Emerson College UnCommon Corner

UnCommon Stage Weather Announcement
2024-08-19 12:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York)
Due to weather, the UnCommon Stage and Harpoon Beer Garden will be closed today.

Check back here for the most current updates!

WeAreLoFi
2024-08-20 17:00 - 19:00, 2024-08-23 16:00 - 18:00
Introducing WeAreLoFi, a multi-Grammy-nominated, Golden Globe Award and NAACP image award winning duo who captivates listeners with their signature blend of soulful melodies and laid-back beats. With a passion for creating atmospheric and nostalgic soundscapes, WeAreLofi effortlessly combines elements of jazz, hip-hop, ambient music and MANY more genres to craft a truly unique sonic experience. The group consists of Charles Haynes and Mitch Henry, whose attention to detail and meticulous production techniques result in tracks that transport listeners to a world of tranquility and introspection. With a growing fan base and ever-expanding catalog of mesmerizing compositions, WeAreLofi is making waves in the lo-fi scene. Whether you’re seeking relaxation or a transcendent musical journey, WeAreLofi’s music is the perfect soundtrack for those moments of reflection and escape.

Sam Spear
2024-08-21 18:00 - 20:00
By:PenelopeSantana

The Sam Spear Quintet delivers hard-hitting bop, soulful swing, and blistering ballads. Composed of two saxes, piano, bass, and drums, the group performs an eclectic mix of original tunes and cleverly crafted arrangements of jazz standards.

https://samspearmusic.com/

Facebook: Sam Spear Music

Instagram: @sam_spear_music

Zack Bolles Band
2024-08-22 13:00 - 15:00
The Zack Bolles Band is a folk rock trio featuring Abe Dewing on fiddle, Ed Cardenas on cajon and Zack Bolles on guitar.

www.zackbolles.com

@zackbollesband

BAMS Presents: S.O.U.L.STICE - Toki Wright x Leah Parrett
2024-08-22 16:00 - 20:00
BAMS Fest takes over UnCommon bringing Live Music and Beats to the stage.

Toki Wright is a two-time Emmy Award-winning MC, poet, producer, and cultural diplomat. He has received two CLIO Award for advertising with General Mills for the number one worldwide Twitter trending project “Watch the Stove” which was also nominated for a Cannes Lion Award. Wright is currently the chair of the Professional Music Department at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Before relocating he was the Department Head of the United States’ first fully accredited Hip-Hop Studies program at McNally Smith College of Music. The program was awarded the “Best Transformative Higher Learning Model” from the Hip-Hop Education Center at NYU. Toki also facilitated seven Twin Cities Celebration of Hip-Hop Festivals and helped establish “Hip-Hop at H.E.A.L.S,” a program for former child soldiers in Gulu, Northern Uganda.

Toki’s worked with the US State Department, delivered a TED Talk, and ran the youth-led nonprofit YO! The Movement, helping to build community through the arts. Toki is a freelance writer, radio host and has been a judge for NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest, and a community organizer. He’s released albums and film through his media company Soul Tools Entertainment that have charted top 50 on MTV, iTunes, and more. Wright has performed at events like Coachella, Rock The Bells and more while sharing stages with the likes of Lizzo, Terri Lyne Carrington, Atmosphere, the late Sean Price, and J-Live. Toki has released recordings with Talib Kweli, BJ The Chicago Kid, and G Yamazawa to name a few.

Leah Parrett is a Neo Soul/R&B singer from Brockton Massachusetts. With her powerful lyrics or heartfelt melodies, Leah’s goal is to make her audience feel something after they watch her perform. Leah’s goofy personality onstage makes her performances feel as if it’s a bunch of friends in a room rather than strangers. You’ll experience her amazing band jam out and connect through the music, instantly making it feel like you’ve been transported to wherever her songs take you. Whether she’s singing about heartbreak, being a confused 21 year old or just feeling herself, you’ll relate and want to dig in more.

Zahili Gonzalez Zamora
2024-08-23 14:00 - 16:00
Zahili Gonzalez Zamora is a Cuban pianist, composer, bandleader, arranger, and educator. She feels most defined by her Cuban heritage and her status as an immigrant. Her passion for music has taken her to Canada, to South East Asia and, now, to the United States. Her rich musical background, career experience and extraordinary improvisation skills render her a leader in the modern Latin jazz idiom and an influential, emulated musician.

​In 2018, her Afro-Cuban jazz Trio, MIXCLA, released its self-titled album, which features her original tunes and arrangements. It has received critical acclaim and earned the attention of major agents locally and internationally. The album has thus far advanced in the world of jazz, adding to her accolades two nominations from the Boston Music Awards (2018 & 2019).

https://www.zahilizamora.com

https://www.instagram.com/zahiligz/

Fabiola Méndez
2024-08-23 18:00 - 20:00
Fabiola Méndez is a Puerto Rican cuatro player, singer, educator, and Emmy-nominated composer that has taken part in a musical movement, crossing over the lines of genres such as Folk, Afro-Caribbean & Jazz. Recognized as the Latin Artist of the Year 2023 by the Boston Music Awards, her artistic vision and original music focus on the exploration of culture, ancestry, and identity, inviting the listener to embrace how the power of music and storytelling can unify us. After becoming the first graduate from Berklee College of Music to play the Puerto Rican cuatro as a principal instrument (2018), Fabiola focuses on performing and composing, traveling with her trio to national and international festivals. She has received numerous awards, including the Quincy Jones Award, the Brother Thomas Fellowship, ASCAP Lucille and Jack Yellen Award 2022 and a Children’s and Family Emmy nomination for Outstanding Interactive Media in 2023.

https://www.fabiolamendezmusic.com

Facebook – www.facebook.com/FabiolaMendezMusic

IG – @fabiolamendezmusic

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Puppet Showplace Theater
2024-08-24 12:00 - 13:00
“Marvelous Metamorphoses” presented by Puppet Showplace Theater

Birds, butterflies, frogs, snakes, and more: come celebrate beautiful — and bizarre! — life cycle transformations in this interactive puppet show by Sova Dance & Puppet Theater, presented by Puppet Showplace Theater. We’ll wiggle like caterpillars and bloom like flowers to help polliwogs become frogs and butterflies hatch out of chrysalises. You might even go through your own metamorphosis as we sing and dance our way through this joyful show!

All ages welcome!

Puppet Showplace Theater presents hundreds of family-friendly performances a year in its cozy theater, located in Brookline Village right across from the Green Line T station. Join us for outstanding puppetry for all ages, creative vacation week programs, puppetry workshops for grown-ups, and more! Learn more at www.puppetshowplace.org and follow us in Instagram @puppetshowplace

After our show, live Latin music curated by Ágora Cultural Architects will begin at 1 PM, with tunes the whole family can enjoy!

This event is free to enjoy (food and beverage is available for purchase).

Georgie Rodríguez
2024-08-24 13:00 - 15:00
Georgie Rodriguez is an accomplished Puerto Rican multi-instrumentalist with a solid bass and guitar career. He is also an experienced composer, arranger, music producer/director, andrecording musician. His trajectory includes a Grammy Award for Best Tropical Album (2017)¿Dónde Están? with Guasábara Combo, and Latin Grammy Awards for Best Salsa Album(2010) and Best Merengue Album (1997).Self-taught and a lifelong learner, Georgie has developed a unique music style reflecting hisorigins and expansive musical journey across styles and genres. From his childhood influences with gospel music and the Puerto Rican cuatro to his latest novel salsa arrangements and compositions for chamber orchestra, Georgie is a well-rounded musician who masters tropical music, jazz, Puerto Rican and Caribbean genres, and diverse pop styles. Georgie identifies pianist and arranger José Lugo as a significant influence for his vision of preserving traditions while innovating and maintaining high musical standards and rigor.Georgie performs and produces music as a member of prominent Puerto Rican ensembles:Guasábara Combo, Pedro Guzmán’s Jíbaro Jazz, Ángel David Mattos & Jazz Boricua, PabloRosario’s Orinoco and Tatoo’s Sextet Tribute to Joe Cuba. Throughout his career, he hasperformed and recorded with renowned artists, including; Alexandre Pires, Andy Montañez,Cheo Feliciano, Danny Rivera, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Hermán Olivera, Isaac Delgado, JerryMedina, Luis Perico Ortiz, Olga Tañón, Rafael Dávila (tenor), Roberto Rohena, Tego Calderón,Trina Medina and Vicente García.

DJ Cano Cangrejo
2024-08-24 15:00 - 17:00
Cano Cangrejo is a DJ from Santurce Puerto Rico specializing in Classic Puerto Rican, Caribbean, and African Diaspora music. From 1991 to 1994 Cano hosted an original show, Salsíbiri, on WERS Boston, playing salsa and Latin jazz.

Cano has been DJing parties and events in all kinds of venues in Puerto Rico where he lives, Boston (his second home), and throughout the United States for the last 25 years. Using a ‘selector style’ approach to DJing, Cano focuses on playing rare grooves, forgotten gems and straight-up classics to make folks dance and listen to “El Saoco”.

Tolieth
2024-08-24 18:00 - 20:00
Tolieth is a contemporary soul singer fusing elements of reggae, Afrobeats, and pop into an upbeat live performance. Good vibes and smooth grooves are guaranteed with Tolieth on the mic.

https://tolieth.com/

Anibal Cruz
2024-08-25 12:00 - 14:00
Cuban Pianist, Composer, Arranger, and Bandleader Anibal Cruz is a Berklee graduate, skilled in Composition and Jazz performance. Since launching his career, he has achieved significant milestones including his first single, “La Raza,” released in 2021. Cruz has performed alongside notable artists such as Paquito de Rivera, Armando Manzanero, Egui Castrillo, Joe McCarthy, Ruben Rodrigez, Alain Perez, and Berta Rojas, in addition to being part of the cast of Ayodele Casel’s “Chasing Magic.”

His international tours span Europe, Latin America, and the United States, featuring performances with Ayodele Casel, David Rivera, DeJan, Los Adolescentes, Manolo Mairena, Cucu Diamantes, and Adonis Puentes since 2018. As a bandleader, he heads Clave & Blues, a Cuban & Latin Music Orchestra, and The Blue Island Project, a Latin Jazz quartet.

In his growing discography, Cruz has contributed to several albums including “Ricano” by Jonathan Suazo, “Illegal Grooves” by Nacho Gonzalez, “Ká Berto” by Jaasiel Sança, “Coffee Gold Sugar Cane” by Flavio Lira, “De todo un poco” by Manolo Mairena, and “Desde Lejos” by Juan Ruiz. His involvement in these diverse projects showcases his versatility and commitment to his musical career.
