BTBSN's 2nd Annual Creative Showcase

I learned that the written-ness of it all allures me. Telling my story allures me, until I start thinking about everyone else's perspective, then it gets a little bit overwhelming. But I'll take this celebration in strides. I/We have come so far.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I went thrift shopping the Wednesday before the showcase. I was looking for maroon and white and black things and of course, I went to the Red White, and Blue thrift store because I was on a real mission to find good shit. So, I find great shit but forgot to stop at the Chase on the way. With no cash, a credit card with $20 of available funds, and two working ATMs in the back of the store, I got on the phone with my bank to see if they would let me do a cash advance for about $50. I was feeling like anything was possible, but with the suck of his teeth, this account associate told me this was impossible. I took my cart to the checkout line and bantered about the wonderful sale we found ourselves in with the woman in front of me. She admired my haul and I thanked her. Once I got to the front register I made a last round ask for "cashapp?" and once that "no" came back to me I was armed with a: "Could you save my cart?" to which the store manager agreed. I parked my cart in front of the door and made a beeline for the crosswalk back up through the park and to the bus stop over to the Chase atm 25 minutes away by bus on the Southside.

The breeze at the bus stop was ethereal. The fear of a stolen cart could not hold me. It was time to sing, and so I did.

"Tell me.......

have you heard the story,

That took place not long ago?

About an angel up in heaven

They say she up and ran away from home..."

The resonance I heard and felt at that bus stop, at the mouth of the park entrance, at the foot of a winding hill was empowering. To say a thing and then to hear it come back to me, felt like fuel pushing me to keep going; to sing louder! And so for 20 minutes, I practiced Heaven by Jamie Fox and Diary by Alicia Keys while I waited for the bus.

In a long, but very short span of time, I learned that I don't want to sound like anybody particularly. Although it was and has been affirming to know that my voice is pleasant, and reminds people of acclaimed vocalists, I don't want to rest here. There is so much of me to discover, too much of me to discover to get caught up in the ways that Buika or Chaka, Alicia, Minnie or Erykah learned to emote. How does Aaleah emote?

That time I spent singing that day was time I spent playing to discover. It was time I spent fearlessly letting my voice ring out over the space and return to me on the breeze. Yes! I: a human with experiences memorialized in sound. Yes! I: a human with many songs on my heart. Yes! It all made sense.

I walked onto that bus with a mission, I even made a post on my social media that day, and when showcase day came on Sunday, all I did was practice some more.

The second annual creative showcase took place at the BTBSN & BTBSN Jr. Studios on April 23, 2023. By 5pm, musicians and friends were all gathered in the space. Musicians milled around downstairs where the fruit and cooler of drinks were. We met to pray and give thanks before heading up for the first set by the Sunshine Band.

I set my phone on record and placed it on the Leslie speaker ( a mistake I'd only realize much later). Kawing started the song off on the piano and I joined her on the bass, then Rose gave it her all on solo vocals. When I first heard Rose's voice, she was reciting a poem at a Black History Month Event by the AACOA at the Father Ryan Arts Center. She was 5 years old at the time, and once she got onto the stage in her red velour dress she stared at the audience with two big eyes. We, the audience, applauded and chanted her name, but when we fell silent again, she stared back at us silent. Her mother went up to the stage to whisper encouragement and eventually, she began her recitation of hey black child.

Rose started immediately on cue today and after her two solo verses, the choir came in to support her.

Growth. sometimes when I am the only person looking it is hard to realize. I felt like a broken record that day letting people know that the Kids that came to us a few months ago were not the same kids they heard today.

Aliyah sang!!! when we first met, she said she had only sung in front of Rose and she passed up singing a solo of the lullaby we were practicing together. Session by session she became more comfortable with singing aloud and singing into the microphone. That day Aliyah sang lead for Trouble Don't Last Always and performed a solo on the piano called Super Secret Spy Mission. Bless God.

The moment that I'll never forget is the very end of our set. During Sunshine Band practices, we end with a lullaby that I created for my sister last Fall. We ended that exact same way at the showcase. Aliyah, Rose, Adonis, and myself sang it solo and everyone in the space: friends and family sang it all together, twice. That is the energy that fills our space. I see it better now and on days like today when I feel so tired it reminds me that this is what it's all for: for moments like these where we hang out on the edge of what is infinitely possible. I get to see what becomes possible when we let ourselves be and when I let myself be.

I learned that practice starts as soon as possible. and so with today, I'm officially back on practice for the bass and I have a performance coming up on the 31st and another on the 16th! I'm a performance artist with a website that showcases her work! eeep! wow wow wow wow. I don't know how!

This Sunday, May 28 clips from the 2nd annual showcase will premiere on BTBSN's 6 hour live stream.

Tune in to watch here: https://www.facebook.com/BTBSN

10am - 4pm.