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Summer Spirit Festival to Pay Homage to Homegrown Go-Go Groove

WASHINGTON INFORMER — With a history boasting roots can be traced to the early 70s, replete with free, family-friendly outdoor concerts in Anacostia Park in Southeast, the musings of determined grassroots activists including one D.C. transplant named Marion Barry and gifted musicians known for spitting out lyrics that inspired while African-like cadences kept the beat – on overturned buckets not snare drums, the season’s annual go-go groove party is poised to make its return.

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By D. Kevin McNeir

With a history boasting roots can be traced to the early 70s, replete with free, family-friendly outdoor concerts in Anacostia Park in Southeast, the musings of determined grassroots activists including one D.C. transplant named Marion Barry and gifted musicians known for spitting out lyrics that inspired while African-like cadences kept the beat – on overturned buckets not snare drums, the season’s annual go-go groove party is poised to make its return.

The 2019 Summer Spirit Festival, presented by the dynamic duo of Carol Kirkendall and Darryll Brooks, professionally known as CD Enterprises, Inc., have long-proven that they have a penchant for putting on a concert second to none. And that’s what they promise to bring once more on Saturday, Aug. 3 at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD.

Their tagline, perhaps, summarizes their mission best: “Not just another concert but an event.”

“We pride ourselves in running a great show with great sounds, lights and a show that starts on time,” they said. We want the show to be special for our customers.”

One impressive, if not unique quality of the yearly Summer Spirit Festival rests with its balanced, diverse lineup of entertainers, some known nationally and others more local favorites including brand new talent performing in front of an audience of thousands for the very first time.

Brooks says it’s always like a big family returning home for the holidays.

“We haven’t changed our stripes or our mission since we started doing our thing in 72,” he said. “My crew’s been here. In the early days, Chuck Brown [the godfather of go-go] was always there giving us his support. And as youngsters came aboard, we mentored them, we taught them the nuances of the business and we gave them opportunities to leave basement and backyard parties and do their thing on the big stage. Many of those youths have gone on to great careers and made their mark all over the world. Things like that, success stories similar in nature, are what have kept us going,” Brooks said while his business partner nodded her head in agreement.

This year’s lineup includes: Anthony Hamilton, Raphael Saadiq and Jhene Aiko but with an emphasis on paying tribute to D.C.’s own form of music, go-go, there will be local entertainers like Backyard Band, Sirius & Company (Ms. Kim & Scooby), Be’La Dona featuring Sugar Bear and many more. There may even be a few surprise guests, so those who plan to attend should get to the venue early and prepare to stay until the last downbeat falls.

“We’re featuring footage from ‘Go-Go Live and celebrating the Go-Go Posse’s ‘D.C. Don’t Stand for Dodge City,’” Kirkendall added.

“We cannot let that spirit that’s the foundation to go-go ever be stripped away from D.C.’s Black community,” Brooks said. “Not even this second wave of gentrification has the power to strip us of our identify, our mark on this city that has since spread throughout the nation and across the globe. We aren’t going anywhere and neither is our music.”

This post originally appeared in The Washington Informer.

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Oakland Post: Week of June 25 – July 1, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 25 – July 1, 2025

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Oakland Post: Week of June 18 – 24, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 18 – 24, 2025

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IN MEMORIAM: Legendary Funk Pioneer Sly Stone Dies at 82

Sly Stone’s musical approach radically reshaped popular music. He transcended genre boundaries and empowered a new generation of artists. The band’s socially conscious message and infectious rhythms sparked a wave of influence, reaching artists as diverse as Miles Davis, George Clinton, Prince, Dr. Dre, and the Roots.

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Sly and the Family Stone play the Opera House in Bournemouth. Mojo review. Photo by Simon Fernandez.
Sly and the Family Stone play the Opera House in Bournemouth. Mojo review. Photo by Simon Fernandez.

By Stacy M. Brown
BlackPressUSA.com Newswire

Sylvester “Sly” Stewart—known to the world as Sly Stone, frontman of the groundbreaking band Sly and the Family Stone—has died at the age of 82.

His family confirmed that he passed away peacefully at his Los Angeles home surrounded by loved ones, after battling chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other health complications.

Born March 15, 1943, in Denton, Texas, Stone moved with his family to Vallejo, California, as a child. He began recording gospel music at age 8 with his siblings in a group called the Stewart Four. By his teenage years, he had mastered multiple instruments and was already pioneering racial integration in music—an ethos that would define his career.

In 1966, Sly and his brother Freddie merged their bands to form Sly and the Family Stone, complete with a revolutionary interracial, mixed-gender lineup.

The band quickly became a commercial and cultural force with hits such as “Dance to the Music,” “Everyday People,” and “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)”—all penned by Stone himself.

Their album “Stand!” (1969) and live performances—most notably at Woodstock—cemented their reputation, blending soul, funk, rock, gospel, and psychedelia to reflect the optimism and turmoil of their era.

Sly Stone’s musical approach radically reshaped popular music. He transcended genre boundaries and empowered a new generation of artists. The band’s socially conscious message and infectious rhythms sparked a wave of influence, reaching artists as diverse as Miles Davis, George Clinton, Prince, Dr. Dre, and the Roots.

As the 1970s progressed, Stone confronted personal demons. His desire to use music as a response to war, racism, and societal change culminated in the intense album “There’s a Riot Goin’ On” (1971). But drug dependency began to undermine both his health and professional life, leading to erratic behavior and band decline through the early 1980s.

Withdrawn from the public eye for much of the 1990s and early 2000s, Stone staged occasional comebacks. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammys in 2017, and captured public attention following the 2023 release of his memoir “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)”—published under Questlove’s imprint. He also completed a biographical screenplay and was featured in Questlove’s documentary “Sly Lives!” earlier this year.

His influence endured across generations. Critics and historians repeatedly credit him with perfecting funk and creating a “progressive soul,” shaping a path for racial integration both onstage and in the broader culture.

“Rest in beats Sly Stone,” legendary Public Enemy frontman Chuck D posted on social media with an illustrative drawing of the artist. “We should thank Questlove of the Roots for keeping his fire blazing in this century.”

Emmy-winning entertainment publicist Danny Deraney also paid homage. “Rest easy Sly Stone,” Deraney posted. “You changed music (and me) forever. The time he won over Ed Sullivan’s audience in 1968. Simply magical. Freelance music publicist and Sirius XM host Eric Alper also offered a tribute.

“The funk pioneer who made the world dance, think, and get higher,” Alper wrote of Sly Stone. “His music changed everything—and it still does.”

Sly Stone is survived by three children.

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