Black music fest organizers hope to grow a new tradition

Nascent event set for Sept. 11 at Mission Theater

Members of Portland’s jazz, hip hop, soul and R&B communities are coming together to highlight African-American music with the first-ever Portland Black Music Festival.

Doors open at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11, at the Mission Theater, 1624 N.W. Glisan St., and the show starts at 4 p.m.

Admission to the 21-and-over event is $25 in advance, $30 the day of the show. You can buy tickets at www.mcmenamins.com.

Trumpeter Farnell Newton organized the festival along with David “O.G. One” Jackson, the official Portland Trailblazers’ deejay, as well as Tony Ozier, a producer and multi-instrumentalist who founded the Doo Doo Funk All-Stars.

Newton says the organizers hope to inspire Portland’s African-American community, as well as music fans, to learn more about black music, issues and culture.

“I wanted an event where you could go and hear a wide spectrum of music, from jazz to hip hop to funk to poetry,” Newton says.

He adds that organizers already have booked the Crystal Ballroom for an expanded festival Sept. 8-10, 2017, and hope to host a music conference to coincide with it.

“Ultimately, the goal is to empower black artists and to bring people together to celebrate and work together on musical and social issues,” Newton says.

Here’s who will be on stage Sept. 11:

• Saeeda Wright — Influenced by such singers as Aretha Franklin and Jill Scott, Wright has toured with Prince as a member of the New Power Generation.

• Rasheed Jamal — Jamal released “Sankofa” last year, an intense, dark 13-track album that touches on such subjects as America as empire, the futility of gang life, religion and urban decay.

• Madgesdiq — Combining hip hop, reggae, soul and funk, Madgesdiq, aka Antoine Terrell Stoudamire, is a former basketball prodigy who has put out such records as “Rastamerica,” “I Wanna Be Free” and “Weed, Politics and Chicks.”

• Rochell D. Hart — Also known as Ro Deezy, Hart has taught at Portland State University and has written seven books, including “Black Girls Song” which was nominated in 2001 for the Oregon Literary Award, the state’s highest literature honor.

• Tyrone Hendrix — A drummer and music instructor, Hendrix has supplied the beat for Mike Phillips, the Liv Warfield Experience, the Doo Doo Funk All-Stars, Tony Furtado and Stevie Wonder.

• Patrick Seraya — Born in Congo, nimble-fingered guitarist Patrick Seraya creates danceable music that is among the most joyous and uplifting you’ll ever hear in Portland.

• Kimberly Monique — Monique is a melodic soul and R&B singer who can be heard on the 2015 “BeSpeak Love” compilation of Portland soul artists. She also has released a single “I’m Sorry,” the video of which you can find on YouTube.

• Andre St. James — One of the local jazz scene’s go-to bassists, St. James works regularly with his own quintet as well as the Andre St. James/Roger Woods Nonet, Mel Brown, Dan Balmer and others.

• Ronnie Wright — Wright is a smooth, silky soul singer who has drawn comparisons to Luther Vandross and Teddy Pendergrass.

• Cool Nutz — Terrance Scott, aka Cool Nutz, is one of Portland’s best-known rappers and producers and hosts “The Breakout Radio Show” on JAM’N 107.5 FM.

• Mic Capes — Considered one of our city’s rising rap stars, Mic Capes, aka Michael Caples, is about to release “Concrete Dreams,” one of the Portland hip hop community’s most anticipated records.

For more information visit www.portlandblackmusicfest.com.