the Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_053.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994250\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_053.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_053-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_053-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_053-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_056.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994262\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_056.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_056-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_056-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_056-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The crowd at the Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I used to be embarrassed that I could only write sad love songs. Like, get over it, get a life,” she told her massive crowd during her headlining set Saturday night at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/portola-festival\">Portola Festival\u003c/a> in San Francisco. “But then I realized life is embarrassing, and I leaned into it.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Robyn opened the set with the retro-futuristic synth pulse of her 2010 song “Fembot,” which flowed seamlessly into “Talk to Me,” her 2026 paean to phone sex. During “Hang With Me,” she turned reverent and prayerful, as if kneeling at the altar of the erotic, while she rolled on the ground and made love to the camera for tens of thousands of fans to see. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And the crowd ate it up. For the fifth year of this annual electronic music festival, amid the hard techno and grimy dubstep, there was clearly a contingent who wanted to connect to storytelling and lyrics.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>And the crowd ate it up. For the fifth year of this annual electronic music festival, amid the hard techno and grimy dubstep, there was clearly a contingent who wanted to connect to storytelling and lyrics.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>People stood entranced as Robyn delivered a more stripped-down, melancholy version of “Honey,” her vocals confident and powerful, before changing out of her white mini-dress and into an oversized sequined T-shirt with bejeweled panties that gleamed beneath the lights. Exuding mature-woman sensuality, she sang about going out to clubs and feeling herself during a time in her life when she was trying to get pregnant on “Sexistential.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At the end of the set, Robyn gave the audience what they were clearly waiting for. When the disco beat of “Call Your Girlfriend” filled the air, people looked on rapturously, maybe even a little misty-eyed, and belted their hearts out. They kept swaying — and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DdxtadMKQcP/\">singing\u003c/a> — as she gave it her all for “Dancing On My Own.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_006.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994249\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_006.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_006-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_006-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_006-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Six Sex performs at the Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_006.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994249\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Six Sex performs at the Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"text": "Six Sex, the Perreo-Rave Princess, Brought Campy Queer Joy",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>All the way from Buenos Aires, Six Sex transformed the smaller Ship Tent at the harbor’s edge into a horny fever dream, with strobes flashing as the perreo-rave princess commanded a fist-pumping queer crowd with every gyration of her hips. While the opening kicks of “Ultra Terrorific Fantasy” vibrated the small but enthusiastic audience’s eardrums, she took the stage in a hentai-esque outfit, with cleavage, micro shorts, platform rave boots and pigtails with dramatically long extensions. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>All the way from Buenos Aires, Six Sex transformed the smaller Ship Tent at the harbor’s edge into a horny fever dream, with strobes flashing as the perreo-rave princess commanded a fist-pumping queer crowd with every gyration of her hips. While the opening kicks of “Ultra Terrorific Fantasy” vibrated the small but enthusiastic audience’s eardrums, she took the stage in a hentai-esque outfit, with cleavage, micro shorts, platform rave boots and pigtails with dramatically long extensions. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The bass and hard dance beats shook the crowd’s internal organs while Six Sex delivered cartoonishly coquettish X-rated lyrics with a bratty pout. (The two male ASL interpreters also deserve props for their particularly cunty enactments of her lyrics about group sex and gay boyfriends). As the set progressed, Six Sex had the audience wrapped around her finger, fist-pumping and jumping in ecstasy. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The bass and hard dance beats shook the crowd’s internal organs while Six Sex delivered cartoonishly coquettish X-rated lyrics with a bratty pout. (The two male ASL interpreters also deserve props for their particularly cunty enactments of her lyrics about group sex and gay boyfriends). As the set progressed, Six Sex had the audience wrapped around her finger, fist-pumping and jumping in ecstasy. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_028.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994251\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_028.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_028-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_028-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_028-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tove Lo performs at the Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_028.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994251\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tove Lo performs at the Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"text": "Tove Lo Invited Everyone to Dance Out Their Heartbreak ",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Tove Lo gave fans a solid, hour-long set of heartbreak bangers, mostly from her brand-new album \u003cem>Estrus \u003c/em>but also drawn from her catalog of 2010s hits. She set a mercurial tone for the show with the song “a lot of feelings, no solutions,” emerging in an all-black look with puffy feathered sleeves that looked like angel wings. With “I’m the cake,” she served snarky attitude with a kiss-off to a long-term lover who’s taking her for granted. She pulled the melancholy notes out of “des fleurs x stromae,” her duet with the deep-voiced French hitmaker Stromae. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Tove Lo gave fans a solid, hour-long set of heartbreak bangers, mostly from her brand-new album \u003cem>Estrus \u003c/em>but also drawn from her catalog of 2010s hits. She set a mercurial tone for the show with the song “a lot of feelings, no solutions,” emerging in an all-black look with puffy feathered sleeves that looked like angel wings. With “I’m the cake,” she served snarky attitude with a kiss-off to a long-term lover who’s taking her for granted. She pulled the melancholy notes out of “des fleurs x stromae,” her duet with the deep-voiced French hitmaker Stromae. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There were moments of levity, too, when she introduced “source of life” with a gleeful proclamation: “It’s about pussy!” When she belted “Habits (Stay High),” her ubiquitous 2014 hit about drunkenly stumbling her way through post-breakup grief, the audience’s eyes shimmered with nostalgia as they screamed the lyrics and got their life. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>There were moments of levity, too, when she introduced “source of life” with a gleeful proclamation: “It’s about pussy!” When she belted “Habits (Stay High),” her ubiquitous 2014 hit about drunkenly stumbling her way through post-breakup grief, the audience’s eyes shimmered with nostalgia as they screamed the lyrics and got their life. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>More photos below.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>More photos below.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_065.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994258\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_065.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_065-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_065-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_065-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Melanie C performs at the Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_070.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994248\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_070.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_070-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_070-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_070-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Soulwax performs at the Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_008.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994255\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_008.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_008-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_008-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_008-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fcukers perform at the Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_035.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994252\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_035.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_035-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_035-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_035-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">DJ Shadow performs at the Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"excerpt": "With strong sets by Tove Lo and Six Sex, the electronic music festival honed in on cult pop acts. ",
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"title": "Portola Festival Review: Robyn Proved Saturday Was for the Girls | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>When it comes to expressing yearning in all its emotional hues, few artists have it as dialed in as Robyn.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I used to be embarrassed that I could only write sad love songs. Like, get over it, get a life,” she told her massive crowd during her headlining set Saturday night at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/portola-festival\">Portola Festival\u003c/a> in San Francisco. “But then I realized life is embarrassing, and I leaned into it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Robyn opened the set with the retro-futuristic synth pulse of her 2010 song “Fembot,” which flowed seamlessly into “Talk to Me,” her 2026 paean to phone sex. During “Hang With Me,” she turned reverent and prayerful, as if kneeling at the altar of the erotic, while she rolled on the ground and made love to the camera for tens of thousands of fans to see. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And the crowd ate it up. For the fifth year of this annual electronic music festival, amid the hard techno and grimy dubstep, there was clearly a contingent who wanted to connect to storytelling and lyrics.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_046.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994259\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_046.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_046-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_046-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_046-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Robyn performs at the Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>People stood entranced as Robyn delivered a more stripped-down, melancholy version of “Honey,” her vocals confident and powerful, before changing out of her white mini-dress and into an oversized sequined T-shirt with bejeweled panties that gleamed beneath the lights. Exuding mature-woman sensuality, she sang about going out to clubs and feeling herself during a time in her life when she was trying to get pregnant on “Sexistential.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At the end of the set, Robyn gave the audience what they were clearly waiting for. When the disco beat of “Call Your Girlfriend” filled the air, people looked on rapturously, maybe even a little misty-eyed, and belted their hearts out. They kept swaying — and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DdxtadMKQcP/\">singing\u003c/a> — as she gave it her all for “Dancing On My Own.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_006.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994249\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_006.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_006-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_006-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_006-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Six Sex performs at the Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Six Sex, the Perreo-Rave Princess, Brought Campy Queer Joy\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>All the way from Buenos Aires, Six Sex transformed the smaller Ship Tent at the harbor’s edge into a horny fever dream, with strobes flashing as the perreo-rave princess commanded a fist-pumping queer crowd with every gyration of her hips. While the opening kicks of “Ultra Terrorific Fantasy” vibrated the small but enthusiastic audience’s eardrums, she took the stage in a hentai-esque outfit, with cleavage, micro shorts, platform rave boots and pigtails with dramatically long extensions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The bass and hard dance beats shook the crowd’s internal organs while Six Sex delivered cartoonishly coquettish X-rated lyrics with a bratty pout. (The two male ASL interpreters also deserve props for their particularly cunty enactments of her lyrics about group sex and gay boyfriends). As the set progressed, Six Sex had the audience wrapped around her finger, fist-pumping and jumping in ecstasy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_028.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994251\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_028.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_028-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_028-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_028-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tove Lo performs at the Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Tove Lo Invited Everyone to Dance Out Their Heartbreak \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tove Lo gave fans a solid, hour-long set of heartbreak bangers, mostly from her brand-new album \u003cem>Estrus \u003c/em>but also drawn from her catalog of 2010s hits. She set a mercurial tone for the show with the song “a lot of feelings, no solutions,” emerging in an all-black look with puffy feathered sleeves that looked like angel wings. With “I’m the cake,” she served snarky attitude with a kiss-off to a long-term lover who’s taking her for granted. She pulled the melancholy notes out of “des fleurs x stromae,” her duet with the deep-voiced French hitmaker Stromae. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There were moments of levity, too, when she introduced “source of life” with a gleeful proclamation: “It’s about pussy!” When she belted “Habits (Stay High),” her ubiquitous 2014 hit about drunkenly stumbling her way through post-breakup grief, the audience’s eyes shimmered with nostalgia as they screamed the lyrics and got their life. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>More photos below.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_065.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994258\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_065.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_065-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_065-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_065-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Melanie C performs at the Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_070.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994248\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_070.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_070-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_070-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_070-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Soulwax performs at the Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_008.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994255\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_008.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_008-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_008-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_008-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fcukers perform at the Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_035.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994252\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_035.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_035-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_035-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_035-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">DJ Shadow performs at the Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_055.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994254\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_055.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_055-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_055-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_055-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The crowd at the Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_053.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994250\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_053.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_053-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_053-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_053-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_056.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994262\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_056.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_056-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_056-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/20260926_PortolaDay1_EG_056-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The crowd at the Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "north-by-northwest-review-act-san-francisco-insult-to-source-material-hitchcock",
"title": "At ACT, ‘North By Northwest’ Is an Insult to Hitchcock",
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"headTitle": "At ACT, ‘North By Northwest’ Is an Insult to Hitchcock | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>I cannot tell you how much I hated \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em>, which opened this week at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/act\">ACT\u003c/a> in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>. It is an insult to the source material of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 film, and an insult to the audience’s intelligence. I ran from it as soon as I could, muttering obscenities to anyone within earshot.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This production’s first abomination is a shift in tone from a sophisticated, understated thriller to an over-the-top comedy, rife with insipid stereotypes and cheap gags. The second is the near-constant presence onstage of a narrator, who sucks the life out of any scene by overexplaining the action. The third is regular interruptions from songs by 1950s female pop vocalists like Peggy Lee and Betty Hutton, which turn into lip-synced dance numbers by whichever actor has the misfortune to be on stage.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The fourth is the production’s reliance on a surface-level 1950s nostalgia. The fifth is a finger-wagging for anyone who might problematically harbor any similar nostalgia. The sixth is the absurd plot coda and forced social commentary it tacks on at the end, in a sudden and jarring switch from slapstick to earnestness, with an entreaty to the audience that we “never again” return to the tactics of the Cold War, and have hope, or something.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>You get the idea. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1333\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot9RichSoubletII.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994167\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot9RichSoubletII.jpg 1333w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot9RichSoubletII-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot9RichSoubletII-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot9RichSoubletII-1024x1536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1333px) 100vw, 1333px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L–R) Bryony Pennington, Simon Oskarsson, Katy Owen, Danny Collins, Karl Queensborough and Patrycja Kujawska in ‘North by Northwest.’ (Rich Soublet II)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Adapted and directed by Emma Rice, the play is a complete misreading of Hitchcock’s original film, and its central theme of a mistaken identity that compounds upon itself. Roger Thornhill, who works in advertising, is misapprehended as a CIA operative and abducted by foreign agents. He soon finds that nobody trusts or believes him — not his captors, nor the police, the courts and even his own mother. In Hitchcock’s version, this is illustrated by a disturbing moment as an elevator of strangers breaks into laughter at Thornhill’s notion that someone could be out to murder him. Onstage at ACT, the scene is played as a joke, the punchline of which is Ella Fitzgerald singing “Get Happy” over the P.A. and everyone breaking into a hip-wagging go-go dance party.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What is this play trying to do? Why does it turn Cary Grant’s distinguished Thornhill into an uber-\u003ca href=\"https://x.com/JillFilipovic/status/2054240710795370892\">chalant\u003c/a> bro? Why does it expect we’ll think a man in women’s clothing is funny? Why do Thornhill (Danny Collins) and love interest Eve Kendall (Patrycja Kujawska), who in Ernest Lehman’s original screenplay bounce beautifully around each other, have such little chemistry onstage despite reciting the same lines? Why is the play obsessed with the phrase “global security,” mocking it repeatedly, as if staving off World War III was not a worthy goal? Why is a play set in 1959 using so many songs — Wayne Newton’s “Heart,” Nina Simone’s “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” a knockoff of Isaac Hayes’ “Shaft” — from the 1960s and ’70s? Why does it treat the plot like fluff but then have the narrator turn somber and wonder, out loud, “When will the killings stop?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994166\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Simon Oskarsson, Danny Collins and Bryony Pennington in ‘North by Northwest.’ (Rich Soublet II)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I have a guess for some of this, and that’s the successful nine-year run in London of \u003cem>The 39 Steps\u003c/em>, a stage play adapted from the Hitchcock film that’s closest, thematically, to \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em>. Like this production, \u003cem>The 39 Steps\u003c/em> utilized a small cast playing many characters, and a sparse but modular set, with quick pacing. But \u003cem>The 39 Steps\u003c/em>, on stage, was well-crafted and trusted the audience. This \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em> assumes the audience isn’t smart enough to follow the plot, so the narrator (Katy Owen) leads call-and-response sessions with us to remember who’s who.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s also just focused on the wrong thing. The core of \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em> is one man’s need for identity and trust after he’s been stripped of it. At ACT, it’s spies, both onstage and off. A prompt in the lobby asks patrons for their favorite conspiracy. Walking tours associated with the production visit sites of “Cold War paranoia and espionage” near Union Square. Even Hitchcock himself, speaking with François Truffaut, called the inclusion of government secrets in the film “my best MacGuffin, and by that I mean the emptiest, the most nonexistent, and the most absurd.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As for the play’s awkward new ending, and retconning the sexism of the 1950s: why pick on \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em>? Why not undertake that with dim-witted pap like \u003cem>Kiss Me Stupid\u003c/em>, or \u003cem>Under the Yum-Yum Tree\u003c/em>? Or why not adapt a Hitchcock screenplay with more complex gender dynamics to explore, like \u003cem>Marnie\u003c/em>?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot11RichSoubletII.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994169\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot11RichSoubletII.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot11RichSoubletII-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot11RichSoubletII-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot11RichSoubletII-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Danny Collins as Roger Thornhill in ‘North by Northwest.’ (Rich Soublet II)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I feel compelled here to note some of the good. The set — a rack of suits, four revolving doors and a parade of suitcases — gets repurposed in semi-interesting ways. The actors’ quick changes and choreography can be impressive. The famous cropduster and Mount Rushmore scenes have some inventive stage adaptation. Bryony Pennington (as Anna and others) is a standout, and an effervescent Owen makes the best with what she’s given.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But these are crowded out by the rest of it all, which is just plain disrespectful to one of history’s best films. If, five years from now, we see a zany \u003cem>Gong Show\u003c/em>-style staging of \u003cem>On the Waterfront\u003c/em> with disco interludes, I’ll know which play to blame.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘North By Northwest’ runs through Oct. 18 at the Toni Rembe Theater (415 Geary St.) in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2026-27-season/north-by-northwest\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>I cannot tell you how much I hated \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em>, which opened this week at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/act\">ACT\u003c/a> in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>. It is an insult to the source material of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 film, and an insult to the audience’s intelligence. I ran from it as soon as I could, muttering obscenities to anyone within earshot.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This production’s first abomination is a shift in tone from a sophisticated, understated thriller to an over-the-top comedy, rife with insipid stereotypes and cheap gags. The second is the near-constant presence onstage of a narrator, who sucks the life out of any scene by overexplaining the action. The third is regular interruptions from songs by 1950s female pop vocalists like Peggy Lee and Betty Hutton, which turn into lip-synced dance numbers by whichever actor has the misfortune to be on stage.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>This production’s first abomination is a shift in tone from a sophisticated, understated thriller to an over-the-top comedy, rife with insipid stereotypes and cheap gags. The second is the near-constant presence onstage of a narrator, who sucks the life out of any scene by overexplaining the action. The third is regular interruptions from songs by 1950s female pop vocalists like Peggy Lee and Betty Hutton, which turn into lip-synced dance numbers by whichever actor has the misfortune to be on stage.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The fourth is the production’s reliance on a surface-level 1950s nostalgia. The fifth is a finger-wagging for anyone who might problematically harbor any similar nostalgia. The sixth is the absurd plot coda and forced social commentary it tacks on at the end, in a sudden and jarring switch from slapstick to earnestness, with an entreaty to the audience that we “never again” return to the tactics of the Cold War, and have hope, or something.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The fourth is the production’s reliance on a surface-level 1950s nostalgia. The fifth is a finger-wagging for anyone who might problematically harbor any similar nostalgia. The sixth is the absurd plot coda and forced social commentary it tacks on at the end, in a sudden and jarring switch from slapstick to earnestness, with an entreaty to the audience that we “never again” return to the tactics of the Cold War, and have hope, or something.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Adapted and directed by Emma Rice, the play is a complete misreading of Hitchcock’s original film, and its central theme of a mistaken identity that compounds upon itself. Roger Thornhill, who works in advertising, is misapprehended as a CIA operative and abducted by foreign agents. He soon finds that nobody trusts or believes him — not his captors, nor the police, the courts and even his own mother. In Hitchcock’s version, this is illustrated by a disturbing moment as an elevator of strangers breaks into laughter at Thornhill’s notion that someone could be out to murder him. Onstage at ACT, the scene is played as a joke, the punchline of which is Ella Fitzgerald singing “Get Happy” over the P.A. and everyone breaking into a hip-wagging go-go dance party.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Adapted and directed by Emma Rice, the play is a complete misreading of Hitchcock’s original film, and its central theme of a mistaken identity that compounds upon itself. Roger Thornhill, who works in advertising, is misapprehended as a CIA operative and abducted by foreign agents. He soon finds that nobody trusts or believes him — not his captors, nor the police, the courts and even his own mother. In Hitchcock’s version, this is illustrated by a disturbing moment as an elevator of strangers breaks into laughter at Thornhill’s notion that someone could be out to murder him. Onstage at ACT, the scene is played as a joke, the punchline of which is Ella Fitzgerald singing “Get Happy” over the P.A. and everyone breaking into a hip-wagging go-go dance party.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>What is this play trying to do? Why does it turn Cary Grant’s distinguished Thornhill into an uber-\u003ca href=\"https://x.com/JillFilipovic/status/2054240710795370892\">chalant\u003c/a> bro? Why does it expect we’ll think a man in women’s clothing is funny? Why do Thornhill (Danny Collins) and love interest Eve Kendall (Patrycja Kujawska), who in Ernest Lehman’s original screenplay bounce beautifully around each other, have such little chemistry onstage despite reciting the same lines? Why is the play obsessed with the phrase “global security,” mocking it repeatedly, as if staving off World War III was not a worthy goal? Why is a play set in 1959 using so many songs — Wayne Newton’s “Heart,” Nina Simone’s “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” a knockoff of Isaac Hayes’ “Shaft” — from the 1960s and ’70s? Why does it treat the plot like fluff but then have the narrator turn somber and wonder, out loud, “When will the killings stop?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>What is this play trying to do? Why does it turn Cary Grant’s distinguished Thornhill into an uber-\u003ca href=\"https://x.com/JillFilipovic/status/2054240710795370892\">chalant\u003c/a> bro? Why does it expect we’ll think a man in women’s clothing is funny? Why do Thornhill (Danny Collins) and love interest Eve Kendall (Patrycja Kujawska), who in Ernest Lehman’s original screenplay bounce beautifully around each other, have such little chemistry onstage despite reciting the same lines? Why is the play obsessed with the phrase “global security,” mocking it repeatedly, as if staving off World War III was not a worthy goal? Why is a play set in 1959 using so many songs — Wayne Newton’s “Heart,” Nina Simone’s “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” a knockoff of Isaac Hayes’ “Shaft” — from the 1960s and ’70s? Why does it treat the plot like fluff but then have the narrator turn somber and wonder, out loud, “When will the killings stop?”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994166\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Simon Oskarsson, Danny Collins and Bryony Pennington in ‘North by Northwest.’\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Rich Soublet II)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>I have a guess for some of this, and that’s the successful nine-year run in London of \u003cem>The 39 Steps\u003c/em>, a stage play adapted from the Hitchcock film that’s closest, thematically, to \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em>. Like this production, \u003cem>The 39 Steps\u003c/em> utilized a small cast playing many characters, and a sparse but modular set, with quick pacing. But \u003cem>The 39 Steps\u003c/em>, on stage, was well-crafted and trusted the audience. This \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em> assumes the audience isn’t smart enough to follow the plot, so the narrator (Katy Owen) leads call-and-response sessions with us to remember who’s who.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s also just focused on the wrong thing. The core of \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em> is one man’s need for identity and trust after he’s been stripped of it. At ACT, it’s spies, both onstage and off. A prompt in the lobby asks patrons for their favorite conspiracy. Walking tours associated with the production visit sites of “Cold War paranoia and espionage” near Union Square. Even Hitchcock himself, speaking with François Truffaut, called the inclusion of government secrets in the film “my best MacGuffin, and by that I mean the emptiest, the most nonexistent, and the most absurd.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It’s also just focused on the wrong thing. The core of \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em> is one man’s need for identity and trust after he’s been stripped of it. At ACT, it’s spies, both onstage and off. A prompt in the lobby asks patrons for their favorite conspiracy. Walking tours associated with the production visit sites of “Cold War paranoia and espionage” near Union Square. Even Hitchcock himself, speaking with François Truffaut, called the inclusion of government secrets in the film “my best MacGuffin, and by that I mean the emptiest, the most nonexistent, and the most absurd.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As for the play’s awkward new ending, and retconning the sexism of the 1950s: why pick on \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em>? Why not undertake that with dim-witted pap like \u003cem>Kiss Me Stupid\u003c/em>, or \u003cem>Under the Yum-Yum Tree\u003c/em>? Or why not adapt a Hitchcock screenplay with more complex gender dynamics to explore, like \u003cem>Marnie\u003c/em>?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>As for the play’s awkward new ending, and retconning the sexism of the 1950s: why pick on \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em>? Why not undertake that with dim-witted pap like \u003cem>Kiss Me Stupid\u003c/em>, or \u003cem>Under the Yum-Yum Tree\u003c/em>? Or why not adapt a Hitchcock screenplay with more complex gender dynamics to explore, like \u003cem>Marnie\u003c/em>?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>I feel compelled here to note some of the good. The set — a rack of suits, four revolving doors and a parade of suitcases — gets repurposed in semi-interesting ways. The actors’ quick changes and choreography can be impressive. The famous cropduster and Mount Rushmore scenes have some inventive stage adaptation. Bryony Pennington (as Anna and others) is a standout, and an effervescent Owen makes the best with what she’s given.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But these are crowded out by the rest of it all, which is just plain disrespectful to one of history’s best films. If, five years from now, we see a zany \u003cem>Gong Show\u003c/em>-style staging of \u003cem>On the Waterfront\u003c/em> with disco interludes, I’ll know which play to blame.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘North By Northwest’ runs through Oct. 18 at the Toni Rembe Theater (415 Geary St.) in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2026-27-season/north-by-northwest\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "With insipid stereotypes and cheap gags, the play makes a zany comedy out of the sophisticated film.",
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"title": "Review: ‘North By Northwest’ Is an Insult to Hitchcock at ACT in San Francisco | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>I cannot tell you how much I hated \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em>, which opened this week at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/act\">ACT\u003c/a> in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>. It is an insult to the source material of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 film, and an insult to the audience’s intelligence. I ran from it as soon as I could, muttering obscenities to anyone within earshot.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This production’s first abomination is a shift in tone from a sophisticated, understated thriller to an over-the-top comedy, rife with insipid stereotypes and cheap gags. The second is the near-constant presence onstage of a narrator, who sucks the life out of any scene by overexplaining the action. The third is regular interruptions from songs by 1950s female pop vocalists like Peggy Lee and Betty Hutton, which turn into lip-synced dance numbers by whichever actor has the misfortune to be on stage.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The fourth is the production’s reliance on a surface-level 1950s nostalgia. The fifth is a finger-wagging for anyone who might problematically harbor any similar nostalgia. The sixth is the absurd plot coda and forced social commentary it tacks on at the end, in a sudden and jarring switch from slapstick to earnestness, with an entreaty to the audience that we “never again” return to the tactics of the Cold War, and have hope, or something.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>You get the idea. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1333\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot9RichSoubletII.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994167\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot9RichSoubletII.jpg 1333w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot9RichSoubletII-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot9RichSoubletII-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot9RichSoubletII-1024x1536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1333px) 100vw, 1333px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L–R) Bryony Pennington, Simon Oskarsson, Katy Owen, Danny Collins, Karl Queensborough and Patrycja Kujawska in ‘North by Northwest.’ (Rich Soublet II)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Adapted and directed by Emma Rice, the play is a complete misreading of Hitchcock’s original film, and its central theme of a mistaken identity that compounds upon itself. Roger Thornhill, who works in advertising, is misapprehended as a CIA operative and abducted by foreign agents. He soon finds that nobody trusts or believes him — not his captors, nor the police, the courts and even his own mother. In Hitchcock’s version, this is illustrated by a disturbing moment as an elevator of strangers breaks into laughter at Thornhill’s notion that someone could be out to murder him. Onstage at ACT, the scene is played as a joke, the punchline of which is Ella Fitzgerald singing “Get Happy” over the P.A. and everyone breaking into a hip-wagging go-go dance party.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What is this play trying to do? Why does it turn Cary Grant’s distinguished Thornhill into an uber-\u003ca href=\"https://x.com/JillFilipovic/status/2054240710795370892\">chalant\u003c/a> bro? Why does it expect we’ll think a man in women’s clothing is funny? Why do Thornhill (Danny Collins) and love interest Eve Kendall (Patrycja Kujawska), who in Ernest Lehman’s original screenplay bounce beautifully around each other, have such little chemistry onstage despite reciting the same lines? Why is the play obsessed with the phrase “global security,” mocking it repeatedly, as if staving off World War III was not a worthy goal? Why is a play set in 1959 using so many songs — Wayne Newton’s “Heart,” Nina Simone’s “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” a knockoff of Isaac Hayes’ “Shaft” — from the 1960s and ’70s? Why does it treat the plot like fluff but then have the narrator turn somber and wonder, out loud, “When will the killings stop?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994166\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Simon Oskarsson, Danny Collins and Bryony Pennington in ‘North by Northwest.’ (Rich Soublet II)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I have a guess for some of this, and that’s the successful nine-year run in London of \u003cem>The 39 Steps\u003c/em>, a stage play adapted from the Hitchcock film that’s closest, thematically, to \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em>. Like this production, \u003cem>The 39 Steps\u003c/em> utilized a small cast playing many characters, and a sparse but modular set, with quick pacing. But \u003cem>The 39 Steps\u003c/em>, on stage, was well-crafted and trusted the audience. This \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em> assumes the audience isn’t smart enough to follow the plot, so the narrator (Katy Owen) leads call-and-response sessions with us to remember who’s who.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s also just focused on the wrong thing. The core of \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em> is one man’s need for identity and trust after he’s been stripped of it. At ACT, it’s spies, both onstage and off. A prompt in the lobby asks patrons for their favorite conspiracy. Walking tours associated with the production visit sites of “Cold War paranoia and espionage” near Union Square. Even Hitchcock himself, speaking with François Truffaut, called the inclusion of government secrets in the film “my best MacGuffin, and by that I mean the emptiest, the most nonexistent, and the most absurd.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As for the play’s awkward new ending, and retconning the sexism of the 1950s: why pick on \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em>? Why not undertake that with dim-witted pap like \u003cem>Kiss Me Stupid\u003c/em>, or \u003cem>Under the Yum-Yum Tree\u003c/em>? Or why not adapt a Hitchcock screenplay with more complex gender dynamics to explore, like \u003cem>Marnie\u003c/em>?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot11RichSoubletII.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994169\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot11RichSoubletII.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot11RichSoubletII-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot11RichSoubletII-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot11RichSoubletII-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Danny Collins as Roger Thornhill in ‘North by Northwest.’ (Rich Soublet II)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I feel compelled here to note some of the good. The set — a rack of suits, four revolving doors and a parade of suitcases — gets repurposed in semi-interesting ways. The actors’ quick changes and choreography can be impressive. The famous cropduster and Mount Rushmore scenes have some inventive stage adaptation. Bryony Pennington (as Anna and others) is a standout, and an effervescent Owen makes the best with what she’s given.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But these are crowded out by the rest of it all, which is just plain disrespectful to one of history’s best films. If, five years from now, we see a zany \u003cem>Gong Show\u003c/em>-style staging of \u003cem>On the Waterfront\u003c/em> with disco interludes, I’ll know which play to blame.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘North By Northwest’ runs through Oct. 18 at the Toni Rembe Theater (415 Geary St.) in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2026-27-season/north-by-northwest\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "review-negativland-internet-archive-san-francisco",
"title": "At the Internet Archive, Negativland Reminds the World Why They Matter",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>The American music industry has a long history of exploitation, but Negativland really got fleeced. With their long, expensive legal fight over fair use, the Contra Costa County collective changed the trajectory of art, culture and mass media in America. Now, the very principles Negativland defended have been commandeered by full-speed-ahead AI companies to invade, steal and poorly regurgitate the world’s body of knowledge and information.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Or, as they put it during their sold-out show Wednesday night at the San Francisco headquarters of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/internet-archive\">Internet Archive\u003c/a>, “The AI people are using the Negativland model to justify their business model. Fuck them.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5319.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994041\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5319.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5319-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5319-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5319-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle introduces Negativland on Sept. 16, 2026. (Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Internet Archive and Negativland make a perfect pair. The Internet Archive is dedicated to preserving knowledge and culture, no matter how mundane or fleeting. Since 1979, Negativland has resurfaced and remixed the world’s culture into entirely new works of art. (In fact, while driving to the show, I stumbled upon an accidental opening act by tuning in to 89.9 KDFC, where a Schumann symphony clashed with broadcast static and snippets of news announcers’ voices — “glass bottles” … “West Marin” … “a Russian envoy” — from a competing radio station.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Before the set, Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle held up a copy of the group’s best-known release, \u003cem>U2\u003c/em>, and said that, a decade ago, the Internet Archive began hosting more than 4,000 hours of the Negativland radio show \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://kpfa.org/program/over-the-edge/\">Over the Edge\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. “I can’t tell you how meaningful it was to us,” Kahle said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Negativland fans are a lovable bunch. Inside the Internet Archive’s giant hall — a former church, with wooden pews and hymn numbers sharing space with giant servers — strangers struck up conversations that I did not understand. (“We’re big fans of the MX204 and 2100 switch,” for one.) People took photos of the band’s onstage pile of electronic gear. Someone near me reeked of stale weed. Few attendees appeared under the age of 40. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5305.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994037\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5305.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5305-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5305-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5305-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The crowd before Negativland’s performance at the Internet Archive in San Francisco on Sept. 16, 2026. (Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And then, with members Mark Hosler and Jon Leidecker at a long table covered in mixing boards, cables, wires, homemade electronic units and hand-scrawled notes, the show began. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“The point is this … we’re getting a little off-course.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So repeated an NPR-style voice over new-age synths and oscillations hard-panned across the room’s speakers. For over an hour, gurgling sounds, or the sound of raindrops, or strange tympani, bells or drones programmed by Hosler shared space with Leidecker’s vocal samples: \u003cem>“Is the universe just one big brain?” “Please just tell me what is illegal, and I’ll stop doing it.” “Is this real, and do we care?”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This being Negativland, plenty of subversive humor ran through the set. The audience laughed at the more absurd moments, like a man’s voice suggesting that we melt the North Pole, or another’s declaring that “pretty much everything David Lynch does is right-wing coded.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5340.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994042\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5340.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5340-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5340-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5340-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L–R) Mark Hosler and Jon Leidecker of Negativland perform at the Internet Archive in San Francisco on Sept. 16, 2026. (Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the night’s jest blurred with reality. One man’s voice declared that achieving AI goals, despite its ruinous effects on the planet, is more important than achieving climate goals. How many AI zealots think this way? On a similar note, I was plucked from my sound-collage reverie when I actually recognized a sample, of Suno CEO Mike Shulman, claiming that “\u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/E0YL83U5VWk?si=06719ePx3XfGvAAP&t=1400\">It’s not really enjoyable to make music now\u003c/a>.” (I wrote in my notebook: “Idiots Talking About Art & Technology” ← Theme of the set??”)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This overlap of humor and doom came to a head when men’s voices discussed the need for technology to be violent, and Leidecker, expressionless, introduced an exasperated, terrified woman’s voice into their dialogue, repeating, “Friend?! Friend?! \u003cem>FRIEND\u003c/em>?!”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Throughout, Hosler manned the giant board, sometimes spanning his fingers across something that looked like a flux capacitor, sometimes picking up a Fender bass and playing it with an electric toothbrush, sometimes wincing as if he were playing a heavy metal guitar solo. And just when it was needed most, levity came over the phone lines: David “The Weatherman” Wills, calling in from his home in Seattle, providing a running monologue about refrigerator lights, Kaopectate, short-wave radios and eating Speed Stick deodorant.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Afterward, the band announced that they rarely if ever played songs from their albums live, but for an encore, the beat dropped to their 1987 track (and \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_Is_Stupid\">media hoax material\u003c/a>) “\u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/Vrt6o81ku5o?si=Zhn9STORm6TZR3sN\">Christianity is Stupid\u003c/a>.” The crowd audibly whooped. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5363.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994038\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5363.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5363-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5363-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5363-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L–R) Mark Hosler and Jon Leidecker of Negativland at the Internet Archive in San Francisco on Sept. 16, 2026. (Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A Q&A followed, during which Trump was declared “the evil culture-jammer.” Leidecker asked out loud, “How do you have a functioning democracy when there’s no reality?” and advised that while the ideals Negativland worked for have spread wider than they could have imagined, it was important to “make sure you’re pranking \u003cem>upwards\u003c/em>, instead of deceiving everybody.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A confession: the main reason I like Negativland isn’t their agitating, or the ways they’ve undeniably made the music industry and creativity at large better. I like them for their sound output. That may seem like a superficial way of interacting with one of the world’s most important experimental groups, and one could surely argue that their aesthetics are inseparable from their advocacy. But what can I say? I fell in love with them because of their records, not their lawsuits.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Or, as a twisted, effects-laden voice said, and burbled, and sung, at the end of their set on Wednesday: \u003cem>If you don’t understand, the least you can do is enjoy the beautiful music.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5388.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994040\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5388.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5388-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5388-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5388-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Internet Archive in San Francisco, pictured on Sept. 16, 2026. (Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The American music industry has a long history of exploitation, but Negativland really got fleeced. With their long, expensive legal fight over fair use, the Contra Costa County collective changed the trajectory of art, culture and mass media in America. Now, the very principles Negativland defended have been commandeered by full-speed-ahead AI companies to invade, steal and poorly regurgitate the world’s body of knowledge and information.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Or, as they put it during their sold-out show Wednesday night at the San Francisco headquarters of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/internet-archive\">Internet Archive\u003c/a>, “The AI people are using the Negativland model to justify their business model. Fuck them.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5319.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994041\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5319.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5319-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5319-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5319-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle introduces Negativland on Sept. 16, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5319.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994041\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle introduces Negativland on Sept. 16, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Internet Archive and Negativland make a perfect pair. The Internet Archive is dedicated to preserving knowledge and culture, no matter how mundane or fleeting. Since 1979, Negativland has resurfaced and remixed the world’s culture into entirely new works of art. (In fact, while driving to the show, I stumbled upon an accidental opening act by tuning in to 89.9 KDFC, where a Schumann symphony clashed with broadcast static and snippets of news announcers’ voices — “glass bottles” … “West Marin” … “a Russian envoy” — from a competing radio station.)\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Internet Archive and Negativland make a perfect pair. The Internet Archive is dedicated to preserving knowledge and culture, no matter how mundane or fleeting. Since 1979, Negativland has resurfaced and remixed the world’s culture into entirely new works of art. (In fact, while driving to the show, I stumbled upon an accidental opening act by tuning in to 89.9 KDFC, where a Schumann symphony clashed with broadcast static and snippets of news announcers’ voices — “glass bottles” … “West Marin” … “a Russian envoy” — from a competing radio station.)\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Before the set, Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle held up a copy of the group’s best-known release, \u003cem>U2\u003c/em>, and said that, a decade ago, the Internet Archive began hosting more than 4,000 hours of the Negativland radio show \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://kpfa.org/program/over-the-edge/\">Over the Edge\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. “I can’t tell you how meaningful it was to us,” Kahle said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Before the set, Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle held up a copy of the group’s best-known release, \u003cem>U2\u003c/em>, and said that, a decade ago, the Internet Archive began hosting more than 4,000 hours of the Negativland radio show \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://kpfa.org/program/over-the-edge/\">Over the Edge\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. “I can’t tell you how meaningful it was to us,” Kahle said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Negativland fans are a lovable bunch. Inside the Internet Archive’s giant hall — a former church, with wooden pews and hymn numbers sharing space with giant servers — strangers struck up conversations that I did not understand. (“We’re big fans of the MX204 and 2100 switch,” for one.) People took photos of the band’s onstage pile of electronic gear. Someone near me reeked of stale weed. Few attendees appeared under the age of 40. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Negativland fans are a lovable bunch. Inside the Internet Archive’s giant hall — a former church, with wooden pews and hymn numbers sharing space with giant servers — strangers struck up conversations that I did not understand. (“We’re big fans of the MX204 and 2100 switch,” for one.) People took photos of the band’s onstage pile of electronic gear. Someone near me reeked of stale weed. Few attendees appeared under the age of 40. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5305.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994037\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5305.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5305-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5305-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5305-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The crowd before Negativland’s performance at the Internet Archive in San Francisco on Sept. 16, 2026. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And then, with members Mark Hosler and Jon Leidecker at a long table covered in mixing boards, cables, wires, homemade electronic units and hand-scrawled notes, the show began. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“The point is this … we’re getting a little off-course.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So repeated an NPR-style voice over new-age synths and oscillations hard-panned across the room’s speakers. For over an hour, gurgling sounds, or the sound of raindrops, or strange tympani, bells or drones programmed by Hosler shared space with Leidecker’s vocal samples: \u003cem>“Is the universe just one big brain?” “Please just tell me what is illegal, and I’ll stop doing it.” “Is this real, and do we care?”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>So repeated an NPR-style voice over new-age synths and oscillations hard-panned across the room’s speakers. For over an hour, gurgling sounds, or the sound of raindrops, or strange tympani, bells or drones programmed by Hosler shared space with Leidecker’s vocal samples: \u003cem>“Is the universe just one big brain?” “Please just tell me what is illegal, and I’ll stop doing it.” “Is this real, and do we care?”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This being Negativland, plenty of subversive humor ran through the set. The audience laughed at the more absurd moments, like a man’s voice suggesting that we melt the North Pole, or another’s declaring that “pretty much everything David Lynch does is right-wing coded.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>This being Negativland, plenty of subversive humor ran through the set. The audience laughed at the more absurd moments, like a man’s voice suggesting that we melt the North Pole, or another’s declaring that “pretty much everything David Lynch does is right-wing coded.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5340.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994042\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5340.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5340-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5340-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5340-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L–R) Mark Hosler and Jon Leidecker of Negativland perform at the Internet Archive in San Francisco on Sept. 16, 2026. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But the night’s jest blurred with reality. One man’s voice declared that achieving AI goals, despite its ruinous effects on the planet, is more important than achieving climate goals. How many AI zealots think this way? On a similar note, I was plucked from my sound-collage reverie when I actually recognized a sample, of Suno CEO Mike Shulman, claiming that “\u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/E0YL83U5VWk?si=06719ePx3XfGvAAP&t=1400\">It’s not really enjoyable to make music now\u003c/a>.” (I wrote in my notebook: “Idiots Talking About Art & Technology” ← Theme of the set??”)\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This overlap of humor and doom came to a head when men’s voices discussed the need for technology to be violent, and Leidecker, expressionless, introduced an exasperated, terrified woman’s voice into their dialogue, repeating, “Friend?! Friend?! \u003cem>FRIEND\u003c/em>?!”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Throughout, Hosler manned the giant board, sometimes spanning his fingers across something that looked like a flux capacitor, sometimes picking up a Fender bass and playing it with an electric toothbrush, sometimes wincing as if he were playing a heavy metal guitar solo. And just when it was needed most, levity came over the phone lines: David “The Weatherman” Wills, calling in from his home in Seattle, providing a running monologue about refrigerator lights, Kaopectate, short-wave radios and eating Speed Stick deodorant.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Afterward, the band announced that they rarely if ever played songs from their albums live, but for an encore, the beat dropped to their 1987 track (and \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_Is_Stupid\">media hoax material\u003c/a>) “\u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/Vrt6o81ku5o?si=Zhn9STORm6TZR3sN\">Christianity is Stupid\u003c/a>.” The crowd audibly whooped. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A Q&A followed, during which Trump was declared “the evil culture-jammer.” Leidecker asked out loud, “How do you have a functioning democracy when there’s no reality?” and advised that while the ideals Negativland worked for have spread wider than they could have imagined, it was important to “make sure you’re pranking \u003cem>upwards\u003c/em>, instead of deceiving everybody.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A confession: the main reason I like Negativland isn’t their agitating, or the ways they’ve undeniably made the music industry and creativity at large better. I like them for their sound output. That may seem like a superficial way of interacting with one of the world’s most important experimental groups, and one could surely argue that their aesthetics are inseparable from their advocacy. But what can I say? I fell in love with them because of their records, not their lawsuits.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Or, as a twisted, effects-laden voice said, and burbled, and sung, at the end of their set on Wednesday: \u003cem>If you don’t understand, the least you can do is enjoy the beautiful music.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "At the Internet Archive, Negativland Reminds the World Why They Matter | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>The American music industry has a long history of exploitation, but Negativland really got fleeced. With their long, expensive legal fight over fair use, the Contra Costa County collective changed the trajectory of art, culture and mass media in America. Now, the very principles Negativland defended have been commandeered by full-speed-ahead AI companies to invade, steal and poorly regurgitate the world’s body of knowledge and information.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Or, as they put it during their sold-out show Wednesday night at the San Francisco headquarters of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/internet-archive\">Internet Archive\u003c/a>, “The AI people are using the Negativland model to justify their business model. Fuck them.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5319.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994041\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5319.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5319-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5319-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5319-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle introduces Negativland on Sept. 16, 2026. (Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Internet Archive and Negativland make a perfect pair. The Internet Archive is dedicated to preserving knowledge and culture, no matter how mundane or fleeting. Since 1979, Negativland has resurfaced and remixed the world’s culture into entirely new works of art. (In fact, while driving to the show, I stumbled upon an accidental opening act by tuning in to 89.9 KDFC, where a Schumann symphony clashed with broadcast static and snippets of news announcers’ voices — “glass bottles” … “West Marin” … “a Russian envoy” — from a competing radio station.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Before the set, Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle held up a copy of the group’s best-known release, \u003cem>U2\u003c/em>, and said that, a decade ago, the Internet Archive began hosting more than 4,000 hours of the Negativland radio show \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://kpfa.org/program/over-the-edge/\">Over the Edge\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. “I can’t tell you how meaningful it was to us,” Kahle said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Negativland fans are a lovable bunch. Inside the Internet Archive’s giant hall — a former church, with wooden pews and hymn numbers sharing space with giant servers — strangers struck up conversations that I did not understand. (“We’re big fans of the MX204 and 2100 switch,” for one.) People took photos of the band’s onstage pile of electronic gear. Someone near me reeked of stale weed. Few attendees appeared under the age of 40. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5305.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994037\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5305.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5305-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5305-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5305-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The crowd before Negativland’s performance at the Internet Archive in San Francisco on Sept. 16, 2026. (Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And then, with members Mark Hosler and Jon Leidecker at a long table covered in mixing boards, cables, wires, homemade electronic units and hand-scrawled notes, the show began. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“The point is this … we’re getting a little off-course.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So repeated an NPR-style voice over new-age synths and oscillations hard-panned across the room’s speakers. For over an hour, gurgling sounds, or the sound of raindrops, or strange tympani, bells or drones programmed by Hosler shared space with Leidecker’s vocal samples: \u003cem>“Is the universe just one big brain?” “Please just tell me what is illegal, and I’ll stop doing it.” “Is this real, and do we care?”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This being Negativland, plenty of subversive humor ran through the set. The audience laughed at the more absurd moments, like a man’s voice suggesting that we melt the North Pole, or another’s declaring that “pretty much everything David Lynch does is right-wing coded.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5340.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994042\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5340.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5340-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5340-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5340-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L–R) Mark Hosler and Jon Leidecker of Negativland perform at the Internet Archive in San Francisco on Sept. 16, 2026. (Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the night’s jest blurred with reality. One man’s voice declared that achieving AI goals, despite its ruinous effects on the planet, is more important than achieving climate goals. How many AI zealots think this way? On a similar note, I was plucked from my sound-collage reverie when I actually recognized a sample, of Suno CEO Mike Shulman, claiming that “\u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/E0YL83U5VWk?si=06719ePx3XfGvAAP&t=1400\">It’s not really enjoyable to make music now\u003c/a>.” (I wrote in my notebook: “Idiots Talking About Art & Technology” ← Theme of the set??”)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This overlap of humor and doom came to a head when men’s voices discussed the need for technology to be violent, and Leidecker, expressionless, introduced an exasperated, terrified woman’s voice into their dialogue, repeating, “Friend?! Friend?! \u003cem>FRIEND\u003c/em>?!”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Throughout, Hosler manned the giant board, sometimes spanning his fingers across something that looked like a flux capacitor, sometimes picking up a Fender bass and playing it with an electric toothbrush, sometimes wincing as if he were playing a heavy metal guitar solo. And just when it was needed most, levity came over the phone lines: David “The Weatherman” Wills, calling in from his home in Seattle, providing a running monologue about refrigerator lights, Kaopectate, short-wave radios and eating Speed Stick deodorant.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Afterward, the band announced that they rarely if ever played songs from their albums live, but for an encore, the beat dropped to their 1987 track (and \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_Is_Stupid\">media hoax material\u003c/a>) “\u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/Vrt6o81ku5o?si=Zhn9STORm6TZR3sN\">Christianity is Stupid\u003c/a>.” The crowd audibly whooped. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5363.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994038\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5363.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5363-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5363-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5363-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L–R) Mark Hosler and Jon Leidecker of Negativland at the Internet Archive in San Francisco on Sept. 16, 2026. (Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A Q&A followed, during which Trump was declared “the evil culture-jammer.” Leidecker asked out loud, “How do you have a functioning democracy when there’s no reality?” and advised that while the ideals Negativland worked for have spread wider than they could have imagined, it was important to “make sure you’re pranking \u003cem>upwards\u003c/em>, instead of deceiving everybody.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A confession: the main reason I like Negativland isn’t their agitating, or the ways they’ve undeniably made the music industry and creativity at large better. I like them for their sound output. That may seem like a superficial way of interacting with one of the world’s most important experimental groups, and one could surely argue that their aesthetics are inseparable from their advocacy. But what can I say? I fell in love with them because of their records, not their lawsuits.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Or, as a twisted, effects-laden voice said, and burbled, and sung, at the end of their set on Wednesday: \u003cem>If you don’t understand, the least you can do is enjoy the beautiful music.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5388.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994040\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5388.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5388-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5388-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/IMG_5388-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Internet Archive in San Francisco, pictured on Sept. 16, 2026. (Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "sam-green-the-oldest-person-in-the-world-documentary",
"title": "Sam Green’s Latest Documentary Searches for Longevity and Meaning",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>Every new Sam Green documentary is an event. It has a lot to do with his unique in-person presentation/performance of works like \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://utopiainfourmovements.com/\">Utopia in Four Movements\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (2010), \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://buckminsterfullerfilm.com/\">The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (2012, with live accompaniment by Yo La Tengo), \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://athousandthoughts.film/\">A Thousand Thoughts\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (2018, live with Kronos Quartet) and \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13931594/32-sounds-sam-green-documentary-live-film\">32 Sounds\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (2022, live with JD Samson).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Another special quality of Green’s films, though, is that they proffer a genuine invitation — wide open, no obligation — into curious crannies and nooks of our life on Earth. As interviewer and narrator, Green is an empathetic and acutely nonjudgmental witness of whoever is in front of his camera. He oozes both wonder and respect at his subjects’ singular passions or off-the-wall perspectives.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>His narrator persona is Curious Everyman Philosopher, and I imagine Green’s mantra to be something like, “Life — no, \u003cem>people\u003c/em> — are stranger and deeper and richer than I could have ever imagined, and I am so lucky that I found a job that pays me to meet them.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Director-Sam-Green-in-studio_credit-Catalina-Kulczar.jpg\" alt=\"white man with gray hair smiles in front of wall covered in movie posters and photographs\" class=\"wp-image-13994033\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Director-Sam-Green-in-studio_credit-Catalina-Kulczar.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Director-Sam-Green-in-studio_credit-Catalina-Kulczar-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Director-Sam-Green-in-studio_credit-Catalina-Kulczar-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Director Sam Green in his studio. (Catalina Kulczar)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While that is the Sam Green that comes through in his films, I also knew him personally during his pivotal years in the vibrant local documentary scene after he got a master’s degree in journalism at UC Berkeley in the 1990s. He made the remarkable \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://archive.org/details/rainbowman\">The Rainbow Man/John 3:16\u003c/a>\u003c/em> and the 2004 Academy Award-nominated \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://www.theweatherunderground.info/\">The Weather Underground\u003c/a>\u003c/em> in the Bay Area before moving back to the East Coast, and it’s fair to say he developed his collaborative skills as well as his voice here.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One of the corollaries of Green being a lovely guy is that his films are designed and constructed to continually allow each viewer space for their own experience. That can involve a prompt (the surprising audio slices that comprise the brilliant \u003cem>32 Sounds\u003c/em>, for example) that makes us remember a departed loved one, or that triggers a free-associating reverie that (speaking from personal experience) evokes the ephemeral, mysterious sensation of being human and alive.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While Green was our guide through his last several films, he casts himself as the protagonist of his latest work, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.theoldestperson.com/\">The Oldest Person in the World\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (screening around the Bay Area Sept. 20–22, with the filmmaker in person at all shows). The new film, which premiered (like nearly all his films) at Sundance and screened at SFFILM in April, is the director’s most personal work, incorporating his young son, deceased brother and nonagenarian mother. It is also, to me, his least compelling film.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For more than a decade, Green has filmed the current (and inevitably temporary) holder of the Guinness World Record for \u003ca href=\"https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/84549-oldest-person-living\">oldest person in the world\u003c/a>. He found a poignant way to insert a segment on the subject into a previous film; here he places that pursuit at the center of the proceedings, beginning with Brooklyn resident Susannah Mushatt Jones in 2015 and continuing to the present.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1026\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-3-Susannah-Mushatt-Jones-age-116_credit-Yoni-Brook.jpg\" alt=\"old Black woman faces large birthday cake with poeple around her\" class=\"wp-image-13994035\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-3-Susannah-Mushatt-Jones-age-116_credit-Yoni-Brook.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-3-Susannah-Mushatt-Jones-age-116_credit-Yoni-Brook-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-3-Susannah-Mushatt-Jones-age-116_credit-Yoni-Brook-768x492.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-3-Susannah-Mushatt-Jones-age-116_credit-Yoni-Brook-1536x985.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Susannah Mushatt Jones at 116. (Yoni Brook)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The problem is that while our first response to most Guinness records is “Yowsa! That’s incredible!,” our next thought is, “OK, but what does it actually mean? What does that cool factoid tell us about our world?” The answer, in most cases, is not much.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For some reason, Green asks the oldest living people the same pedestrian question that every TV reporter asks: “What’s your secret?” That proves to be another dead end, as nobody has an illuminating or satisfying answer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Green realizes that he isn’t looking for lessons to live by from these folks so much as probing why the rest of us — generally in our active primes with ample possibilities to pick from—are fascinated by and seemingly envious of their longevity. (Green doesn’t comment on their frailty, diminished mobility, proximate need for round-the-clock care, the circumscribed routine of their day-to-day — none of which we look forward to.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-2-Emma-Morano-age-114_2013_credit-Roberto-Masiero.jpg\" alt=\"old smiling woman in knit shawl next to framed pictures of younger woman and baby\" class=\"wp-image-13994034\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-2-Emma-Morano-age-114_2013_credit-Roberto-Masiero.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-2-Emma-Morano-age-114_2013_credit-Roberto-Masiero-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-2-Emma-Morano-age-114_2013_credit-Roberto-Masiero-768x614.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-2-Emma-Morano-age-114_2013_credit-Roberto-Masiero-1536x1229.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Emma Morano, age 114 in 2013. (Roberto Masiero)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I think he’s reaching for our default setting that life is precious and finite and cherished. To that end, the filmmaker grapples with the loss of his brother by suicide 15 years earlier, and the arrival of his first child some 10 years ago. Green has never been a sentimentalist, though, and his voice-over, to my ears, wavers without finding the right through line between hard knocks and soft-centered.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The sticky, tricky truth about life — both living it and looking back on it — is that the profound and the banal go hand in hand. The same could be said of moviemaking. The relative success of turning a rare snippet of decades-old home-movie footage of Green and his brother, or of Green’s small kid saying the “darndest” things in response to his dad’s questions, into an emotional or dramatic moment is, for better and worse, in the eye of the beholder.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Consequently, as with all of his films, watching \u003cem>The Oldest Person in the World\u003c/em> is a personal experience. Green’s musings about presence and absence, and film’s ability to freeze moments and memorialize the dead, will speak to many people. In my case, cinematic immortality works better with Greta Garbo and Tim Curry than with my family.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘The Oldest Person in the World’ screens Sept. 19 at 2:30 pm at the \u003ca href=\"https://rialtocinemas.com/now-playing-elm/the-oldest-person-in-the-world-elm/\">Rialto Elmwood\u003c/a> (2966 College Ave., Berkeley); Sept. 20 and 22, 2026 at the \u003ca href=\"https://roxie.com/film/the-oldest-person-in-the-world/\">Roxie Theater\u003c/a> (3116 16th St., San Francisco); and Sept. 20 at the \u003ca href=\"https://cinema.cafilm.org/film/the-oldest-person-in-the-world\">Smith Rafael Film Center\u003c/a> in (1118 Fourth St., San Rafael).\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sam Green will be in person for Q&As after each screening.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Every new Sam Green documentary is an event. It has a lot to do with his unique in-person presentation/performance of works like \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://utopiainfourmovements.com/\">Utopia in Four Movements\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (2010), \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://buckminsterfullerfilm.com/\">The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (2012, with live accompaniment by Yo La Tengo), \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://athousandthoughts.film/\">A Thousand Thoughts\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (2018, live with Kronos Quartet) and \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13931594/32-sounds-sam-green-documentary-live-film\">32 Sounds\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (2022, live with JD Samson).\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Another special quality of Green’s films, though, is that they proffer a genuine invitation — wide open, no obligation — into curious crannies and nooks of our life on Earth. As interviewer and narrator, Green is an empathetic and acutely nonjudgmental witness of whoever is in front of his camera. He oozes both wonder and respect at his subjects’ singular passions or off-the-wall perspectives.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Another special quality of Green’s films, though, is that they proffer a genuine invitation — wide open, no obligation — into curious crannies and nooks of our life on Earth. As interviewer and narrator, Green is an empathetic and acutely nonjudgmental witness of whoever is in front of his camera. He oozes both wonder and respect at his subjects’ singular passions or off-the-wall perspectives.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>His narrator persona is Curious Everyman Philosopher, and I imagine Green’s mantra to be something like, “Life — no, \u003cem>people\u003c/em> — are stranger and deeper and richer than I could have ever imagined, and I am so lucky that I found a job that pays me to meet them.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>His narrator persona is Curious Everyman Philosopher, and I imagine Green’s mantra to be something like, “Life — no, \u003cem>people\u003c/em> — are stranger and deeper and richer than I could have ever imagined, and I am so lucky that I found a job that pays me to meet them.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Director-Sam-Green-in-studio_credit-Catalina-Kulczar.jpg\" alt=\"white man with gray hair smiles in front of wall covered in movie posters and photographs\" class=\"wp-image-13994033\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Director-Sam-Green-in-studio_credit-Catalina-Kulczar.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Director-Sam-Green-in-studio_credit-Catalina-Kulczar-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Director-Sam-Green-in-studio_credit-Catalina-Kulczar-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Director Sam Green in his studio.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Catalina Kulczar)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Director-Sam-Green-in-studio_credit-Catalina-Kulczar.jpg\" alt=\"white man with gray hair smiles in front of wall covered in movie posters and photographs\" class=\"wp-image-13994033\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Director Sam Green in his studio.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Catalina Kulczar)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While that is the Sam Green that comes through in his films, I also knew him personally during his pivotal years in the vibrant local documentary scene after he got a master’s degree in journalism at UC Berkeley in the 1990s. He made the remarkable \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://archive.org/details/rainbowman\">The Rainbow Man/John 3:16\u003c/a>\u003c/em> and the 2004 Academy Award-nominated \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://www.theweatherunderground.info/\">The Weather Underground\u003c/a>\u003c/em> in the Bay Area before moving back to the East Coast, and it’s fair to say he developed his collaborative skills as well as his voice here.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While that is the Sam Green that comes through in his films, I also knew him personally during his pivotal years in the vibrant local documentary scene after he got a master’s degree in journalism at UC Berkeley in the 1990s. He made the remarkable \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://archive.org/details/rainbowman\">The Rainbow Man/John 3:16\u003c/a>\u003c/em> and the 2004 Academy Award-nominated \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://www.theweatherunderground.info/\">The Weather Underground\u003c/a>\u003c/em> in the Bay Area before moving back to the East Coast, and it’s fair to say he developed his collaborative skills as well as his voice here.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One of the corollaries of Green being a lovely guy is that his films are designed and constructed to continually allow each viewer space for their own experience. That can involve a prompt (the surprising audio slices that comprise the brilliant \u003cem>32 Sounds\u003c/em>, for example) that makes us remember a departed loved one, or that triggers a free-associating reverie that (speaking from personal experience) evokes the ephemeral, mysterious sensation of being human and alive.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>One of the corollaries of Green being a lovely guy is that his films are designed and constructed to continually allow each viewer space for their own experience. That can involve a prompt (the surprising audio slices that comprise the brilliant \u003cem>32 Sounds\u003c/em>, for example) that makes us remember a departed loved one, or that triggers a free-associating reverie that (speaking from personal experience) evokes the ephemeral, mysterious sensation of being human and alive.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While Green was our guide through his last several films, he casts himself as the protagonist of his latest work, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.theoldestperson.com/\">The Oldest Person in the World\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (screening around the Bay Area Sept. 20–22, with the filmmaker in person at all shows). The new film, which premiered (like nearly all his films) at Sundance and screened at SFFILM in April, is the director’s most personal work, incorporating his young son, deceased brother and nonagenarian mother. It is also, to me, his least compelling film.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While Green was our guide through his last several films, he casts himself as the protagonist of his latest work, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.theoldestperson.com/\">The Oldest Person in the World\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (screening around the Bay Area Sept. 20–22, with the filmmaker in person at all shows). The new film, which premiered (like nearly all his films) at Sundance and screened at SFFILM in April, is the director’s most personal work, incorporating his young son, deceased brother and nonagenarian mother. It is also, to me, his least compelling film.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For more than a decade, Green has filmed the current (and inevitably temporary) holder of the Guinness World Record for \u003ca href=\"https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/84549-oldest-person-living\">oldest person in the world\u003c/a>. He found a poignant way to insert a segment on the subject into a previous film; here he places that pursuit at the center of the proceedings, beginning with Brooklyn resident Susannah Mushatt Jones in 2015 and continuing to the present.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For more than a decade, Green has filmed the current (and inevitably temporary) holder of the Guinness World Record for \u003ca href=\"https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/84549-oldest-person-living\">oldest person in the world\u003c/a>. He found a poignant way to insert a segment on the subject into a previous film; here he places that pursuit at the center of the proceedings, beginning with Brooklyn resident Susannah Mushatt Jones in 2015 and continuing to the present.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-3-Susannah-Mushatt-Jones-age-116_credit-Yoni-Brook.jpg\" alt=\"old Black woman faces large birthday cake with poeple around her\" class=\"wp-image-13994035\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-3-Susannah-Mushatt-Jones-age-116_credit-Yoni-Brook.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-3-Susannah-Mushatt-Jones-age-116_credit-Yoni-Brook-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-3-Susannah-Mushatt-Jones-age-116_credit-Yoni-Brook-768x492.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-3-Susannah-Mushatt-Jones-age-116_credit-Yoni-Brook-1536x985.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> Susannah Mushatt Jones at 116.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Yoni Brook)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-3-Susannah-Mushatt-Jones-age-116_credit-Yoni-Brook.jpg\" alt=\"old Black woman faces large birthday cake with poeple around her\" class=\"wp-image-13994035\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> Susannah Mushatt Jones at 116.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Yoni Brook)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The problem is that while our first response to most Guinness records is “Yowsa! That’s incredible!,” our next thought is, “OK, but what does it actually mean? What does that cool factoid tell us about our world?” The answer, in most cases, is not much.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The problem is that while our first response to most Guinness records is “Yowsa! That’s incredible!,” our next thought is, “OK, but what does it actually mean? What does that cool factoid tell us about our world?” The answer, in most cases, is not much.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For some reason, Green asks the oldest living people the same pedestrian question that every TV reporter asks: “What’s your secret?” That proves to be another dead end, as nobody has an illuminating or satisfying answer.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For some reason, Green asks the oldest living people the same pedestrian question that every TV reporter asks: “What’s your secret?” That proves to be another dead end, as nobody has an illuminating or satisfying answer.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Green realizes that he isn’t looking for lessons to live by from these folks so much as probing why the rest of us — generally in our active primes with ample possibilities to pick from—are fascinated by and seemingly envious of their longevity. (Green doesn’t comment on their frailty, diminished mobility, proximate need for round-the-clock care, the circumscribed routine of their day-to-day — none of which we look forward to.)\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Green realizes that he isn’t looking for lessons to live by from these folks so much as probing why the rest of us — generally in our active primes with ample possibilities to pick from—are fascinated by and seemingly envious of their longevity. (Green doesn’t comment on their frailty, diminished mobility, proximate need for round-the-clock care, the circumscribed routine of their day-to-day — none of which we look forward to.)\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-2-Emma-Morano-age-114_2013_credit-Roberto-Masiero.jpg\" alt=\"old smiling woman in knit shawl next to framed pictures of younger woman and baby\" class=\"wp-image-13994034\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-2-Emma-Morano-age-114_2013_credit-Roberto-Masiero.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-2-Emma-Morano-age-114_2013_credit-Roberto-Masiero-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-2-Emma-Morano-age-114_2013_credit-Roberto-Masiero-768x614.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-2-Emma-Morano-age-114_2013_credit-Roberto-Masiero-1536x1229.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Emma Morano, age 114 in 2013.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Roberto Masiero)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>I think he’s reaching for our default setting that life is precious and finite and cherished. To that end, the filmmaker grapples with the loss of his brother by suicide 15 years earlier, and the arrival of his first child some 10 years ago. Green has never been a sentimentalist, though, and his voice-over, to my ears, wavers without finding the right through line between hard knocks and soft-centered.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>I think he’s reaching for our default setting that life is precious and finite and cherished. To that end, the filmmaker grapples with the loss of his brother by suicide 15 years earlier, and the arrival of his first child some 10 years ago. Green has never been a sentimentalist, though, and his voice-over, to my ears, wavers without finding the right through line between hard knocks and soft-centered.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The sticky, tricky truth about life — both living it and looking back on it — is that the profound and the banal go hand in hand. The same could be said of moviemaking. The relative success of turning a rare snippet of decades-old home-movie footage of Green and his brother, or of Green’s small kid saying the “darndest” things in response to his dad’s questions, into an emotional or dramatic moment is, for better and worse, in the eye of the beholder.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Consequently, as with all of his films, watching \u003cem>The Oldest Person in the World\u003c/em> is a personal experience. Green’s musings about presence and absence, and film’s ability to freeze moments and memorialize the dead, will speak to many people. In my case, cinematic immortality works better with Greta Garbo and Tim Curry than with my family.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘The Oldest Person in the World’ screens Sept. 19 at 2:30 pm at the \u003ca href=\"https://rialtocinemas.com/now-playing-elm/the-oldest-person-in-the-world-elm/\">Rialto Elmwood\u003c/a> (2966 College Ave., Berkeley); Sept. 20 and 22, 2026 at the \u003ca href=\"https://roxie.com/film/the-oldest-person-in-the-world/\">Roxie Theater\u003c/a> (3116 16th St., San Francisco); and Sept. 20 at the \u003ca href=\"https://cinema.cafilm.org/film/the-oldest-person-in-the-world\">Smith Rafael Film Center\u003c/a> in (1118 Fourth St., San Rafael).\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "In ‘The Oldest Person in the World,’ the filmmaker grapples with aging, mortality and life’s other great mysteries.",
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"title": "‘The Oldest Person in the World’ Film: A Search for Meaning | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Every new Sam Green documentary is an event. It has a lot to do with his unique in-person presentation/performance of works like \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://utopiainfourmovements.com/\">Utopia in Four Movements\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (2010), \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://buckminsterfullerfilm.com/\">The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (2012, with live accompaniment by Yo La Tengo), \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://athousandthoughts.film/\">A Thousand Thoughts\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (2018, live with Kronos Quartet) and \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13931594/32-sounds-sam-green-documentary-live-film\">32 Sounds\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (2022, live with JD Samson).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Another special quality of Green’s films, though, is that they proffer a genuine invitation — wide open, no obligation — into curious crannies and nooks of our life on Earth. As interviewer and narrator, Green is an empathetic and acutely nonjudgmental witness of whoever is in front of his camera. He oozes both wonder and respect at his subjects’ singular passions or off-the-wall perspectives.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>His narrator persona is Curious Everyman Philosopher, and I imagine Green’s mantra to be something like, “Life — no, \u003cem>people\u003c/em> — are stranger and deeper and richer than I could have ever imagined, and I am so lucky that I found a job that pays me to meet them.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Director-Sam-Green-in-studio_credit-Catalina-Kulczar.jpg\" alt=\"white man with gray hair smiles in front of wall covered in movie posters and photographs\" class=\"wp-image-13994033\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Director-Sam-Green-in-studio_credit-Catalina-Kulczar.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Director-Sam-Green-in-studio_credit-Catalina-Kulczar-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Director-Sam-Green-in-studio_credit-Catalina-Kulczar-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Director Sam Green in his studio. (Catalina Kulczar)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While that is the Sam Green that comes through in his films, I also knew him personally during his pivotal years in the vibrant local documentary scene after he got a master’s degree in journalism at UC Berkeley in the 1990s. He made the remarkable \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://archive.org/details/rainbowman\">The Rainbow Man/John 3:16\u003c/a>\u003c/em> and the 2004 Academy Award-nominated \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://www.theweatherunderground.info/\">The Weather Underground\u003c/a>\u003c/em> in the Bay Area before moving back to the East Coast, and it’s fair to say he developed his collaborative skills as well as his voice here.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One of the corollaries of Green being a lovely guy is that his films are designed and constructed to continually allow each viewer space for their own experience. That can involve a prompt (the surprising audio slices that comprise the brilliant \u003cem>32 Sounds\u003c/em>, for example) that makes us remember a departed loved one, or that triggers a free-associating reverie that (speaking from personal experience) evokes the ephemeral, mysterious sensation of being human and alive.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While Green was our guide through his last several films, he casts himself as the protagonist of his latest work, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.theoldestperson.com/\">The Oldest Person in the World\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (screening around the Bay Area Sept. 20–22, with the filmmaker in person at all shows). The new film, which premiered (like nearly all his films) at Sundance and screened at SFFILM in April, is the director’s most personal work, incorporating his young son, deceased brother and nonagenarian mother. It is also, to me, his least compelling film.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For more than a decade, Green has filmed the current (and inevitably temporary) holder of the Guinness World Record for \u003ca href=\"https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/84549-oldest-person-living\">oldest person in the world\u003c/a>. He found a poignant way to insert a segment on the subject into a previous film; here he places that pursuit at the center of the proceedings, beginning with Brooklyn resident Susannah Mushatt Jones in 2015 and continuing to the present.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1026\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-3-Susannah-Mushatt-Jones-age-116_credit-Yoni-Brook.jpg\" alt=\"old Black woman faces large birthday cake with poeple around her\" class=\"wp-image-13994035\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-3-Susannah-Mushatt-Jones-age-116_credit-Yoni-Brook.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-3-Susannah-Mushatt-Jones-age-116_credit-Yoni-Brook-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-3-Susannah-Mushatt-Jones-age-116_credit-Yoni-Brook-768x492.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-3-Susannah-Mushatt-Jones-age-116_credit-Yoni-Brook-1536x985.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Susannah Mushatt Jones at 116. (Yoni Brook)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The problem is that while our first response to most Guinness records is “Yowsa! That’s incredible!,” our next thought is, “OK, but what does it actually mean? What does that cool factoid tell us about our world?” The answer, in most cases, is not much.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For some reason, Green asks the oldest living people the same pedestrian question that every TV reporter asks: “What’s your secret?” That proves to be another dead end, as nobody has an illuminating or satisfying answer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Green realizes that he isn’t looking for lessons to live by from these folks so much as probing why the rest of us — generally in our active primes with ample possibilities to pick from—are fascinated by and seemingly envious of their longevity. (Green doesn’t comment on their frailty, diminished mobility, proximate need for round-the-clock care, the circumscribed routine of their day-to-day — none of which we look forward to.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-2-Emma-Morano-age-114_2013_credit-Roberto-Masiero.jpg\" alt=\"old smiling woman in knit shawl next to framed pictures of younger woman and baby\" class=\"wp-image-13994034\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-2-Emma-Morano-age-114_2013_credit-Roberto-Masiero.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-2-Emma-Morano-age-114_2013_credit-Roberto-Masiero-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-2-Emma-Morano-age-114_2013_credit-Roberto-Masiero-768x614.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Still-2-Emma-Morano-age-114_2013_credit-Roberto-Masiero-1536x1229.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Emma Morano, age 114 in 2013. (Roberto Masiero)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I think he’s reaching for our default setting that life is precious and finite and cherished. To that end, the filmmaker grapples with the loss of his brother by suicide 15 years earlier, and the arrival of his first child some 10 years ago. Green has never been a sentimentalist, though, and his voice-over, to my ears, wavers without finding the right through line between hard knocks and soft-centered.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The sticky, tricky truth about life — both living it and looking back on it — is that the profound and the banal go hand in hand. The same could be said of moviemaking. The relative success of turning a rare snippet of decades-old home-movie footage of Green and his brother, or of Green’s small kid saying the “darndest” things in response to his dad’s questions, into an emotional or dramatic moment is, for better and worse, in the eye of the beholder.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Consequently, as with all of his films, watching \u003cem>The Oldest Person in the World\u003c/em> is a personal experience. Green’s musings about presence and absence, and film’s ability to freeze moments and memorialize the dead, will speak to many people. In my case, cinematic immortality works better with Greta Garbo and Tim Curry than with my family.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘The Oldest Person in the World’ screens Sept. 19 at 2:30 pm at the \u003ca href=\"https://rialtocinemas.com/now-playing-elm/the-oldest-person-in-the-world-elm/\">Rialto Elmwood\u003c/a> (2966 College Ave., Berkeley); Sept. 20 and 22, 2026 at the \u003ca href=\"https://roxie.com/film/the-oldest-person-in-the-world/\">Roxie Theater\u003c/a> (3116 16th St., San Francisco); and Sept. 20 at the \u003ca href=\"https://cinema.cafilm.org/film/the-oldest-person-in-the-world\">Smith Rafael Film Center\u003c/a> in (1118 Fourth St., San Rafael).\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sam Green will be in person for Q&As after each screening.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "the-cook-berkeley-rep-theater-review",
"title": "In ‘The Cook’ at Berkeley Rep, Revolution Is in the Air — and the Kitchen",
"publishDate": 1789085013,
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"headTitle": "In ‘The Cook’ at Berkeley Rep, Revolution Is in the Air — and the Kitchen | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>Of all the scents that permeate Gladys’ kitchen in Havana on the cusp of 1959, it’s the aroma of revolution that lies thickest.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In Eduardo Machado’s spellbinding play \u003cem>The Cook\u003c/em>, now running through Oct. 11 at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, tension hangs among the pots and pans. Since age 13, Gladys (Yesenia Iglesias) has spent her days preparing meals for Cuba’s upper crust. In \u003cem>The Cook\u003c/em>, that means working for a wealthy family which includes mistress Adria (Gisela Chípe). \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At the action’s onset, Adria’s priority is to ensure everyone sets their watch back an hour to keep 1958 just a hint longer. The fleeing of Cuban president Fulgencio Batista means that the start of 1959 will see Fidel Castro taking over Havana, forcing the rich family to vacate their home and start life anew in Miami.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2287\" height=\"1521\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993796\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409.jpg 2287w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409-2000x1330.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409-2048x1362.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2287px) 100vw, 2287px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Yesenia Iglesias and Daniel Duque-Estrada in Eduardo Machado’s ‘The Cook’ at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. (Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Yet before her Florida life begins with a million other Cuban exiles, Adria wants to be sure Gladys will care for the house until she returns, a promise Gladys accepts without reservation. Later, over the course of three powerful scenes that take place in the early 1970s and late 1990s, we see Gladys shed her servant’s uniform for the period clothing stemming from Adria’s bougie closet, sharply designed by Toni-Leslie James.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On a typically magnificent set from scenic designer Tanya Orellana, director David Mendizabal’s tight and focused direction utilizes plenty of tension. Machado’s writing, while bold, can also feel thinly staccato and uneven, undercutting some of the bigger payoffs the play requires. Still, there’s a quiet power in his words, which never feel overwhelming despite the volume of exposition and Cuban history that Machado includes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Much of the tension is set up beautifully at the onset, with three dark-skinned Cubans tasked with preparing food for a massive celebration (the ways that light and dark-skinned Cubans engage and interact fuels the narrative further). Helping in the kitchen is Elena (Georgina Morillo, who plays Gladys’s daughter Rosa in Act Two), barrelling through to express grunty consternation, and Julio (Ashton Muñiz), a dutiful helper hiding a secret about his sexuality that threatens “re-education” at one of Cuba’s forced labor camps — the government’s preferred way of building a more masculine society.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1428\" height=\"2147\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993795\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666.jpg 1428w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666-160x241.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666-768x1155.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666-1022x1536.jpg 1022w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666-1362x2048.jpg 1362w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1428px) 100vw, 1428px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gisela Chípe in Eduardo Machado’s ‘The Cook’ at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. (Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Gladys’ husband Carlos (Daniel Duque-Estrada) falls toward the gleeful side of revolution, and as the 1970s roll around, it is clear why. Carlos, a lowly chauffeur, is promoted to Minister of Transportation, and he makes it extremely clear he is now a Communist bureaucrat. The transition puts him among the elites, untouchable to many, albeit extremely touchable to his mistress, who bears a love child.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A highlight of \u003cem>The Cook\u003c/em> is how each character leans into any power they possess, a necessity of consolidation inside Communist Cuba, where the United States’ bruising blockade comes into direct conflict with Russia’s sizable funding of the island. While Carlos can save the lives of Gladys’ family members, he chooses not to, being much more willing to put his thumb on the scale of Marxism to get what he needs and defend Castro’s revolution to the hilt. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That revolution was never intended for Julio’s participation, which leads to a scorching scene towards the end of the first act. There is sad poetry in Julio’s belief that he be allowed to live and love as he desires, while flying too close to the sun by dating an 18-year-old son of a diplomat. The utter cruelty of Carlos and the stoic resolve of Gladys, in the hands of Duque-Estrada and Iglesias, especially in a critical moment like this, is majestic. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2084\" height=\"1387\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993794\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783.jpg 2084w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783-2000x1331.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783-2048x1363.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2084px) 100vw, 2084px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gisela Chípe and Yesenia Iglesias in Eduardo Machado’s ‘The Cook’ at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. (Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That majesty leads to some powerful payoffs in the play’s final frame. While the action of the entire play remains in the expansive kitchen, the quarters have now transitioned into a paladar, a home restaurant which the Cuban government caps to 12 seats, with only family members eligible for employment. Chípe as Adria’s daughter Lourdes, chronicling her mother’s history with a simple camera, witnesses the decay of a once regal home. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite Gladys’ loyalty, 40 years of living outside Castro’s Cuba has turned Lourdes’s mother into an enraged expat, and Lourdes uses a racial epithet to express the consternation built from the unspoken tension that existed many years ago. In both roles, Chípe is a marvel, with a searing vapidity that leads to some of the play’s funnier moments, while later employing a strategy that advocates for her mother’s legacy of bitterness. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the play belongs to Iglesias in the title role, who smartly stays away from clichés while playing each iteration of Gladys across a 40-year span. As the affirmation of the house and its proprietorship have shifted, Iglesias’s journey from dutiful to dominant is a wonderful showcase of range. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2223\" height=\"1479\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993793\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614.jpg 2223w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614-2000x1331.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614-2048x1363.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2223px) 100vw, 2223px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Yesenia Iglesias and Georgina Morillo in Eduardo Machado’s ‘The Cook’ at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. (Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Cook\u003c/em> speaks of a different kind of dictator, one who rules her kitchen with loving dominance while serving hearty portions of moros y cristianos. Although a certain type of Cuban life was denied those closest to this simple cook, her eyes rest on what she believes is a more certain future — an uncompromising belief that Rosa will see food she crafts on the world’s finest plates, far beyond the surrounding waters within Gladys’s Cuban heart. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘The Cook’ runs through Oct. 11 at Berkeley Rep’s Peet’s Theatre in Berkeley. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyrep.org/\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In Eduardo Machado’s spellbinding play \u003cem>The Cook\u003c/em>, now running through Oct. 11 at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, tension hangs among the pots and pans. Since age 13, Gladys (Yesenia Iglesias) has spent her days preparing meals for Cuba’s upper crust. In \u003cem>The Cook\u003c/em>, that means working for a wealthy family which includes mistress Adria (Gisela Chípe). \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At the action’s onset, Adria’s priority is to ensure everyone sets their watch back an hour to keep 1958 just a hint longer. The fleeing of Cuban president Fulgencio Batista means that the start of 1959 will see Fidel Castro taking over Havana, forcing the rich family to vacate their home and start life anew in Miami.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Yet before her Florida life begins with a million other Cuban exiles, Adria wants to be sure Gladys will care for the house until she returns, a promise Gladys accepts without reservation. Later, over the course of three powerful scenes that take place in the early 1970s and late 1990s, we see Gladys shed her servant’s uniform for the period clothing stemming from Adria’s bougie closet, sharply designed by Toni-Leslie James.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On a typically magnificent set from scenic designer Tanya Orellana, director David Mendizabal’s tight and focused direction utilizes plenty of tension. Machado’s writing, while bold, can also feel thinly staccato and uneven, undercutting some of the bigger payoffs the play requires. Still, there’s a quiet power in his words, which never feel overwhelming despite the volume of exposition and Cuban history that Machado includes. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On a typically magnificent set from scenic designer Tanya Orellana, director David Mendizabal’s tight and focused direction utilizes plenty of tension. Machado’s writing, while bold, can also feel thinly staccato and uneven, undercutting some of the bigger payoffs the play requires. Still, there’s a quiet power in his words, which never feel overwhelming despite the volume of exposition and Cuban history that Machado includes. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Much of the tension is set up beautifully at the onset, with three dark-skinned Cubans tasked with preparing food for a massive celebration (the ways that light and dark-skinned Cubans engage and interact fuels the narrative further). Helping in the kitchen is Elena (Georgina Morillo, who plays Gladys’s daughter Rosa in Act Two), barrelling through to express grunty consternation, and Julio (Ashton Muñiz), a dutiful helper hiding a secret about his sexuality that threatens “re-education” at one of Cuba’s forced labor camps — the government’s preferred way of building a more masculine society.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Gladys’ husband Carlos (Daniel Duque-Estrada) falls toward the gleeful side of revolution, and as the 1970s roll around, it is clear why. Carlos, a lowly chauffeur, is promoted to Minister of Transportation, and he makes it extremely clear he is now a Communist bureaucrat. The transition puts him among the elites, untouchable to many, albeit extremely touchable to his mistress, who bears a love child.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A highlight of \u003cem>The Cook\u003c/em> is how each character leans into any power they possess, a necessity of consolidation inside Communist Cuba, where the United States’ bruising blockade comes into direct conflict with Russia’s sizable funding of the island. While Carlos can save the lives of Gladys’ family members, he chooses not to, being much more willing to put his thumb on the scale of Marxism to get what he needs and defend Castro’s revolution to the hilt. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That revolution was never intended for Julio’s participation, which leads to a scorching scene towards the end of the first act. There is sad poetry in Julio’s belief that he be allowed to live and love as he desires, while flying too close to the sun by dating an 18-year-old son of a diplomat. The utter cruelty of Carlos and the stoic resolve of Gladys, in the hands of Duque-Estrada and Iglesias, especially in a critical moment like this, is majestic. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That majesty leads to some powerful payoffs in the play’s final frame. While the action of the entire play remains in the expansive kitchen, the quarters have now transitioned into a paladar, a home restaurant which the Cuban government caps to 12 seats, with only family members eligible for employment. Chípe as Adria’s daughter Lourdes, chronicling her mother’s history with a simple camera, witnesses the decay of a once regal home. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Despite Gladys’ loyalty, 40 years of living outside Castro’s Cuba has turned Lourdes’s mother into an enraged expat, and Lourdes uses a racial epithet to express the consternation built from the unspoken tension that existed many years ago. In both roles, Chípe is a marvel, with a searing vapidity that leads to some of the play’s funnier moments, while later employing a strategy that advocates for her mother’s legacy of bitterness. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But the play belongs to Iglesias in the title role, who smartly stays away from clichés while playing each iteration of Gladys across a 40-year span. As the affirmation of the house and its proprietorship have shifted, Iglesias’s journey from dutiful to dominant is a wonderful showcase of range. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Cook\u003c/em> speaks of a different kind of dictator, one who rules her kitchen with loving dominance while serving hearty portions of moros y cristianos. Although a certain type of Cuban life was denied those closest to this simple cook, her eyes rest on what she believes is a more certain future — an uncompromising belief that Rosa will see food she crafts on the world’s finest plates, far beyond the surrounding waters within Gladys’s Cuban heart. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘The Cook’ runs through Oct. 11 at Berkeley Rep’s Peet’s Theatre in Berkeley. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyrep.org/\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Eduardo Machado’s spellbinding play of political drama and family scandal spans four decades in Cuba.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Of all the scents that permeate Gladys’ kitchen in Havana on the cusp of 1959, it’s the aroma of revolution that lies thickest.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In Eduardo Machado’s spellbinding play \u003cem>The Cook\u003c/em>, now running through Oct. 11 at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, tension hangs among the pots and pans. Since age 13, Gladys (Yesenia Iglesias) has spent her days preparing meals for Cuba’s upper crust. In \u003cem>The Cook\u003c/em>, that means working for a wealthy family which includes mistress Adria (Gisela Chípe). \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At the action’s onset, Adria’s priority is to ensure everyone sets their watch back an hour to keep 1958 just a hint longer. The fleeing of Cuban president Fulgencio Batista means that the start of 1959 will see Fidel Castro taking over Havana, forcing the rich family to vacate their home and start life anew in Miami.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2287\" height=\"1521\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993796\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409.jpg 2287w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409-2000x1330.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409-2048x1362.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2287px) 100vw, 2287px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Yesenia Iglesias and Daniel Duque-Estrada in Eduardo Machado’s ‘The Cook’ at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. (Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Yet before her Florida life begins with a million other Cuban exiles, Adria wants to be sure Gladys will care for the house until she returns, a promise Gladys accepts without reservation. Later, over the course of three powerful scenes that take place in the early 1970s and late 1990s, we see Gladys shed her servant’s uniform for the period clothing stemming from Adria’s bougie closet, sharply designed by Toni-Leslie James.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On a typically magnificent set from scenic designer Tanya Orellana, director David Mendizabal’s tight and focused direction utilizes plenty of tension. Machado’s writing, while bold, can also feel thinly staccato and uneven, undercutting some of the bigger payoffs the play requires. Still, there’s a quiet power in his words, which never feel overwhelming despite the volume of exposition and Cuban history that Machado includes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Much of the tension is set up beautifully at the onset, with three dark-skinned Cubans tasked with preparing food for a massive celebration (the ways that light and dark-skinned Cubans engage and interact fuels the narrative further). Helping in the kitchen is Elena (Georgina Morillo, who plays Gladys’s daughter Rosa in Act Two), barrelling through to express grunty consternation, and Julio (Ashton Muñiz), a dutiful helper hiding a secret about his sexuality that threatens “re-education” at one of Cuba’s forced labor camps — the government’s preferred way of building a more masculine society.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1428\" height=\"2147\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993795\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666.jpg 1428w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666-160x241.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666-768x1155.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666-1022x1536.jpg 1022w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666-1362x2048.jpg 1362w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1428px) 100vw, 1428px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gisela Chípe in Eduardo Machado’s ‘The Cook’ at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. (Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Gladys’ husband Carlos (Daniel Duque-Estrada) falls toward the gleeful side of revolution, and as the 1970s roll around, it is clear why. Carlos, a lowly chauffeur, is promoted to Minister of Transportation, and he makes it extremely clear he is now a Communist bureaucrat. The transition puts him among the elites, untouchable to many, albeit extremely touchable to his mistress, who bears a love child.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A highlight of \u003cem>The Cook\u003c/em> is how each character leans into any power they possess, a necessity of consolidation inside Communist Cuba, where the United States’ bruising blockade comes into direct conflict with Russia’s sizable funding of the island. While Carlos can save the lives of Gladys’ family members, he chooses not to, being much more willing to put his thumb on the scale of Marxism to get what he needs and defend Castro’s revolution to the hilt. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That revolution was never intended for Julio’s participation, which leads to a scorching scene towards the end of the first act. There is sad poetry in Julio’s belief that he be allowed to live and love as he desires, while flying too close to the sun by dating an 18-year-old son of a diplomat. The utter cruelty of Carlos and the stoic resolve of Gladys, in the hands of Duque-Estrada and Iglesias, especially in a critical moment like this, is majestic. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2084\" height=\"1387\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993794\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783.jpg 2084w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783-2000x1331.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783-2048x1363.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2084px) 100vw, 2084px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gisela Chípe and Yesenia Iglesias in Eduardo Machado’s ‘The Cook’ at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. (Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That majesty leads to some powerful payoffs in the play’s final frame. While the action of the entire play remains in the expansive kitchen, the quarters have now transitioned into a paladar, a home restaurant which the Cuban government caps to 12 seats, with only family members eligible for employment. Chípe as Adria’s daughter Lourdes, chronicling her mother’s history with a simple camera, witnesses the decay of a once regal home. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite Gladys’ loyalty, 40 years of living outside Castro’s Cuba has turned Lourdes’s mother into an enraged expat, and Lourdes uses a racial epithet to express the consternation built from the unspoken tension that existed many years ago. In both roles, Chípe is a marvel, with a searing vapidity that leads to some of the play’s funnier moments, while later employing a strategy that advocates for her mother’s legacy of bitterness. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the play belongs to Iglesias in the title role, who smartly stays away from clichés while playing each iteration of Gladys across a 40-year span. As the affirmation of the house and its proprietorship have shifted, Iglesias’s journey from dutiful to dominant is a wonderful showcase of range. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2223\" height=\"1479\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993793\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614.jpg 2223w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614-2000x1331.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614-2048x1363.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2223px) 100vw, 2223px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Yesenia Iglesias and Georgina Morillo in Eduardo Machado’s ‘The Cook’ at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. (Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Cook\u003c/em> speaks of a different kind of dictator, one who rules her kitchen with loving dominance while serving hearty portions of moros y cristianos. Although a certain type of Cuban life was denied those closest to this simple cook, her eyes rest on what she believes is a more certain future — an uncompromising belief that Rosa will see food she crafts on the world’s finest plates, far beyond the surrounding waters within Gladys’s Cuban heart. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘The Cook’ runs through Oct. 11 at Berkeley Rep’s Peet’s Theatre in Berkeley. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyrep.org/\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "graphic-biography-major-taylor-worlds-fastest-cyclist-fred-noland",
"title": "This Epic Graphic Biography Honors Cycling’s First Black World Champion",
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"content": "\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1616\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MAJORTAYLOR.cover_.jpg\" alt=\"A book cover featuring an illustrated scene of a young Black man on a bicycle with a trail of other riders behind him. In the background are city monuments including the Eiffel Tower.\" class=\"wp-image-13992993\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MAJORTAYLOR.cover_.jpg 1616w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MAJORTAYLOR.cover_-160x198.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MAJORTAYLOR.cover_-768x950.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MAJORTAYLOR.cover_-1241x1536.jpg 1241w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1616px) 100vw, 1616px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘Major Taylor: The World’s Fastest Man’ by Frederick Noland. (Drawn and Quarterly)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>You don’t have to be a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/cycling\">bicycle\u003c/a> aficionado to fall in love with Marshall “Major” Taylor. The groundbreaking Black cyclist smashed records in races around the world during competitive cycling’s — and his own — formative years at the turn of the 20th century. Taylor’s life story is lovingly rendered in a gripping new graphic biography \u003cem>Major Taylor: The World’s Fastest Man\u003c/em> by Oakland-based cartoonist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/frednoland/\">Frederick Noland\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Noland consistently grounds Taylor’s century-old story with small, relatable details, but still manages to capture each significant event on Taylor’s journey at a compelling clip. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Taylor’s story begins, age 8 in 1886, horsing around on his first bike in Indiana cornfields. By 11, he’s a paper boy. By 12, he’s employed by the local bike shop to show off his innovative tricks outside the store. By 14, he’s teaching adults how to ride and winning races left and right. By 15, he’s working for — and being trained by — former racer and bicycle manufacturer Louis “Birdie” Munger. By 21, Taylor is racing around the world, breaking multiple cycling records and ultimately being crowned “the fastest man alive.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Noland thrillingly paints tough races against rowdy, sometimes physically threatening rivals. We see Taylor’s travels consistently sullied by racist riders, bigoted journalists and the segregationist policies of hotels, venues and organizations, including the League of American Wheelmen. But Taylor never loses faith in himself and treats every infraction with dignified rebuttals and a dogged dedication that helps him channel his frustrations into his sport. His many sweeping victories turn him into a crowd-pleaser wherever he goes, whatever the race of the audience. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2044\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MAJORTAYLOR-271-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"An illustrated page shows a young Black man determinedly cycling in a race on a tree-lined road. A second panel shows him cycling with an American flag raised above his head, as crowds cheer him across the finish line. \" class=\"wp-image-13993039\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MAJORTAYLOR-271-scaled.jpg 2044w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MAJORTAYLOR-271-2000x2505.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MAJORTAYLOR-271-160x200.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MAJORTAYLOR-271-768x962.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MAJORTAYLOR-271-1226x1536.jpg 1226w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MAJORTAYLOR-271-1635x2048.jpg 1635w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2044px) 100vw, 2044px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘Major Taylor: World’s Fastest Man’ by Frederick Noland tracks the champion cyclist’s adventures around the world — and the racism he faced at every turn. (Drawn and Quarterly)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Noland’s book does not flinch when it comes to emphasizing how much racism dominated American culture during the Victorian era, and how much more favorable the cyclist’s treatment was in Europe and Australia. (At one point, 85,000 fans turn out to see Taylor race in Paris.) \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area’s own racist policies are a depressing sight in these pages: before embarking on a trip to Australia in 1902, Taylor is refused service at hotels and restaurants across San Francisco. When he returns to the city with his wife Daisy, their treatment is just as awful, despite the fact that they have their newborn daughter in tow. One of Taylor’s most bigoted and relentless rivals, it’s worth noting, is Floyd MacFarland from San José.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Major Taylor: The World’s Fastest Man\u003c/em> is thoroughly researched, with a pointed focus on Taylor’s grace, generosity and faith. The making of the book was clearly a labor of love and one that Noland sought to make enjoyable for as wide an audience as possible. \u003cem>Major Taylor\u003c/em> starts, for example, with a fun history of the bicycle, tracing the earliest version all the way back to 1815 when a man named Baron Karl Drais came up with a two-wheeled contraption to facilitate faster travel — albeit without pedals or reliable steering. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Noland’s own reverence for the bicycle might assist readers in seeing this everyday conveyance in a whole new light too. According to the author, the earliest days of bicycle popularity, among other things, expanded the gene pool of French villages and became an effective means for suffragettes to organize and work.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>By the end of Noland’s book, one can’t help but feel awe at Major Taylor’s perseverance in the face of so many obstacles. \u003cem>Major Taylor: The World’s Fastest Man\u003c/em> serves to honor a groundbreaking cyclist, yes, but it does much more than that. This graphic novel is a history lesson, a source of sporting inspiration and a reminder of just what humans can accomplish if we learn to channel our frustrations into something constructive. Marshall “Major” Taylor should be a household name by now. Noland’s book finally brings him one lap closer to that. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Frederick Noland’s ‘Major Taylor: World’s Fastest Man’ is out Aug. 31, 2026 from Drawn & Quarterly. Noland will appear at \u003ca href=\"https://www.capeandcowlcomics.com/cape-and-cowl-con\">Cape & Cowl Con\u003c/a> (2501 Monarch St., Alameda) on Aug. 31; \u003ca href=\"https://pegasusbookstore.com/noland\">Pegasus Books\u003c/a> (2349 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley) on Sept. 22; and \u003ca href=\"https://www.missioncomicsandart.com/\">Mission: Comics and Art\u003c/a> (2250 Mission St., San Francisco) on Sept. 26.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Noland consistently grounds Taylor’s century-old story with small, relatable details, but still manages to capture each significant event on Taylor’s journey at a compelling clip. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Bay Area’s own racist policies are a depressing sight in these pages: before embarking on a trip to Australia in 1902, Taylor is refused service at hotels and restaurants across San Francisco. When he returns to the city with his wife Daisy, their treatment is just as awful, despite the fact that they have their newborn daughter in tow. One of Taylor’s most bigoted and relentless rivals, it’s worth noting, is Floyd MacFarland from San José.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Major Taylor: The World’s Fastest Man\u003c/em> is thoroughly researched, with a pointed focus on Taylor’s grace, generosity and faith. The making of the book was clearly a labor of love and one that Noland sought to make enjoyable for as wide an audience as possible. \u003cem>Major Taylor\u003c/em> starts, for example, with a fun history of the bicycle, tracing the earliest version all the way back to 1815 when a man named Baron Karl Drais came up with a two-wheeled contraption to facilitate faster travel — albeit without pedals or reliable steering. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Noland’s own reverence for the bicycle might assist readers in seeing this everyday conveyance in a whole new light too. According to the author, the earliest days of bicycle popularity, among other things, expanded the gene pool of French villages and became an effective means for suffragettes to organize and work.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Noland’s own reverence for the bicycle might assist readers in seeing this everyday conveyance in a whole new light too. According to the author, the earliest days of bicycle popularity, among other things, expanded the gene pool of French villages and became an effective means for suffragettes to organize and work.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>By the end of Noland’s book, one can’t help but feel awe at Major Taylor’s perseverance in the face of so many obstacles. \u003cem>Major Taylor: The World’s Fastest Man\u003c/em> serves to honor a groundbreaking cyclist, yes, but it does much more than that. This graphic novel is a history lesson, a source of sporting inspiration and a reminder of just what humans can accomplish if we learn to channel our frustrations into something constructive. Marshall “Major” Taylor should be a household name by now. Noland’s book finally brings him one lap closer to that. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Frederick Noland’s ‘Major Taylor: World’s Fastest Man’ is out Aug. 31, 2026 from Drawn & Quarterly. Noland will appear at \u003ca href=\"https://www.capeandcowlcomics.com/cape-and-cowl-con\">Cape & Cowl Con\u003c/a> (2501 Monarch St., Alameda) on Aug. 31; \u003ca href=\"https://pegasusbookstore.com/noland\">Pegasus Books\u003c/a> (2349 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley) on Sept. 22; and \u003ca href=\"https://www.missioncomicsandart.com/\">Mission: Comics and Art\u003c/a> (2250 Mission St., San Francisco) on Sept. 26.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"headline": "This Epic Graphic Biography Honors Cycling’s First Black World Champion",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1616\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MAJORTAYLOR.cover_.jpg\" alt=\"A book cover featuring an illustrated scene of a young Black man on a bicycle with a trail of other riders behind him. In the background are city monuments including the Eiffel Tower.\" class=\"wp-image-13992993\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MAJORTAYLOR.cover_.jpg 1616w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MAJORTAYLOR.cover_-160x198.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MAJORTAYLOR.cover_-768x950.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MAJORTAYLOR.cover_-1241x1536.jpg 1241w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1616px) 100vw, 1616px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘Major Taylor: The World’s Fastest Man’ by Frederick Noland. (Drawn and Quarterly)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>You don’t have to be a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/cycling\">bicycle\u003c/a> aficionado to fall in love with Marshall “Major” Taylor. The groundbreaking Black cyclist smashed records in races around the world during competitive cycling’s — and his own — formative years at the turn of the 20th century. Taylor’s life story is lovingly rendered in a gripping new graphic biography \u003cem>Major Taylor: The World’s Fastest Man\u003c/em> by Oakland-based cartoonist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/frednoland/\">Frederick Noland\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Noland consistently grounds Taylor’s century-old story with small, relatable details, but still manages to capture each significant event on Taylor’s journey at a compelling clip. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Taylor’s story begins, age 8 in 1886, horsing around on his first bike in Indiana cornfields. By 11, he’s a paper boy. By 12, he’s employed by the local bike shop to show off his innovative tricks outside the store. By 14, he’s teaching adults how to ride and winning races left and right. By 15, he’s working for — and being trained by — former racer and bicycle manufacturer Louis “Birdie” Munger. By 21, Taylor is racing around the world, breaking multiple cycling records and ultimately being crowned “the fastest man alive.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Noland thrillingly paints tough races against rowdy, sometimes physically threatening rivals. We see Taylor’s travels consistently sullied by racist riders, bigoted journalists and the segregationist policies of hotels, venues and organizations, including the League of American Wheelmen. But Taylor never loses faith in himself and treats every infraction with dignified rebuttals and a dogged dedication that helps him channel his frustrations into his sport. His many sweeping victories turn him into a crowd-pleaser wherever he goes, whatever the race of the audience. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2044\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MAJORTAYLOR-271-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"An illustrated page shows a young Black man determinedly cycling in a race on a tree-lined road. A second panel shows him cycling with an American flag raised above his head, as crowds cheer him across the finish line. \" class=\"wp-image-13993039\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MAJORTAYLOR-271-scaled.jpg 2044w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MAJORTAYLOR-271-2000x2505.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MAJORTAYLOR-271-160x200.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MAJORTAYLOR-271-768x962.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MAJORTAYLOR-271-1226x1536.jpg 1226w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MAJORTAYLOR-271-1635x2048.jpg 1635w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2044px) 100vw, 2044px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘Major Taylor: World’s Fastest Man’ by Frederick Noland tracks the champion cyclist’s adventures around the world — and the racism he faced at every turn. (Drawn and Quarterly)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Noland’s book does not flinch when it comes to emphasizing how much racism dominated American culture during the Victorian era, and how much more favorable the cyclist’s treatment was in Europe and Australia. (At one point, 85,000 fans turn out to see Taylor race in Paris.) \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area’s own racist policies are a depressing sight in these pages: before embarking on a trip to Australia in 1902, Taylor is refused service at hotels and restaurants across San Francisco. When he returns to the city with his wife Daisy, their treatment is just as awful, despite the fact that they have their newborn daughter in tow. One of Taylor’s most bigoted and relentless rivals, it’s worth noting, is Floyd MacFarland from San José.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Major Taylor: The World’s Fastest Man\u003c/em> is thoroughly researched, with a pointed focus on Taylor’s grace, generosity and faith. The making of the book was clearly a labor of love and one that Noland sought to make enjoyable for as wide an audience as possible. \u003cem>Major Taylor\u003c/em> starts, for example, with a fun history of the bicycle, tracing the earliest version all the way back to 1815 when a man named Baron Karl Drais came up with a two-wheeled contraption to facilitate faster travel — albeit without pedals or reliable steering. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Noland’s own reverence for the bicycle might assist readers in seeing this everyday conveyance in a whole new light too. According to the author, the earliest days of bicycle popularity, among other things, expanded the gene pool of French villages and became an effective means for suffragettes to organize and work.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>By the end of Noland’s book, one can’t help but feel awe at Major Taylor’s perseverance in the face of so many obstacles. \u003cem>Major Taylor: The World’s Fastest Man\u003c/em> serves to honor a groundbreaking cyclist, yes, but it does much more than that. This graphic novel is a history lesson, a source of sporting inspiration and a reminder of just what humans can accomplish if we learn to channel our frustrations into something constructive. Marshall “Major” Taylor should be a household name by now. Noland’s book finally brings him one lap closer to that. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Frederick Noland’s ‘Major Taylor: World’s Fastest Man’ is out Aug. 31, 2026 from Drawn & Quarterly. Noland will appear at \u003ca href=\"https://www.capeandcowlcomics.com/cape-and-cowl-con\">Cape & Cowl Con\u003c/a> (2501 Monarch St., Alameda) on Aug. 31; \u003ca href=\"https://pegasusbookstore.com/noland\">Pegasus Books\u003c/a> (2349 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley) on Sept. 22; and \u003ca href=\"https://www.missioncomicsandart.com/\">Mission: Comics and Art\u003c/a> (2250 Mission St., San Francisco) on Sept. 26.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "In Historic Objects, a Painter Sees the Origins of the World She Hopes to Create",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.famsf.org/exhibitions/nengi-omuku\">Nengi Omuku: The Gathering\u003c/a>\u003c/em> is the third contemporary art exhibition staged within the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/de-young-museum\">de Young Museum\u003c/a>’s permanent African collection, and it’s the best one yet.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Curator \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13889966/fine-arts-museums-of-sf-hire-natasha-becker-as-first-ever-curator-of-african-art\">Natasha Becker\u003c/a> has been presenting shows designed to spark dialogue between new and historical objects since 2022. \u003cem>The Gathering\u003c/em> — with its strong thematic elements and exhortation to join together — makes a compelling case for what remains an unusual concept in museums.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The show is Nigerian painter Omuku’s first solo exhibition in the United States and the first time she’s hung her works in a context like this (the de Young’s African art collection dates mainly to the 19th and 20th centuries). Juxtaposed, the old and new artworks illuminate persistent themes in African art — community, the natural world, and the ability of art to conjure worlds beyond our present one. The juxtaposition also demonstrates how widely Omuku casts her artistic net. Works in \u003cem>The Gathering\u003c/em> draw on West African art histories as well as Impressionism, and even the ambiguous delicacy of watercolor. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Gathering” is central to both the content of Omuku’s work and the show’s premise. Omuku created four new paintings for the show, all of them dealing with groups of people in some way, depicting protest, collective care and shared dreams of a better future. That museum visitors also gather to see the show adds to the concept in a bit of poetic kismet. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Gathering-2020-oil-on-sanyan_2000.jpg\" alt=\"painting of a figure on a stretcher with figures surrounding\" class=\"wp-image-13993011\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Gathering-2020-oil-on-sanyan_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Gathering-2020-oil-on-sanyan_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Gathering-2020-oil-on-sanyan_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Gathering-2020-oil-on-sanyan_2000-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nengi Omuku, ‘The Gathering, 2020; Oil on sanyan. (Courtesy of the artist)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Gathering\u003c/em> is also the title of an arresting painting in the show. Made in 2020, it depicts a nude figure stretched out in the foreground, surrounded by a concerned crowd at least three figures deep. Omuku painted this scene after newspaper reports of a building collapse during the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the lack of government emergency services. Though people were not supposed to gather at the time, they came together to care for the victims.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Viewers can clearly see art historical similarities to \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piet%C3%A0\">Christian Pietà scenes\u003c/a> of the dead Christ and ancient Greek funerary kraters depicting mourning, but Omuku’s painting is also very specific to her own heritage. “I was thinking about collective experience, collective mourning,” she told KQED, “and viewing it through a Nigerian lens.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>New Haven\u003c/em>, inspired by Impressionism’s bold showcasing of nature, dwarfs the people scattered throughout the tall flowers. Each figure carries a bright yellow form that might be mistaken for foliage, but is actually a jerry can, carried by people queuing for fuel. These containers are a common sight in Nigeria, an oil-producing country that nevertheless experiences fuel shortages. In reality, people crowd tightly in lines such as these, but in Omuku’s painting, they space out like naturally occurring trees among the beautiful landscape.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1770\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Nengi-Omuku-New-Haven-2025-Oil-on-Sanyan-TS-H232cm-W245cm-PS-H210cm-W224cm_2000.jpg\" alt=\"painting of flowery field with clouds above, figures carry yellow containers\" class=\"wp-image-13993012\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Nengi-Omuku-New-Haven-2025-Oil-on-Sanyan-TS-H232cm-W245cm-PS-H210cm-W224cm_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Nengi-Omuku-New-Haven-2025-Oil-on-Sanyan-TS-H232cm-W245cm-PS-H210cm-W224cm_2000-160x142.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Nengi-Omuku-New-Haven-2025-Oil-on-Sanyan-TS-H232cm-W245cm-PS-H210cm-W224cm_2000-768x680.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Nengi-Omuku-New-Haven-2025-Oil-on-Sanyan-TS-H232cm-W245cm-PS-H210cm-W224cm_2000-1536x1359.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nengi Omuku, ‘New Haven,’ 2025; Oil on sanyan. (Courtesy of the artist; Photo by Anny Robert)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>No sanitizing of government failure is happening here; the problem is acknowledged, but Omuku proposes an alternative to the status quo. “When I was thinking about the bodies and protests, at first I didn’t see how it could sit with the landscape,” Omuku said. “And I realized that this is the world we’re protesting for.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Placing her work within the context of the de Young’s collection, she added, gave rise to even more realizations. “I thought it was a new world I was building in the paintings,” Omuku said, “and then [Becker] showed me this is a very ancient world, the world of your ancestors and forefathers.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The continuity of gathering is most powerfully embodied by the \u003cem>Paka Egungun, \u003c/em>a proper house of a ceremonial dance garment made of innumerable fabric flaps. The bright textile lappets twirl from the movements of the dancer who literally becomes an ancestor during the masquerade, a Yoruba religious festival during which masked figures provide a body for the deceased, who return to bless the community.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/447-deYoung-Omuku-2026-Sexton_2000.jpg\" alt=\"multicolored object in gallery display, painting hanging behind\" class=\"wp-image-13993013\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/447-deYoung-Omuku-2026-Sexton_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/447-deYoung-Omuku-2026-Sexton_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/447-deYoung-Omuku-2026-Sexton_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/447-deYoung-Omuku-2026-Sexton_2000-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Installation view of ‘Nengi Omuku: The Gathering’ at the de Young, with ‘Paka Egungun,’ 1930–1970 at left. (Gary Sexton/Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A less obvious, but equally beautiful connection to Nigeria’s heritage is found in the very material of the paintings themselves. Born in Warri, Nigeria in 1987, Omuku studied painting in London at the Slade School of Fine Art, where she sometimes used canvas, a traditional European painting support. When she returned to Nigeria, she could not find the type of canvas she was used to painting on. Frustrated by the cost of importing it, Omuku instead began investigating traditional textiles.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A friend introduced the artist to sanyan, a robust western Nigerian fabric that predates colonialism. Woven from wild moth silk and cotton, sanyan is used for special-occasion clothing. Omuku now commissions her painting surfaces from a family of weavers who maintain the artisanal tradition in the face of competition from cheap fast fashion. The result is a textured, striped, slightly stiff fabric — interesting as an object within its own right. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/321-deYoung-Omuku-2026-Sexton_2000.jpg\" alt=\"people stand in museum gallery looking at backs and fronts of suspended paintings\" class=\"wp-image-13993015\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/321-deYoung-Omuku-2026-Sexton_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/321-deYoung-Omuku-2026-Sexton_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/321-deYoung-Omuku-2026-Sexton_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/321-deYoung-Omuku-2026-Sexton_2000-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Installation view of ‘Nengi Omuku: The Gathering,’ at the de Young. (Gary Sexton/Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When I visited the de Young, I watched people circumambulate the paintings, hung away from the walls so the fabric can be fully appreciated. And happily, Becker, the curator, has supplied visitors with a sample to touch. Three of us gathered around it, fingering the sanyan’s fine threads before turning back to the paintings enlivening the museum’s second floor galleries.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thanks to its incorporation with the de Young’s historic collection, \u003cem>The Gathering \u003c/em>will tell you more about 2026’s place in history than an exhibition with only new art ever could. Plus, the paintings are beautiful. Why not go see for yourself (with a friend) and create a gathering of your own?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.famsf.org/exhibitions/nengi-omuku\">Nengi Omuku: The Gathering\u003c/a>’ is on view at the de Young Museum (50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr., San Francisco) through May 14, 2028.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Gathering” is central to both the content of Omuku’s work and the show’s premise. Omuku created four new paintings for the show, all of them dealing with groups of people in some way, depicting protest, collective care and shared dreams of a better future. That museum visitors also gather to see the show adds to the concept in a bit of poetic kismet. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Gathering” is central to both the content of Omuku’s work and the show’s premise. Omuku created four new paintings for the show, all of them dealing with groups of people in some way, depicting protest, collective care and shared dreams of a better future. That museum visitors also gather to see the show adds to the concept in a bit of poetic kismet. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Gathering-2020-oil-on-sanyan_2000.jpg\" alt=\"painting of a figure on a stretcher with figures surrounding\" class=\"wp-image-13993011\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Gathering-2020-oil-on-sanyan_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Gathering-2020-oil-on-sanyan_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Gathering-2020-oil-on-sanyan_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Gathering-2020-oil-on-sanyan_2000-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nengi Omuku, ‘The Gathering, 2020; Oil on sanyan.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Gathering-2020-oil-on-sanyan_2000.jpg\" alt=\"painting of a figure on a stretcher with figures surrounding\" class=\"wp-image-13993011\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nengi Omuku, ‘The Gathering, 2020; Oil on sanyan.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Gathering\u003c/em> is also the title of an arresting painting in the show. Made in 2020, it depicts a nude figure stretched out in the foreground, surrounded by a concerned crowd at least three figures deep. Omuku painted this scene after newspaper reports of a building collapse during the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the lack of government emergency services. Though people were not supposed to gather at the time, they came together to care for the victims.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Gathering\u003c/em> is also the title of an arresting painting in the show. Made in 2020, it depicts a nude figure stretched out in the foreground, surrounded by a concerned crowd at least three figures deep. Omuku painted this scene after newspaper reports of a building collapse during the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the lack of government emergency services. Though people were not supposed to gather at the time, they came together to care for the victims.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Viewers can clearly see art historical similarities to \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piet%C3%A0\">Christian Pietà scenes\u003c/a> of the dead Christ and ancient Greek funerary kraters depicting mourning, but Omuku’s painting is also very specific to her own heritage. “I was thinking about collective experience, collective mourning,” she told KQED, “and viewing it through a Nigerian lens.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Viewers can clearly see art historical similarities to \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piet%C3%A0\">Christian Pietà scenes\u003c/a> of the dead Christ and ancient Greek funerary kraters depicting mourning, but Omuku’s painting is also very specific to her own heritage. “I was thinking about collective experience, collective mourning,” she told KQED, “and viewing it through a Nigerian lens.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>New Haven\u003c/em>, inspired by Impressionism’s bold showcasing of nature, dwarfs the people scattered throughout the tall flowers. Each figure carries a bright yellow form that might be mistaken for foliage, but is actually a jerry can, carried by people queuing for fuel. These containers are a common sight in Nigeria, an oil-producing country that nevertheless experiences fuel shortages. In reality, people crowd tightly in lines such as these, but in Omuku’s painting, they space out like naturally occurring trees among the beautiful landscape.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>New Haven\u003c/em>, inspired by Impressionism’s bold showcasing of nature, dwarfs the people scattered throughout the tall flowers. Each figure carries a bright yellow form that might be mistaken for foliage, but is actually a jerry can, carried by people queuing for fuel. These containers are a common sight in Nigeria, an oil-producing country that nevertheless experiences fuel shortages. In reality, people crowd tightly in lines such as these, but in Omuku’s painting, they space out like naturally occurring trees among the beautiful landscape.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Nengi-Omuku-New-Haven-2025-Oil-on-Sanyan-TS-H232cm-W245cm-PS-H210cm-W224cm_2000.jpg\" alt=\"painting of flowery field with clouds above, figures carry yellow containers\" class=\"wp-image-13993012\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Nengi-Omuku-New-Haven-2025-Oil-on-Sanyan-TS-H232cm-W245cm-PS-H210cm-W224cm_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Nengi-Omuku-New-Haven-2025-Oil-on-Sanyan-TS-H232cm-W245cm-PS-H210cm-W224cm_2000-160x142.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Nengi-Omuku-New-Haven-2025-Oil-on-Sanyan-TS-H232cm-W245cm-PS-H210cm-W224cm_2000-768x680.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Nengi-Omuku-New-Haven-2025-Oil-on-Sanyan-TS-H232cm-W245cm-PS-H210cm-W224cm_2000-1536x1359.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nengi Omuku, ‘New Haven,’ 2025; Oil on sanyan.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Nengi-Omuku-New-Haven-2025-Oil-on-Sanyan-TS-H232cm-W245cm-PS-H210cm-W224cm_2000.jpg\" alt=\"painting of flowery field with clouds above, figures carry yellow containers\" class=\"wp-image-13993012\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nengi Omuku, ‘New Haven,’ 2025; Oil on sanyan.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>No sanitizing of government failure is happening here; the problem is acknowledged, but Omuku proposes an alternative to the status quo. “When I was thinking about the bodies and protests, at first I didn’t see how it could sit with the landscape,” Omuku said. “And I realized that this is the world we’re protesting for.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>No sanitizing of government failure is happening here; the problem is acknowledged, but Omuku proposes an alternative to the status quo. “When I was thinking about the bodies and protests, at first I didn’t see how it could sit with the landscape,” Omuku said. “And I realized that this is the world we’re protesting for.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Placing her work within the context of the de Young’s collection, she added, gave rise to even more realizations. “I thought it was a new world I was building in the paintings,” Omuku said, “and then [Becker] showed me this is a very ancient world, the world of your ancestors and forefathers.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Placing her work within the context of the de Young’s collection, she added, gave rise to even more realizations. “I thought it was a new world I was building in the paintings,” Omuku said, “and then [Becker] showed me this is a very ancient world, the world of your ancestors and forefathers.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The continuity of gathering is most powerfully embodied by the \u003cem>Paka Egungun, \u003c/em>a proper house of a ceremonial dance garment made of innumerable fabric flaps. The bright textile lappets twirl from the movements of the dancer who literally becomes an ancestor during the masquerade, a Yoruba religious festival during which masked figures provide a body for the deceased, who return to bless the community.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The continuity of gathering is most powerfully embodied by the \u003cem>Paka Egungun, \u003c/em>a proper house of a ceremonial dance garment made of innumerable fabric flaps. The bright textile lappets twirl from the movements of the dancer who literally becomes an ancestor during the masquerade, a Yoruba religious festival during which masked figures provide a body for the deceased, who return to bless the community.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A less obvious, but equally beautiful connection to Nigeria’s heritage is found in the very material of the paintings themselves. Born in Warri, Nigeria in 1987, Omuku studied painting in London at the Slade School of Fine Art, where she sometimes used canvas, a traditional European painting support. When she returned to Nigeria, she could not find the type of canvas she was used to painting on. Frustrated by the cost of importing it, Omuku instead began investigating traditional textiles.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A less obvious, but equally beautiful connection to Nigeria’s heritage is found in the very material of the paintings themselves. Born in Warri, Nigeria in 1987, Omuku studied painting in London at the Slade School of Fine Art, where she sometimes used canvas, a traditional European painting support. When she returned to Nigeria, she could not find the type of canvas she was used to painting on. Frustrated by the cost of importing it, Omuku instead began investigating traditional textiles.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A friend introduced the artist to sanyan, a robust western Nigerian fabric that predates colonialism. Woven from wild moth silk and cotton, sanyan is used for special-occasion clothing. Omuku now commissions her painting surfaces from a family of weavers who maintain the artisanal tradition in the face of competition from cheap fast fashion. The result is a textured, striped, slightly stiff fabric — interesting as an object within its own right. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A friend introduced the artist to sanyan, a robust western Nigerian fabric that predates colonialism. Woven from wild moth silk and cotton, sanyan is used for special-occasion clothing. Omuku now commissions her painting surfaces from a family of weavers who maintain the artisanal tradition in the face of competition from cheap fast fashion. The result is a textured, striped, slightly stiff fabric — interesting as an object within its own right. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When I visited the de Young, I watched people circumambulate the paintings, hung away from the walls so the fabric can be fully appreciated. And happily, Becker, the curator, has supplied visitors with a sample to touch. Three of us gathered around it, fingering the sanyan’s fine threads before turning back to the paintings enlivening the museum’s second floor galleries.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>When I visited the de Young, I watched people circumambulate the paintings, hung away from the walls so the fabric can be fully appreciated. And happily, Becker, the curator, has supplied visitors with a sample to touch. Three of us gathered around it, fingering the sanyan’s fine threads before turning back to the paintings enlivening the museum’s second floor galleries.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Thanks to its incorporation with the de Young’s historic collection, \u003cem>The Gathering \u003c/em>will tell you more about 2026’s place in history than an exhibition with only new art ever could. Plus, the paintings are beautiful. Why not go see for yourself (with a friend) and create a gathering of your own?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Thanks to its incorporation with the de Young’s historic collection, \u003cem>The Gathering \u003c/em>will tell you more about 2026’s place in history than an exhibition with only new art ever could. Plus, the paintings are beautiful. Why not go see for yourself (with a friend) and create a gathering of your own?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.famsf.org/exhibitions/nengi-omuku\">Nengi Omuku: The Gathering\u003c/a>’ is on view at the de Young Museum (50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr., San Francisco) through May 14, 2028.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Nengi Omuku’s de Young exhibition ‘The Gathering’ is staged within the museum’s African art collection.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.famsf.org/exhibitions/nengi-omuku\">Nengi Omuku: The Gathering\u003c/a>\u003c/em> is the third contemporary art exhibition staged within the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/de-young-museum\">de Young Museum\u003c/a>’s permanent African collection, and it’s the best one yet.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Curator \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13889966/fine-arts-museums-of-sf-hire-natasha-becker-as-first-ever-curator-of-african-art\">Natasha Becker\u003c/a> has been presenting shows designed to spark dialogue between new and historical objects since 2022. \u003cem>The Gathering\u003c/em> — with its strong thematic elements and exhortation to join together — makes a compelling case for what remains an unusual concept in museums.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The show is Nigerian painter Omuku’s first solo exhibition in the United States and the first time she’s hung her works in a context like this (the de Young’s African art collection dates mainly to the 19th and 20th centuries). Juxtaposed, the old and new artworks illuminate persistent themes in African art — community, the natural world, and the ability of art to conjure worlds beyond our present one. The juxtaposition also demonstrates how widely Omuku casts her artistic net. Works in \u003cem>The Gathering\u003c/em> draw on West African art histories as well as Impressionism, and even the ambiguous delicacy of watercolor. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Gathering” is central to both the content of Omuku’s work and the show’s premise. Omuku created four new paintings for the show, all of them dealing with groups of people in some way, depicting protest, collective care and shared dreams of a better future. That museum visitors also gather to see the show adds to the concept in a bit of poetic kismet. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Gathering-2020-oil-on-sanyan_2000.jpg\" alt=\"painting of a figure on a stretcher with figures surrounding\" class=\"wp-image-13993011\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Gathering-2020-oil-on-sanyan_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Gathering-2020-oil-on-sanyan_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Gathering-2020-oil-on-sanyan_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Gathering-2020-oil-on-sanyan_2000-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nengi Omuku, ‘The Gathering, 2020; Oil on sanyan. (Courtesy of the artist)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Gathering\u003c/em> is also the title of an arresting painting in the show. Made in 2020, it depicts a nude figure stretched out in the foreground, surrounded by a concerned crowd at least three figures deep. Omuku painted this scene after newspaper reports of a building collapse during the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the lack of government emergency services. Though people were not supposed to gather at the time, they came together to care for the victims.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Viewers can clearly see art historical similarities to \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piet%C3%A0\">Christian Pietà scenes\u003c/a> of the dead Christ and ancient Greek funerary kraters depicting mourning, but Omuku’s painting is also very specific to her own heritage. “I was thinking about collective experience, collective mourning,” she told KQED, “and viewing it through a Nigerian lens.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>New Haven\u003c/em>, inspired by Impressionism’s bold showcasing of nature, dwarfs the people scattered throughout the tall flowers. Each figure carries a bright yellow form that might be mistaken for foliage, but is actually a jerry can, carried by people queuing for fuel. These containers are a common sight in Nigeria, an oil-producing country that nevertheless experiences fuel shortages. In reality, people crowd tightly in lines such as these, but in Omuku’s painting, they space out like naturally occurring trees among the beautiful landscape.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1770\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Nengi-Omuku-New-Haven-2025-Oil-on-Sanyan-TS-H232cm-W245cm-PS-H210cm-W224cm_2000.jpg\" alt=\"painting of flowery field with clouds above, figures carry yellow containers\" class=\"wp-image-13993012\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Nengi-Omuku-New-Haven-2025-Oil-on-Sanyan-TS-H232cm-W245cm-PS-H210cm-W224cm_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Nengi-Omuku-New-Haven-2025-Oil-on-Sanyan-TS-H232cm-W245cm-PS-H210cm-W224cm_2000-160x142.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Nengi-Omuku-New-Haven-2025-Oil-on-Sanyan-TS-H232cm-W245cm-PS-H210cm-W224cm_2000-768x680.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Nengi-Omuku-New-Haven-2025-Oil-on-Sanyan-TS-H232cm-W245cm-PS-H210cm-W224cm_2000-1536x1359.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nengi Omuku, ‘New Haven,’ 2025; Oil on sanyan. (Courtesy of the artist; Photo by Anny Robert)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>No sanitizing of government failure is happening here; the problem is acknowledged, but Omuku proposes an alternative to the status quo. “When I was thinking about the bodies and protests, at first I didn’t see how it could sit with the landscape,” Omuku said. “And I realized that this is the world we’re protesting for.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Placing her work within the context of the de Young’s collection, she added, gave rise to even more realizations. “I thought it was a new world I was building in the paintings,” Omuku said, “and then [Becker] showed me this is a very ancient world, the world of your ancestors and forefathers.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The continuity of gathering is most powerfully embodied by the \u003cem>Paka Egungun, \u003c/em>a proper house of a ceremonial dance garment made of innumerable fabric flaps. The bright textile lappets twirl from the movements of the dancer who literally becomes an ancestor during the masquerade, a Yoruba religious festival during which masked figures provide a body for the deceased, who return to bless the community.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/447-deYoung-Omuku-2026-Sexton_2000.jpg\" alt=\"multicolored object in gallery display, painting hanging behind\" class=\"wp-image-13993013\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/447-deYoung-Omuku-2026-Sexton_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/447-deYoung-Omuku-2026-Sexton_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/447-deYoung-Omuku-2026-Sexton_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/447-deYoung-Omuku-2026-Sexton_2000-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Installation view of ‘Nengi Omuku: The Gathering’ at the de Young, with ‘Paka Egungun,’ 1930–1970 at left. (Gary Sexton/Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A less obvious, but equally beautiful connection to Nigeria’s heritage is found in the very material of the paintings themselves. Born in Warri, Nigeria in 1987, Omuku studied painting in London at the Slade School of Fine Art, where she sometimes used canvas, a traditional European painting support. When she returned to Nigeria, she could not find the type of canvas she was used to painting on. Frustrated by the cost of importing it, Omuku instead began investigating traditional textiles.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A friend introduced the artist to sanyan, a robust western Nigerian fabric that predates colonialism. Woven from wild moth silk and cotton, sanyan is used for special-occasion clothing. Omuku now commissions her painting surfaces from a family of weavers who maintain the artisanal tradition in the face of competition from cheap fast fashion. The result is a textured, striped, slightly stiff fabric — interesting as an object within its own right. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/321-deYoung-Omuku-2026-Sexton_2000.jpg\" alt=\"people stand in museum gallery looking at backs and fronts of suspended paintings\" class=\"wp-image-13993015\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/321-deYoung-Omuku-2026-Sexton_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/321-deYoung-Omuku-2026-Sexton_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/321-deYoung-Omuku-2026-Sexton_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/321-deYoung-Omuku-2026-Sexton_2000-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Installation view of ‘Nengi Omuku: The Gathering,’ at the de Young. (Gary Sexton/Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When I visited the de Young, I watched people circumambulate the paintings, hung away from the walls so the fabric can be fully appreciated. And happily, Becker, the curator, has supplied visitors with a sample to touch. Three of us gathered around it, fingering the sanyan’s fine threads before turning back to the paintings enlivening the museum’s second floor galleries.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thanks to its incorporation with the de Young’s historic collection, \u003cem>The Gathering \u003c/em>will tell you more about 2026’s place in history than an exhibition with only new art ever could. Plus, the paintings are beautiful. Why not go see for yourself (with a friend) and create a gathering of your own?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.famsf.org/exhibitions/nengi-omuku\">Nengi Omuku: The Gathering\u003c/a>’ is on view at the de Young Museum (50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr., San Francisco) through May 14, 2028.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Artists Craft Sacred Objects in a Tech-Driven World",
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"headTitle": "Artists Craft Sacred Objects in a Tech-Driven World | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Sometimes, exhibitions with a curatorial conceit of juxtaposition — AI vs. human, art vs. technology \u003cem>—\u003c/em> can fall flat, not because the artwork itself is bad, but because the juxtaposition trades nuance for shock value. Thankfully, Casemore Gallery’s \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://casemoregallery.com/exhibitions/69-automata-sigils-billie-ocean-kelley-oleary-sonya-rapoport-ariella-robinson/installation_shots/\">Automata Sigils\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, on view through Aug. 29, escapes this trap. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The group show, co-curated by Janie Perez-Radler, presents six women artists who explore contrasts between machines and organic, embodied or sacred material. These works, though provocative, leave room for uncertainty and exploration.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The standout piece in the show, \u003cem>Journey\u003c/em> (1976), by Sonya Rapoport, is also the linchpin of the exhibition. Over nearly 15 feet of computer printouts, Rapoport drew crosses and circles (her own opaque language) atop the hard-to-parse computing language. She was at once bothered and intrigued by the specialized language of science, parodying its rigidity while also collaborating with scientists and academics in the creation of her work. This somewhat absurd but generative pushback against convention repeats across the work throughout the show.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AutomataS_2000b.jpg\" alt=\"gallery view with mobile, wide framed work on paper and small sculptures on narrow pedestals\" class=\"wp-image-13992693\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AutomataS_2000b.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AutomataS_2000b-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AutomataS_2000b-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AutomataS_2000b-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Installation view of ‘Automata Sigils’ with work by (L to R) Carmen Winant, Sonya Rapoport and Kelley O’Leary. (Casemore Gallery)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In one corner of the gallery, a comically large cardboard box, over six feet tall, stands on a crate. Phrases are written on its sides, their meaning lying between practical and incantatory. “Have you spotted your 2 butterfliers?” one marker scrawl says. Another reads, “Heavy.” Get closer and a noise can be heard from the package. This is \u003cem>BUBBLE WRAP ME AND HANDLE WITH CARE\u003c/em> (2026) by Billie Ocean. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Inside the box, a missing back side reveals a blue bubble-wrapped room and a flatscreen, where a video announces that you are commencing a journey into the future. The narrator warns that it’s not so easy to time travel, later asking if you have ever bubble wrapped your heart. Overall, the experience is playful, and yet that playfulness is exactly where the darker, or heavier, bits of Ocean’s work thrive. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AutomataS_2000.jpg\" alt=\"gallery view with textile work and overly large carboard box\" class=\"wp-image-13992692\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AutomataS_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AutomataS_2000-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AutomataS_2000-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AutomataS_2000-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Installation view of ‘Automata Sigils’ at Casemore Gallery with Ariella Robinson’s work at left, Billie Ocean’s ‘BUBBLEWRAP ME AND HANDLE WITH CARE,’ 2026 at right. (Casemore Gallery)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A similar kind of uncertainty and tension exists in Ariella Robinson’s pink-hued textile work \u003cem>Aphorism and Seashell VII (Something)\u003c/em> (2026). Depicting a bouquet of red flowers, the entire work is covered in stitches, like a lavish blanket. Upon closer inspection, some of the stitching resolves into words: a recollection of a moment when a partner was too timid to pee in front of the narrator, even though they had just slept together. Reading the text creates a sense of imbalance — between an explicit, awkward love scene and an inviting, quilt-like textile. Bringing viewers into cozy proximity, Robinson wields power dynamics like another material in her arsenal.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sharing a visual vibrancy with Robinson’s work are Mia Weiner’s handwoven Jacquard tapestries, based on photographs that depict the entangled, bare legs of bodies at ease. Up close, the images lose their form and become abstracted; the weavings distort, withholding clarity the closer we get to them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" data-id=\"13992704\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/OLeary_2000.jpg\" alt=\"clear pyramid with embedded black fragment of SpaceX debris\" class=\"wp-image-13992704\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/OLeary_2000.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/OLeary_2000-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/OLeary_2000-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/OLeary_2000-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kelley O’Leary, ‘Starship Sigil II,’ 2025. (Casemore Gallery)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" data-id=\"13992690\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/CW002_I-am-an-Instrument-in-the-shape-of-woman_2021_72.jpg\" alt=\"mobile of hanging shaped metal with images printed on them\" class=\"wp-image-13992690\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/CW002_I-am-an-Instrument-in-the-shape-of-woman_2021_72.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/CW002_I-am-an-Instrument-in-the-shape-of-woman_2021_72-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/CW002_I-am-an-Instrument-in-the-shape-of-woman_2021_72-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/CW002_I-am-an-Instrument-in-the-shape-of-woman_2021_72-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Carmen Winant, ‘I Am an Instrument in the Shape of a Woman Trying to Translate Pulsations into Images for the Relief of the Body and the Reconstruction of the Mind,’ 2021. (Casemore Gallery)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Kelley O’Leary’s resin works are meant to flummox from any distance. Each resin piece contains either ulexite (according to the show press release a “mineral whose optical properties resemble those of fiber-optic transmission”) or fallen bits of a Space X test rocket. Preserved like rare or precious gems, the sculptures resemble objects from some futuristic, techno-romantic world. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The final works in the show, Carmen Winant’s large steel mobiles, look back rather than forward, sourcing images from 1970s instruction manuals. Images replace each other as the mobiles slowly turn, creating a moving archive of crafts made largely by women. Winant’s materials are important here: images that were once as ephemeral as the crafts they were designed to teach are now fixed to steel, giving the practices (and people pictured) permanence.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Today we use technology as a distraction, allowing its allure and usefulness to separate us from our bodily experience. The smartphone, especially, is an isolating kind of tool, however useful it may be. But at Casemore Gallery, until the end of the month, \u003cem>Automata Sigils\u003c/em> offers a reminder that sacred objects and our impermanent bodies still very much exist, even in our tech-driven world.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘\u003ca href=\"https://casemoregallery.com/exhibitions/69-automata-sigils-billie-ocean-kelley-oleary-sonya-rapoport-ariella-robinson/installation_shots/\">Automata Sigils\u003c/a>’ is on view at Casemore Gallery (1275 Minnesota St., San Francisco) through Aug. 29, 2026.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The standout piece in the show, \u003cem>Journey\u003c/em> (1976), by Sonya Rapoport, is also the linchpin of the exhibition. Over nearly 15 feet of computer printouts, Rapoport drew crosses and circles (her own opaque language) atop the hard-to-parse computing language. She was at once bothered and intrigued by the specialized language of science, parodying its rigidity while also collaborating with scientists and academics in the creation of her work. This somewhat absurd but generative pushback against convention repeats across the work throughout the show.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The standout piece in the show, \u003cem>Journey\u003c/em> (1976), by Sonya Rapoport, is also the linchpin of the exhibition. Over nearly 15 feet of computer printouts, Rapoport drew crosses and circles (her own opaque language) atop the hard-to-parse computing language. She was at once bothered and intrigued by the specialized language of science, parodying its rigidity while also collaborating with scientists and academics in the creation of her work. This somewhat absurd but generative pushback against convention repeats across the work throughout the show.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In one corner of the gallery, a comically large cardboard box, over six feet tall, stands on a crate. Phrases are written on its sides, their meaning lying between practical and incantatory. “Have you spotted your 2 butterfliers?” one marker scrawl says. Another reads, “Heavy.” Get closer and a noise can be heard from the package. This is \u003cem>BUBBLE WRAP ME AND HANDLE WITH CARE\u003c/em> (2026) by Billie Ocean. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In one corner of the gallery, a comically large cardboard box, over six feet tall, stands on a crate. Phrases are written on its sides, their meaning lying between practical and incantatory. “Have you spotted your 2 butterfliers?” one marker scrawl says. Another reads, “Heavy.” Get closer and a noise can be heard from the package. This is \u003cem>BUBBLE WRAP ME AND HANDLE WITH CARE\u003c/em> (2026) by Billie Ocean. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Inside the box, a missing back side reveals a blue bubble-wrapped room and a flatscreen, where a video announces that you are commencing a journey into the future. The narrator warns that it’s not so easy to time travel, later asking if you have ever bubble wrapped your heart. Overall, the experience is playful, and yet that playfulness is exactly where the darker, or heavier, bits of Ocean’s work thrive. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Inside the box, a missing back side reveals a blue bubble-wrapped room and a flatscreen, where a video announces that you are commencing a journey into the future. The narrator warns that it’s not so easy to time travel, later asking if you have ever bubble wrapped your heart. Overall, the experience is playful, and yet that playfulness is exactly where the darker, or heavier, bits of Ocean’s work thrive. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A similar kind of uncertainty and tension exists in Ariella Robinson’s pink-hued textile work \u003cem>Aphorism and Seashell VII (Something)\u003c/em> (2026). Depicting a bouquet of red flowers, the entire work is covered in stitches, like a lavish blanket. Upon closer inspection, some of the stitching resolves into words: a recollection of a moment when a partner was too timid to pee in front of the narrator, even though they had just slept together. Reading the text creates a sense of imbalance — between an explicit, awkward love scene and an inviting, quilt-like textile. Bringing viewers into cozy proximity, Robinson wields power dynamics like another material in her arsenal.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sharing a visual vibrancy with Robinson’s work are Mia Weiner’s handwoven Jacquard tapestries, based on photographs that depict the entangled, bare legs of bodies at ease. Up close, the images lose their form and become abstracted; the weavings distort, withholding clarity the closer we get to them.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Kelley O’Leary’s resin works are meant to flummox from any distance. Each resin piece contains either ulexite (according to the show press release a “mineral whose optical properties resemble those of fiber-optic transmission”) or fallen bits of a Space X test rocket. Preserved like rare or precious gems, the sculptures resemble objects from some futuristic, techno-romantic world. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The final works in the show, Carmen Winant’s large steel mobiles, look back rather than forward, sourcing images from 1970s instruction manuals. Images replace each other as the mobiles slowly turn, creating a moving archive of crafts made largely by women. Winant’s materials are important here: images that were once as ephemeral as the crafts they were designed to teach are now fixed to steel, giving the practices (and people pictured) permanence.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The final works in the show, Carmen Winant’s large steel mobiles, look back rather than forward, sourcing images from 1970s instruction manuals. Images replace each other as the mobiles slowly turn, creating a moving archive of crafts made largely by women. Winant’s materials are important here: images that were once as ephemeral as the crafts they were designed to teach are now fixed to steel, giving the practices (and people pictured) permanence.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Today we use technology as a distraction, allowing its allure and usefulness to separate us from our bodily experience. The smartphone, especially, is an isolating kind of tool, however useful it may be. But at Casemore Gallery, until the end of the month, \u003cem>Automata Sigils\u003c/em> offers a reminder that sacred objects and our impermanent bodies still very much exist, even in our tech-driven world.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Today we use technology as a distraction, allowing its allure and usefulness to separate us from our bodily experience. The smartphone, especially, is an isolating kind of tool, however useful it may be. But at Casemore Gallery, until the end of the month, \u003cem>Automata Sigils\u003c/em> offers a reminder that sacred objects and our impermanent bodies still very much exist, even in our tech-driven world.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘\u003ca href=\"https://casemoregallery.com/exhibitions/69-automata-sigils-billie-ocean-kelley-oleary-sonya-rapoport-ariella-robinson/installation_shots/\">Automata Sigils\u003c/a>’ is on view at Casemore Gallery (1275 Minnesota St., San Francisco) through Aug. 29, 2026.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "‘Automata Sigils’ at Casemore Gallery presents six artists who push back against an isolating future.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Sometimes, exhibitions with a curatorial conceit of juxtaposition — AI vs. human, art vs. technology \u003cem>—\u003c/em> can fall flat, not because the artwork itself is bad, but because the juxtaposition trades nuance for shock value. Thankfully, Casemore Gallery’s \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://casemoregallery.com/exhibitions/69-automata-sigils-billie-ocean-kelley-oleary-sonya-rapoport-ariella-robinson/installation_shots/\">Automata Sigils\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, on view through Aug. 29, escapes this trap. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The group show, co-curated by Janie Perez-Radler, presents six women artists who explore contrasts between machines and organic, embodied or sacred material. These works, though provocative, leave room for uncertainty and exploration.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The standout piece in the show, \u003cem>Journey\u003c/em> (1976), by Sonya Rapoport, is also the linchpin of the exhibition. Over nearly 15 feet of computer printouts, Rapoport drew crosses and circles (her own opaque language) atop the hard-to-parse computing language. She was at once bothered and intrigued by the specialized language of science, parodying its rigidity while also collaborating with scientists and academics in the creation of her work. This somewhat absurd but generative pushback against convention repeats across the work throughout the show.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AutomataS_2000b.jpg\" alt=\"gallery view with mobile, wide framed work on paper and small sculptures on narrow pedestals\" class=\"wp-image-13992693\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AutomataS_2000b.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AutomataS_2000b-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AutomataS_2000b-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AutomataS_2000b-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Installation view of ‘Automata Sigils’ with work by (L to R) Carmen Winant, Sonya Rapoport and Kelley O’Leary. (Casemore Gallery)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In one corner of the gallery, a comically large cardboard box, over six feet tall, stands on a crate. Phrases are written on its sides, their meaning lying between practical and incantatory. “Have you spotted your 2 butterfliers?” one marker scrawl says. Another reads, “Heavy.” Get closer and a noise can be heard from the package. This is \u003cem>BUBBLE WRAP ME AND HANDLE WITH CARE\u003c/em> (2026) by Billie Ocean. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Inside the box, a missing back side reveals a blue bubble-wrapped room and a flatscreen, where a video announces that you are commencing a journey into the future. The narrator warns that it’s not so easy to time travel, later asking if you have ever bubble wrapped your heart. Overall, the experience is playful, and yet that playfulness is exactly where the darker, or heavier, bits of Ocean’s work thrive. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AutomataS_2000.jpg\" alt=\"gallery view with textile work and overly large carboard box\" class=\"wp-image-13992692\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AutomataS_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AutomataS_2000-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AutomataS_2000-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AutomataS_2000-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Installation view of ‘Automata Sigils’ at Casemore Gallery with Ariella Robinson’s work at left, Billie Ocean’s ‘BUBBLEWRAP ME AND HANDLE WITH CARE,’ 2026 at right. (Casemore Gallery)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A similar kind of uncertainty and tension exists in Ariella Robinson’s pink-hued textile work \u003cem>Aphorism and Seashell VII (Something)\u003c/em> (2026). Depicting a bouquet of red flowers, the entire work is covered in stitches, like a lavish blanket. Upon closer inspection, some of the stitching resolves into words: a recollection of a moment when a partner was too timid to pee in front of the narrator, even though they had just slept together. Reading the text creates a sense of imbalance — between an explicit, awkward love scene and an inviting, quilt-like textile. Bringing viewers into cozy proximity, Robinson wields power dynamics like another material in her arsenal.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sharing a visual vibrancy with Robinson’s work are Mia Weiner’s handwoven Jacquard tapestries, based on photographs that depict the entangled, bare legs of bodies at ease. Up close, the images lose their form and become abstracted; the weavings distort, withholding clarity the closer we get to them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" data-id=\"13992704\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/OLeary_2000.jpg\" alt=\"clear pyramid with embedded black fragment of SpaceX debris\" class=\"wp-image-13992704\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/OLeary_2000.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/OLeary_2000-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/OLeary_2000-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/OLeary_2000-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kelley O’Leary, ‘Starship Sigil II,’ 2025. (Casemore Gallery)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" data-id=\"13992690\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/CW002_I-am-an-Instrument-in-the-shape-of-woman_2021_72.jpg\" alt=\"mobile of hanging shaped metal with images printed on them\" class=\"wp-image-13992690\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/CW002_I-am-an-Instrument-in-the-shape-of-woman_2021_72.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/CW002_I-am-an-Instrument-in-the-shape-of-woman_2021_72-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/CW002_I-am-an-Instrument-in-the-shape-of-woman_2021_72-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/CW002_I-am-an-Instrument-in-the-shape-of-woman_2021_72-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Carmen Winant, ‘I Am an Instrument in the Shape of a Woman Trying to Translate Pulsations into Images for the Relief of the Body and the Reconstruction of the Mind,’ 2021. (Casemore Gallery)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Kelley O’Leary’s resin works are meant to flummox from any distance. Each resin piece contains either ulexite (according to the show press release a “mineral whose optical properties resemble those of fiber-optic transmission”) or fallen bits of a Space X test rocket. Preserved like rare or precious gems, the sculptures resemble objects from some futuristic, techno-romantic world. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The final works in the show, Carmen Winant’s large steel mobiles, look back rather than forward, sourcing images from 1970s instruction manuals. Images replace each other as the mobiles slowly turn, creating a moving archive of crafts made largely by women. Winant’s materials are important here: images that were once as ephemeral as the crafts they were designed to teach are now fixed to steel, giving the practices (and people pictured) permanence.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Today we use technology as a distraction, allowing its allure and usefulness to separate us from our bodily experience. The smartphone, especially, is an isolating kind of tool, however useful it may be. But at Casemore Gallery, until the end of the month, \u003cem>Automata Sigils\u003c/em> offers a reminder that sacred objects and our impermanent bodies still very much exist, even in our tech-driven world.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘\u003ca href=\"https://casemoregallery.com/exhibitions/69-automata-sigils-billie-ocean-kelley-oleary-sonya-rapoport-ariella-robinson/installation_shots/\">Automata Sigils\u003c/a>’ is on view at Casemore Gallery (1275 Minnesota St., San Francisco) through Aug. 29, 2026.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "outside-lands-mariah-the-scientist-kwn-destin-conrad",
"title": "We Found the Queer R&B Sanctuary at Outside Lands",
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"headTitle": "We Found the Queer R&B Sanctuary at Outside Lands | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>After two days packed with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13992518/outside-lands-charli-xcx-panties-glorilla-wet-leg\">high-adrenaline\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13992542/malcolm-todd-pink-pantheress-silvana-estrada-strokes-outside-lands\">performances\u003c/a>, Sunday at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/outside-lands\">Outside Lands\u003c/a> offered festivalgoers an oasis to recharge before the work week.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The day began with the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus honoring those who lost their lives to HIV/AIDS. Death Cab for Cutie treated fans with their soulful and somber anthems. And RÜFÜS DU SOL closed the main stage with their hypnotic brand of electronic music.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the stage that nourished the soul throughout the day was Twin Peaks, graced by back-to-back R&B performances and powered by a loud and proud queer energy from the audience. While the festival promoted the \u003ca href=\"https://sfoutsidelands.com/music/dolores/\">Dolores’ dance floor\u003c/a> as the space celebrating LGBTQ+ communities, the Twin Peaks stage became another haven for queer fans.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_032_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992597\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_032_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_032_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_032_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_032_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mariah the Scientist performs at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>And yes — in typical Outside Lands fashion — it was very cold. Mariah the Scientist certainly thought so.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You owe me a warm night, honey,” the Atlanta-raised R&B superstar joked with the crowd. “I don’t even know if I get that in this town.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the air sweeping in from the Pacific Ocean felt a little warmer when Mariah delivered the chorus of “Like You Never” from her 2025 album \u003cem>Hearts Sold Separately\u003c/em>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mariah’s soft, intimate vocals make a perfect match with her fluid, enchanting melodies. Wearing a pink general’s cap adorned with a pussy bow that rippled in the wind, she rallied fans with “2 You” — her anthem to an impossible love. Fans responded by putting two fingers in the air.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_033_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992593\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_033_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_033_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_033_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_033_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fans put two fingers in the air as Mariah the Scientist performs her hit song ‘2 You’ at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>A sensual choreography that included fabulous back-up dancers sporting pink bedazzled military-inspired uniforms (epaulettes and all), Mariah commanded the audience to channel their own sensuality. And of course, to embrace and savor all the feelings that come with heartbreak.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kwn had the crowd twerking\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While Mariah’s lyrics suggest intimacy, British performer kwn (pronounced kay-one) drives it to the front. Since first coming onto the scene in 2022, kwn has worked to make space for queer female love in R&B. Her performance style is fueled by her charisma, confidence and swag.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_017_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992585\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_017_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_017_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_017_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_017_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kwn performs at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>In her latest album \u003cem>and all pride aside\u003c/em>, she makes sapphic desire tangible and her fans match that energy. As soon as she began singing “risk it all” — a song about finding a baddie at the club — the crowd was already twerking. Just one smile from kwn sparked screams from hundreds of fans. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kwn’ songs dig into the nuances that come with being a heartthrob. She’s very attentive of her partner’s sexual needs in “‘til u cry.” She’s a player showing off her game in “five more.” Devoted and adoring in “eyes wide open.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_019_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992586\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_019_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_019_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_019_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_019_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tay Burley, 29, watches kwn perform on the Twin Peaks stage at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>With a taper fade, a gold chain, a flannel button-up and a wallet chain to complete the player persona, kwn kept her look sleek and clean. But the ’90s R&B aesthetic — denim shorts, track suits and big, clunky jewelry — could be spotted all over the crowd. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Destin Conrad made his Outside Lands debut\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Perhaps no one embraced the ’90s aesthetic more than Destin Conrad, the Florida-bred singer-songwriter who built a massive following on Vine in the 2010s and whose latest album \u003cem>Love on Digital\u003c/em> was nominated for a Grammy. The 26-year-old rocked a two-toned Canadian tuxedo and snake-print shoes for his Outside Lands debut.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_010_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992584\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_010_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_010_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_010_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_010_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Destin Conrad performs at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’ve got an alter ego,” he told the crowd with a smile before singing “MR. E,” where he showed off his vocal style: a silky, airy whisper that moves effortlessly between ranges. And he got the crowd hyped with the more upbeat “JUMPIN’,” a rallying cry for “bad bitches and pretty boys, they/thems, non-binary hoes.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the loudest cheers came when Conrad sang “KISSING IN PUBLIC” — a celebration of kissing a male love interest without fear. “I see a lot of cute boys here,” he told the crowd with a smile.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">More Sunday highlights\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_023_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992589\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_023_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_023_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_023_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_023_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Aaliyah Rhodes, 27, wears fuzzy alien earmuffs to stay warm at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_028_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992591\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_028_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_028_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_028_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_028_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Infinity Song performs at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_024_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992590\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_024_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_024_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_024_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_024_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sharmane Fulgado, 30, wears an Oakland hat wrapped in a colorful scarf at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. Fulgado was one of the many people who were both fashionable and bundled up. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_035_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992594\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_035_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_035_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_035_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_035_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mariah the Scientist performs at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_042_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992595\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_042_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_042_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_042_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_042_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Death Cab for Cutie performs at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_036_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992599\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_036_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_036_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_036_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_036_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Death Cab for Cutie performs at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_049_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992596\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_049_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_049_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_049_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_049_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Thousands of festival goers party late into the night as Rüfüs Du Sol headlines Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After two days packed with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13992518/outside-lands-charli-xcx-panties-glorilla-wet-leg\">high-adrenaline\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13992542/malcolm-todd-pink-pantheress-silvana-estrada-strokes-outside-lands\">performances\u003c/a>, Sunday at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/outside-lands\">Outside Lands\u003c/a> offered festivalgoers an oasis to recharge before the work week.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>After two days packed with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13992518/outside-lands-charli-xcx-panties-glorilla-wet-leg\">high-adrenaline\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13992542/malcolm-todd-pink-pantheress-silvana-estrada-strokes-outside-lands\">performances\u003c/a>, Sunday at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/outside-lands\">Outside Lands\u003c/a> offered festivalgoers an oasis to recharge before the work week.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The day began with the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus honoring those who lost their lives to HIV/AIDS. Death Cab for Cutie treated fans with their soulful and somber anthems. And RÜFÜS DU SOL closed the main stage with their hypnotic brand of electronic music.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The day began with the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus honoring those who lost their lives to HIV/AIDS. Death Cab for Cutie treated fans with their soulful and somber anthems. And RÜFÜS DU SOL closed the main stage with their hypnotic brand of electronic music.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But the stage that nourished the soul throughout the day was Twin Peaks, graced by back-to-back R&B performances and powered by a loud and proud queer energy from the audience. While the festival promoted the \u003ca href=\"https://sfoutsidelands.com/music/dolores/\">Dolores’ dance floor\u003c/a> as the space celebrating LGBTQ+ communities, the Twin Peaks stage became another haven for queer fans.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But the stage that nourished the soul throughout the day was Twin Peaks, graced by back-to-back R&B performances and powered by a loud and proud queer energy from the audience. While the festival promoted the \u003ca href=\"https://sfoutsidelands.com/music/dolores/\">Dolores’ dance floor\u003c/a> as the space celebrating LGBTQ+ communities, the Twin Peaks stage became another haven for queer fans.\u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_032_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_032_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_032_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_032_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_032_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992597\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_032_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_032_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_032_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_032_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mariah the Scientist performs at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_032_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992597\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mariah the Scientist performs at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And yes — in typical Outside Lands fashion — it was very cold. Mariah the Scientist certainly thought so.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>And yes — in typical Outside Lands fashion — it was very cold. Mariah the Scientist certainly thought so.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“You owe me a warm night, honey,” the Atlanta-raised R&B superstar joked with the crowd. “I don’t even know if I get that in this town.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“You owe me a warm night, honey,” the Atlanta-raised R&B superstar joked with the crowd. “I don’t even know if I get that in this town.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But the air sweeping in from the Pacific Ocean felt a little warmer when Mariah delivered the chorus of “Like You Never” from her 2025 album \u003cem>Hearts Sold Separately\u003c/em>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But the air sweeping in from the Pacific Ocean felt a little warmer when Mariah delivered the chorus of “Like You Never” from her 2025 album \u003cem>Hearts Sold Separately\u003c/em>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Mariah’s soft, intimate vocals make a perfect match with her fluid, enchanting melodies. Wearing a pink general’s cap adorned with a pussy bow that rippled in the wind, she rallied fans with “2 You” — her anthem to an impossible love. Fans responded by putting two fingers in the air.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Mariah’s soft, intimate vocals make a perfect match with her fluid, enchanting melodies. Wearing a pink general’s cap adorned with a pussy bow that rippled in the wind, she rallied fans with “2 You” — her anthem to an impossible love. Fans responded by putting two fingers in the air.\u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_033_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_033_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_033_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_033_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_033_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992593\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_033_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_033_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_033_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_033_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fans put two fingers in the air as Mariah the Scientist performs her hit song ‘2 You’ at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_033_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992593\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fans put two fingers in the air as Mariah the Scientist performs her hit song ‘2 You’ at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A sensual choreography that included fabulous back-up dancers sporting pink bedazzled military-inspired uniforms (epaulettes and all), Mariah commanded the audience to channel their own sensuality. And of course, to embrace and savor all the feelings that come with heartbreak.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A sensual choreography that included fabulous back-up dancers sporting pink bedazzled military-inspired uniforms (epaulettes and all), Mariah commanded the audience to channel their own sensuality. And of course, to embrace and savor all the feelings that come with heartbreak.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "Kwn had the crowd twerking",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kwn had the crowd twerking\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kwn had the crowd twerking\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While Mariah’s lyrics suggest intimacy, British performer kwn (pronounced kay-one) drives it to the front. Since first coming onto the scene in 2022, kwn has worked to make space for queer female love in R&B. Her performance style is fueled by her charisma, confidence and swag.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While Mariah’s lyrics suggest intimacy, British performer kwn (pronounced kay-one) drives it to the front. Since first coming onto the scene in 2022, kwn has worked to make space for queer female love in R&B. Her performance style is fueled by her charisma, confidence and swag.\u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_017_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_017_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_017_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_017_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_017_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992585\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_017_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_017_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_017_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_017_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kwn performs at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_017_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992585\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kwn performs at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In her latest album \u003cem>and all pride aside\u003c/em>, she makes sapphic desire tangible and her fans match that energy. As soon as she began singing “risk it all” — a song about finding a baddie at the club — the crowd was already twerking. Just one smile from kwn sparked screams from hundreds of fans. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In her latest album \u003cem>and all pride aside\u003c/em>, she makes sapphic desire tangible and her fans match that energy. As soon as she began singing “risk it all” — a song about finding a baddie at the club — the crowd was already twerking. Just one smile from kwn sparked screams from hundreds of fans. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Kwn’ songs dig into the nuances that come with being a heartthrob. She’s very attentive of her partner’s sexual needs in “‘til u cry.” She’s a player showing off her game in “five more.” Devoted and adoring in “eyes wide open.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Kwn’ songs dig into the nuances that come with being a heartthrob. She’s very attentive of her partner’s sexual needs in “‘til u cry.” She’s a player showing off her game in “five more.” Devoted and adoring in “eyes wide open.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_019_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_019_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_019_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_019_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_019_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992586\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_019_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_019_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_019_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_019_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tay Burley, 29, watches kwn perform on the Twin Peaks stage at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_019_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992586\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tay Burley, 29, watches kwn perform on the Twin Peaks stage at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>With a taper fade, a gold chain, a flannel button-up and a wallet chain to complete the player persona, kwn kept her look sleek and clean. But the ’90s R&B aesthetic — denim shorts, track suits and big, clunky jewelry — could be spotted all over the crowd. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>With a taper fade, a gold chain, a flannel button-up and a wallet chain to complete the player persona, kwn kept her look sleek and clean. But the ’90s R&B aesthetic — denim shorts, track suits and big, clunky jewelry — could be spotted all over the crowd. \u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "Destin Conrad made his Outside Lands debut",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Destin Conrad made his Outside Lands debut\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Perhaps no one embraced the ’90s aesthetic more than Destin Conrad, the Florida-bred singer-songwriter who built a massive following on Vine in the 2010s and whose latest album \u003cem>Love on Digital\u003c/em> was nominated for a Grammy. The 26-year-old rocked a two-toned Canadian tuxedo and snake-print shoes for his Outside Lands debut.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Perhaps no one embraced the ’90s aesthetic more than Destin Conrad, the Florida-bred singer-songwriter who built a massive following on Vine in the 2010s and whose latest album \u003cem>Love on Digital\u003c/em> was nominated for a Grammy. The 26-year-old rocked a two-toned Canadian tuxedo and snake-print shoes for his Outside Lands debut.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I’ve got an alter ego,” he told the crowd with a smile before singing “MR. E,” where he showed off his vocal style: a silky, airy whisper that moves effortlessly between ranges. And he got the crowd hyped with the more upbeat “JUMPIN’,” a rallying cry for “bad bitches and pretty boys, they/thems, non-binary hoes.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But the loudest cheers came when Conrad sang “KISSING IN PUBLIC” — a celebration of kissing a male love interest without fear. “I see a lot of cute boys here,” he told the crowd with a smile.\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>After two days packed with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13992518/outside-lands-charli-xcx-panties-glorilla-wet-leg\">high-adrenaline\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13992542/malcolm-todd-pink-pantheress-silvana-estrada-strokes-outside-lands\">performances\u003c/a>, Sunday at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/outside-lands\">Outside Lands\u003c/a> offered festivalgoers an oasis to recharge before the work week.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The day began with the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus honoring those who lost their lives to HIV/AIDS. Death Cab for Cutie treated fans with their soulful and somber anthems. And RÜFÜS DU SOL closed the main stage with their hypnotic brand of electronic music.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the stage that nourished the soul throughout the day was Twin Peaks, graced by back-to-back R&B performances and powered by a loud and proud queer energy from the audience. While the festival promoted the \u003ca href=\"https://sfoutsidelands.com/music/dolores/\">Dolores’ dance floor\u003c/a> as the space celebrating LGBTQ+ communities, the Twin Peaks stage became another haven for queer fans.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_032_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992597\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_032_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_032_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_032_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_032_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mariah the Scientist performs at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>And yes — in typical Outside Lands fashion — it was very cold. Mariah the Scientist certainly thought so.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You owe me a warm night, honey,” the Atlanta-raised R&B superstar joked with the crowd. “I don’t even know if I get that in this town.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the air sweeping in from the Pacific Ocean felt a little warmer when Mariah delivered the chorus of “Like You Never” from her 2025 album \u003cem>Hearts Sold Separately\u003c/em>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mariah’s soft, intimate vocals make a perfect match with her fluid, enchanting melodies. Wearing a pink general’s cap adorned with a pussy bow that rippled in the wind, she rallied fans with “2 You” — her anthem to an impossible love. Fans responded by putting two fingers in the air.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_033_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992593\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_033_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_033_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_033_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_033_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fans put two fingers in the air as Mariah the Scientist performs her hit song ‘2 You’ at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>A sensual choreography that included fabulous back-up dancers sporting pink bedazzled military-inspired uniforms (epaulettes and all), Mariah commanded the audience to channel their own sensuality. And of course, to embrace and savor all the feelings that come with heartbreak.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kwn had the crowd twerking\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While Mariah’s lyrics suggest intimacy, British performer kwn (pronounced kay-one) drives it to the front. Since first coming onto the scene in 2022, kwn has worked to make space for queer female love in R&B. Her performance style is fueled by her charisma, confidence and swag.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_017_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992585\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_017_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_017_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_017_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_017_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kwn performs at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>In her latest album \u003cem>and all pride aside\u003c/em>, she makes sapphic desire tangible and her fans match that energy. As soon as she began singing “risk it all” — a song about finding a baddie at the club — the crowd was already twerking. Just one smile from kwn sparked screams from hundreds of fans. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kwn’ songs dig into the nuances that come with being a heartthrob. She’s very attentive of her partner’s sexual needs in “‘til u cry.” She’s a player showing off her game in “five more.” Devoted and adoring in “eyes wide open.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_019_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992586\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_019_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_019_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_019_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_019_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tay Burley, 29, watches kwn perform on the Twin Peaks stage at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>With a taper fade, a gold chain, a flannel button-up and a wallet chain to complete the player persona, kwn kept her look sleek and clean. But the ’90s R&B aesthetic — denim shorts, track suits and big, clunky jewelry — could be spotted all over the crowd. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Destin Conrad made his Outside Lands debut\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Perhaps no one embraced the ’90s aesthetic more than Destin Conrad, the Florida-bred singer-songwriter who built a massive following on Vine in the 2010s and whose latest album \u003cem>Love on Digital\u003c/em> was nominated for a Grammy. The 26-year-old rocked a two-toned Canadian tuxedo and snake-print shoes for his Outside Lands debut.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_010_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992584\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_010_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_010_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_010_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_010_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Destin Conrad performs at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’ve got an alter ego,” he told the crowd with a smile before singing “MR. E,” where he showed off his vocal style: a silky, airy whisper that moves effortlessly between ranges. And he got the crowd hyped with the more upbeat “JUMPIN’,” a rallying cry for “bad bitches and pretty boys, they/thems, non-binary hoes.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the loudest cheers came when Conrad sang “KISSING IN PUBLIC” — a celebration of kissing a male love interest without fear. “I see a lot of cute boys here,” he told the crowd with a smile.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">More Sunday highlights\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_023_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992589\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_023_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_023_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_023_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_023_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Aaliyah Rhodes, 27, wears fuzzy alien earmuffs to stay warm at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_028_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992591\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_028_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_028_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_028_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_028_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Infinity Song performs at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_024_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992590\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_024_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_024_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_024_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_024_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sharmane Fulgado, 30, wears an Oakland hat wrapped in a colorful scarf at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. Fulgado was one of the many people who were both fashionable and bundled up. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_035_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992594\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_035_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_035_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_035_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_035_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mariah the Scientist performs at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_042_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992595\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_042_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_042_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_042_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_042_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Death Cab for Cutie performs at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_036_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992599\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_036_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_036_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_036_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_036_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Death Cab for Cutie performs at Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_049_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992596\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_049_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_049_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_049_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/20260809_OutsideLandsDay3_EG_049_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Thousands of festival goers party late into the night as Rüfüs Du Sol headlines Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
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"order": 8
},
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},
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"order": 1
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"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
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"meta": {
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"source": "WNYC"
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"id": "fresh-air",
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"hidden-brain": {
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"hyphenacion": {
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"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"jerrybrown": {
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"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"order": 18
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"title": "Latino USA",
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"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
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},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "American Public Media"
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"masters-of-scale": {
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"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"source": "WaitWhat"
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"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
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"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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