Martha Redbone: Guardian Spirit- The Words of bell hooks

About this event

Apollo New Works artist, vocalist, composer, Martha Redbone teams up with longtime collaborator, composer, pianist, and producer Aaron Whitby to celebrate the words of bell hooks in their work-in-progress, Guardian Spirit: The Poetry of bell hooks, a multidisciplinary musical exploration of bell hooks’ landmark work, Appalachian Elegy: Poetry and Place. Known for their powerful and awardwinning settings of poets Ntozake Shange in for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf, Drama Desk Award 2019; Broadway revival 2022 and the William Blake, album The Garden of Love: Songs of William Blake, Redbone and Whitby channel bell hooks’ meditative, confessional, and political lyricism into a genre-defying soundscape that echoes the spirit of her Kentucky roots and heritage shared with Martha. This will be an “open-studio” performance of their work-inprogress, as the team will continue developing the piece and, with support from the Apollo New Works and additional partners, leading to a premiere in 2026/27. The conjuring of mountain spirituals and hollers, Blues, Old-Time Gospel, Rock, Soul, and Funk, this new work-in-progress transforms hooks’ poetic elegy into a living, breathing tribute to the marginalized voices of Appalachia, the land, and beyond. In hooks’ words, the “long dead, the long gone” speak—here summoned through music that is at times mournful, at times joyous and triumphant, honoring both the grief and resilience of a land scarred by history yet still brimming with life. The interweaving of music in this work-in-progress, performed by Redbone and Whitby’s stellar ensemble of musicians and vocalists, along with video projections designed by Martha with Attilio Rigotti, creates an auditory sanctuary where all who yearn for belonging, healing, and transformation may find their place. As hooks’ poetry grapples with loss, displacement, and the fight for justice, Redbone’s Guardian Spirit: The Words of bell hooks carries forward her…