Report To The Community 2021

moment,” says Craig Pearce,
the Arts Center producer who
oversaw the 2021 series.
Artists who performed at the
early concerts represented a
wide range of musical styles
and genres. Among the stars
presented were salsa master
Tony Vega, gospel singersongwriter
Le’Andria Johnson,
beloved reggae band Third
World and brass-flavored
protest group Brass Against.
By far the biggest draw was
hip hop star Rakim (of Eric B.
and Rakim), who returned to
the Horizon Foundation Sounds
of the City stage several years
after his last appearance
or a Caribbean band, we look
for old-school hip hop artists.
And R&B soul is usually a huge
hit with our audiences, too.”
The opening act for Rakim’s
show featured NJPAC’s hip
hop students and a cohort
of poets and musicians from
the Arts Center’s City Verses
summer camp — an initiative
to teach and celebrate jazz
poetry, run in conjunction with
Rutgers University-Newark.
Numerous health and safety
measures were in place to
ensure the wellbeing of all who
attended: Audiences were
contained within a fenced area
(a first for the Arts Center).
local artists, all drawn from
the most successful of the
performers who had been
featured in NJPAC’s Jersey
Fresh open mic virtual series.
East Orange R&B singer Steve
Lovell, Newark singer-songwriter
and poet Yeimy Gamez Castillo,
Elizabeth singer-songwriter
Jorge Rivera, Newark soul singer
Gail Campbell, Kearny singersongwriter
Florianna Heun,
singer and classical Spanish
guitarist Janetza Miranda of
Newark and jazz duo Sounds
of A&R (featuring future Sarah
Vaughan International Jazz
Vocal Competition finalist April
May Webb of Edison) were
This page: Jazz duo
Sounds of A&R with
trumpeter Randall
Haywood and vocalist
April May Webb.
Opposite page, clockwise
from top left: a Horizon
Foundation Sounds of the
City fan welcomes back
the free concert series;
classical Spanish guitarist
Janetza Miranda; new
friends dancing in the
sunshine; another Sounds
fan soaking up the
summer spirit; young music
enthusiasts gathered for
fun in the sun; singersongwriter
and poet
Yeimy Gamez Castillo;
and salsa sensation
Tony Vega onstage.
“For more than
20 years, Horizon
Foundation
Sounds of the City
is how Newark
has celebrated
summer. In 2021,
we welcomed not
just the season,
but also the
return of live
performances.”
— David Rodriguez
there, flawlessly dropping bars
(and often letting the deeply
engaged crowd sing along).
Before his performance, he
also offered a master class
to NJPAC’s Hip Hop Arts and
Culture students, talking to them
about his career and work.
“Sounds of the City always
hosts an eclectic group of
artists and a wide variety of
types of music,” says Pearce.
“We like to feature a reggae
All who attended were asked
if they were vaccinated, and
security kept the crowd within
the enclosure to at least
50% vaccinated at all events.
A few people even got their
vaccines at the shows, thanks
to mobile vaccination units
provided by Essex County
and RWJBarnabas Health.
In another change to the
series, the remainder of the
summer’s opening acts were
among the artists from the
online series who took to the
Horizon Foundation Sounds of
the City stage over the summer.
“They were elated to be there,”
recalls Kitab Rollins, who
produced the Jersey Fresh
virtual series. “To be on stage
at NJPAC was such a moment
for them. They were taking
pictures and posting on social
media — and the audiences
absolutely loved it.” •
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