Take Me to the River: New Orleans” concert at HOPE Center for the Arts on Jan. 9 at 7 p.m.
Photo credit: HOPE Center for the Arts
SPRINGFIELD — An all-star ensemble of musicians are coming to Springfield with the “Take Me to the River: New Orleans” concert at HOPE Center for the Arts on Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. The concert is inspired by the 2022 documentary of the same name, which will be shown for free on Jan. 3 at 4 p.m.
Some of New Orleans’ most celebrated musicians and rising stars will perform, such as Cyril Neville, Omari Neville, Ian Neville, Big Chief Bo Dollis Jr., Jelly Joseph, Robert Mercurio, Joe Ashlar and Brian Richburg Jr.
The event is presented by Blues to Green, an organization dedicated to utilizing music and other arts to center the cultures of the African diaspora within American culture. It also serves as a benefit concert for the Springfield Jazz and Roots Festival.
Kristin Neville is the founder of Blues to Green and the wife of the late Charles Neville, a New Orleans musician best known for his saxophone work in the Neville Brothers. The group won a Grammy Award in 1990 for best pop instrumental performance for “Healing Chant,” off their album “Yellow Moon.”
“This project is trying to share that heritage with people through film and through a band that is touring,” Neville said.
The documentary celebrates the culture, influence and unique musical history of New Orleans by collaborating legendary musicians to record a melting pot of new music. It served as the final time all four Neville brothers recorded in the studio together.
Neville said that music of the African diaspora, which led to genres like the blues, jazz, soul, funk and reggae, speaks to the resilience of the people.
“It is a music, I think, of liberation and tells this deep story about our collective history and people who were taken from Africa and brought to different parts of the world,” Neville said. “This cultural memory has been retained and passed down through generations, and given meaning and beauty and joy.”
She added that the cultural memory acted as a means for people to express themselves and be given a voice to lead the birth and innovations of jazz in New Orleans, which was uniquely positioned by what many consider the birthplace of jazz, Congo Square. She said people who were enslaved and free Black people would gather at Congo Square on Sundays to sing, drum and dance to traditional music, retaining cultural traditions from Africa.
“It birthed something new and what happened there spread to other places in the country and the world out of such hardship and oppression,” Neville said. “Something so beautiful and free, instilling and expressing joy came out of that.”
Neville also said that before the concert on Jan. 9, students from across Springfield will be brought to the HOPE Center for the Arts for a learning engagement with the band about the music and culture behind it.
She said the youth engagement is tied in with another project of Blues to Green called The Legacy Education Program, where they bring musicians into Springfield and Holyoke schools to connect with students and share their life stories.
“The program centers Black music, history and culture,” Neville said. “They are sort of role models for young folks, seeing people like themselves or reflecting their own communities and pursuing careers in music.”
Neville added that the ability to honor and pay tribute to the music speaks on a deeper, emotional and spiritual level that “transcends boundaries of language and social class.”
“We connect in the spirit of the music as one people through a shared experience,” Neville said.
Tickets can be purchased at hopecenterforthearts.org/events/take-me-to-the-river.
