Black Artists

Celebrating Black History Month with Qello Concerts

Stingray — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 19:31:28 +0000

Celebrating Black History Month with Qello Concerts Stingray Fri, 02/04/2022

In honour of Black History Month, Qello Concerts is proud to present some of the most important, inspiring, and inventive Black music artists at the top of their game. This collection shines a spotlight on some of their peak moments onstage (as well as documentary-style footage), curated specially for the month of February.

Black Music Artists Who Inspire Us

Learn more about some of the most epic performances featured in this collection:

Black History Month Facts

What month is Black History Month?

Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans. It is also known as African-American History Month. It is celebrated in February in the United States and Canada, and in October in Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Who started Black History Month?

Black History Month grew out of “Negro History Week,” an event that happened in the United States during the second week of February, in 1926. This week of celebrations was launched by historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. Its purpose was to promote and celebrate achievements by Black Americans and other peoples of African descent.

What is Black History Month today?

Back History Month is now an international celebration, that has expanded beyond the educational establishments. Each year, Carter G. Woodson's organization, now known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, designates a theme for this special month. In 2022, we’re celebrating "Black Health and Wellness", focusing on medical scholars, health care providers, and health outcomes.

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Black music artists who inspire us | Gospel According to Al Green

Eric C. — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 18:38:29 +0000

Black music artists who inspire us | Gospel According to Al Green Eric C. Fri, 02/04/2022

There are certain voices that move something inside us. Sometimes It can be joy, anger, sadness, fear, elation - and sometimes it can be that overwhelming feeling of love and a undeniable desire for babymakin’ - the kind of feeling we get from listening to greats like Barry White, Teddy Pendergrass, D’Angelo, and the Reverend, Al Green.

In his heyday, Al Green was not only one of the most singular voices in soul music, instantly recognizable, and universally loved, but he was also a fashion icon. In fact, today fans are encouraged to visit the Stax Museum in Memphis, where Al Green’s famous leather stage suit is on full display.

Speaking of Stax Records, Al Green was very much the last true successor of Stax artists like Sam Cooke and Otis Redding - and then somewhere along the way, he went from singing about secular sexy things to singing about the big guy upstairs. In the ‘80s, Al Green decided to go full-on gospel, becoming a member of the ministry and leading his own congregation. Rumour has it, anyone can go to Memphis on a Sunday and participate in his weekly ceremony - where he spreads the message of the gospel, providing a spiritual home for his community.

Gospel According to Al Green looks at his transition from hugely successful soul singer to gospel artist and fundamentalist preacher. Filmed in concert in Washington, D.C., in rehearsal in his recording studio, in a service at his Memphis church, and in an extended interview, Green reveals himself to be an electrifying performer, whether singing love songs to women or spiritual ones to God.

Watch the full show here.

Discover our Black History Month series here!

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Black music artists who inspire us | Prince - Purple Reign

Eric C. — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 18:32:41 +0000

Black music artists who inspire us | Prince - Purple Reign Eric C. Fri, 02/04/2022

When Prince Rogers Nelson died on April 21, 2016, he left a massive, gaping hole in the lives of millions of music fans around the world. The news of his passing was an immense shock to the global music community, and still today, many fans (including us at Qello Concerts), continue to grapple with the reality that Prince has shuffled off this mortal coil.

Purple Reign is a documentary about the life of the celebrated musician and Black icon who sold over 100 million albums worldwide, while fighting injustice in the music industry and battling for control of his artistic output, one funky track at a time! When the legendary musician died at his home in Minneapolis at the age of just 57, he left an unparallelled legacy.

As a prolific producer/songwriter, his output was a steady stream of hits that defied genre - he was, like Hendrix, a guitar god, but he also played up his mysterious angle to always keep fans and the industry on their toes. Ever the iconoclast, Prince was also a very vocal Black activist, but in his own way - making impassioned speeches about Black Lives Matter at the Grammys, performing impromptu songs about Michael Brown and Freddie Gray in Baltimore to help support a community in grieving. He cared so much about his community, and about being an example to emulate, but, as we know, he never conformed to traditional norms, which made him that much more special.

Purple Reign, available on Qello Concerts, begins at the end of his life - specifically the 911 call from Paisley Park when Prince was first discovered in distress, and goes on to show the massive outpouring of love and grief in the immediate aftermath of the announcement of his passing. Using a combination of interviews with experts and biographers, as well as archival footage and music videos, the viewer is taken on a journey from the early days, through to the big hits, like “1999,” “When Doves Cry,” “Kiss,” plus his later career moves, including changing his name to a symbol, assembling the New Power Generation, and what is largely considered the greatest Super Bowl halftime show ever, when the Purple One took the stage under an intense downpour at Miami’s Dolphin Stadium for Super Bowl XLI, and simply destroyed with incredible performances of hits like “We Will Rock You,” “Let's Go Crazy,” “Baby I'm a Star/Proud Mary/1999,” “All Along the Watchtower/Best of You” and, of course, “Purple Rain.”

You can catch the documentary here.

Discover our Black History Month series here!

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Black music artists who inspire us | Beyoncé - I AM...WORLD TOUR

Eric C. — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 17:53:03 +0000

Black music artists who inspire us | Beyoncé - I AM...WORLD TOUR Eric C. Fri, 02/04/2022

When Beyoncé started preparations for her fourth concert tour, launched in support of her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce, she may not have been aware that she stood on the precipice of something huge.

At that time, Beyoncé was already a massive star, but she was fully in control now, dispelling myths; dismantling the music business's control over her; and asserting her own majesty - these were the beginnings of Queen Bey! The former Destiny's Child member (who happens to be the first black woman to win ASCAP Pop Songwriter of the Year), still remains at the top of the heap today, with plenty of Grammys under her belt, a Pepsi endorsement, her own designer clothing line - she even serenaded the Obama at his inauguration, and headlined a dynamic Super Bowl halftime show, on her way to being among the most influential people in the world. Her husband may be Jay-Z, but maybe he should be called Mr. Knowles, because he may be a businessman, but Queen Bey is the real business, man!!

Beyoncé remains one of the greatest role models for little girls and POC, but more than that, she is a hero to all.

Beyoncé: I Am...World Tour is a collection of performances from various stops on her worldwide I Am...World Tour. Weaved into this concert are highlights that give a rare glimpse into the dynamic and personal world of this multifaceted icon. The I Am... The World Tour captures not only an unforgettable performance from the superstar singer and entertainer, but showcases her astonishing talent as a filmmaker, director and producer. Watch it here!

Discover our Black History Month series here!

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Black music artists who inspire us | Bob Marley - Up Close and Personal

Eric C. — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 17:47:41 +0000

Black music artists who inspire us | Bob Marley - Up Close and Personal Eric C. Fri, 02/04/2022

Bob Marley was much more than the King of Reggae - it’s quite hard to qualify or quantify the impact someone like him had on afro culture all over the globe. Marley was a pioneer, a legend, a messenger of peace, a passionate musician, and a unifier of the highest degree. For example, his song, “Africa Unite,” was a call to action decades in the making, but it took someone like Marley to create an atmosphere in which that could happen.

He was spreading the gospel, not just of love - but of racial harmony, understanding, and protesting injustice (which he had experienced all around him, growing up in Trenchtown).

As a member of the Rastafari movement, Marley was pivotal in getting the message out - according to an article from ThisIsAfrica, “The Rastafarian movement can be described as one of the most profound attempts at celebrating Africa’s contribution to humanity and increasing consciousness, and it spread from the Caribbean to different parts of the world”. In fact, his song, “War,” was written directly from the text of the speech made in 1963 by the movement’s spiritual leader, King Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, at the United Nations.

Marley wielded his music as a weapon, but like he said, “one good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain”. No list of Black icons is complete without Bob Marley, and Up Close and Personal is a documentary investigating the man behind the myth. Highlighting classic performance footage, the documentary features interviews with those who were closest to the man, including his eldest son Ziggy Marley, Rita Marley, his charismatic manager Don Taylor, Bruno Tilley, the creative director of Island Records, and more.

Watch Bob Marley - Up Close and Personal on Qello Concerts.

Discover our Black History Month series here!

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Black music artists who inspire us | Childish Gambino - Live at Rockwood Music Hall

Eric C. — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 17:36:00 +0000

Black music artists who inspire us | Childish Gambino - Live at Rockwood Music Hall Eric C. Fri, 02/04/2022

Donald Glover has had a tremendous impact on Black culture since he first appeared on the scene as first a writer/comedian, and then as an actor, rapper, singer, director, and producer. He is a true renaissance man, with starring roles in shows like Community, and Atlanta, which then lead to his brilliant rap moment, 2018’s “This Is America,” which, itself, became an instant zeitgeist for our polarized and racial world.

When Donald Glover, aka Childish Gambino (a name that he got out of Wu Tang name generator) unleashed “This Is America,” it was a huge statement - treating subjects like gun violence, racial inequality, and massive societal injustice with an unflinching eye, and layering it with irresistible beats and urgent sounding production that made it a huge hit, and a massively viral video.

However, before he was winning multiple Grammys, Childish Gambino worked hard to forge himself into an MC of consequence. We have unearthed a gem of a performance from those early years at a small concert session at New York City’s Rockwood Music Hall, where, along with fellow musician, Ludwig Gransson (who makes incredible soundscapes on electric guitar), Gambino performed some of the best tracks from his debut EP, Camp. It’s a chance to see one of the greats on a small stage early in his career, but it’s clear as day that this guy has something to say, and possesses the skills to deliver that message in an incredibly engaging way.

You can watch Live at Rockwood Music Hall on Qello Concerts.

Discover our Black History Month series here!

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Black music artists who inspire us | Jimi Hendrix: Live at Monterey

Eric C. — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 16:58:36 +0000

Black music artists who inspire us | Jimi Hendrix: Live at Monterey Eric C. Fri, 02/04/2022

June 18, 1967, was one of the most important days in the history of rock and roll. It was the final day of the Monterey Pop Festival (which took place just down the coast from San Francisco) and featured many now-iconic performances, including a blistering set by a young singer/guitar player and his band - one that would go on to change the face of music forever - Jimi Hendrix!

What was interesting about Monterey was that this was basically the “proto” modern music festival, the template from which all subsequent pop and rock festivals took shape (even today). This idea of bringing together many different musical genres into a multi-day outdoor festival with mainstream popular appeal remained the golden standard within modern festival culture throughout the years: Woodstock, Ottawa Blues Fest, Festival de Quebec, Coachella, Lollapalooza, Osheaga, Glastonbury, Primavera Sound, Sasquatch!, and the list goes on.

Back then, Monterey attracted over 200,000 hippies and music lovers from all over, with performances from Jefferson Airplane, The Who, The Grateful Dead, Otis Redding, The Beach Boys, and more, but it was the Jimi Hendrix Experience that stood out most - and for good reason. This was THE performance that put Jimi on the map. The famous one, where he lit his guitar on fire and let it burn onstage, generating that otherworldly feedback that set the psychedelic (and rebellious) tone which would permeate all of his artistic output.

Jimi was an innovator, turning a right-handed guitar upside down and restringing it to accommodate the fact that he was left-handed - that was the birth of the Jimi sound. He was an innate guitar god, teaching himself how to play the instrument, and then breaking all the rules by being the first to really play the guitar feedback as an instrument itself.

It wasn’t always easy for Jimi, who had a difficult relationship with his own community at first - it was hard for him to be taken seriously by Black audiences early on, as he was often lumped in with those making “white people music.” Lest we forget, however, that Jimi and James Brown were the only two artists to perform the night of Martin Luther King’s assasination, and he played a special concert for black fans in Harlem in ‘69.

However, it was Jimi’s 1970 performance with Band of Gypsies, an all-Black trio featuring some of the most talented musicians of their time, playing powerful political anthems and funky soul music, that tuned Jimi into a Black superhero! His skills on the guitar were unrivaled - it was wild, and people in the crowd knew they were witnessing something unique and special. At that moment, Jimi was mostly unknown to North American audiences, as his career first took off in England - so Monterey Pop was like a launching pad for him, and he rose to the challenge with aplomb. Despite the fact that Monterey was all about music, love, and flowers, Jimi came along and brought the fire, the passion, the danger, and the searing guitar solos that live on forever.

Luckily the entire performance can be found on Qello Concerts.

Discover our Black History Month series here!

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Black music artists who inspire us | Rihanna - Live at Made in America

Eric C. — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 16:49:20 +0000

Black music artists who inspire us | Rihanna - Live at Made in America Eric C. Fri, 02/04/2022

Qello Concerts ’ Black History Month collection spans decades, genres, and generations, from jazz legends, to reggae pioneers, to the best of today’s chart topping megastars, like Rihanna, whose Live at Made in America concert was filmed in 2016 in Philadelphia (one of the most important hubs of Black music in America), as part of her Anti World tour.

Headlining day one of the festival, RiRi owned the stage, working the crowd into a frenzy with hits like “We Found Love,” “Umbrella,” and “Diamonds.” The Barbadian star, who has won multiple Grammys, launched uber successful makeup and lingerie lines, and sits atop her very own fashion empire, was an actual army cadet in a sub-military program in Barbados before her big break in the music business.

Since then, though, she’s gone on to have a major impact on afro culture the world over, becoming one of the most celebrated artists of her generation, and the world’s richest female musician. Her influence has gone beyond music as well - Rihanna's makeup line offers over 40 different shades of foundation (providing many more options to people of all shades and tones to look their best), and she became a billionaire doing it!

Rihanna recently announced her pregnancy to the world, and fans everywhere cannot wait to meet her mini-me.

You can catch Rihanna’s Live at Made in America here.

Discover our Black History Month series here!

Black Artists

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