ABOVE: Rising star Lenora opened the show with her signature “Rhythm & Groove” sound (Photo by Marco Torres/@MarcoFromHouston)
Two vastly different worlds collided when Mixed Media returned to the Museum of Fine Arts on July 15. Inside the Audrey Jones Beck Building, viewers navigated crowd traffic to enter a spare, sobering exhibit by artist William Kentridge. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1955, Kentridge was from a family of anti-apartheid lawyers and activists. His work is largely focused on confronting apartheid (the government sanctioned racial segregation that was the law of the land from 1948 until the mid-1990s). Kentridge’s work presents a darkly satiric and sometimes graphic look at the brutality and hypocrisy of apartheid in South Africa.
DJ and Producer Tay Powers kept the night moving with her cutting-edge mixes (Photo by Marco Torres/ @MarcoFromHouston)
Outside the building, the vibe was completely different. The stark white walls of the exhibit’s halls gave way to the sculpted enclosure bathed in blue and pink light. The outdoor pavilion became a stage. And instead of the quiet, elegiac exhibition inside, patrons enjoyed drinks and dancing at a lively concert outside.
All of the night’s musical acts hailed from Houston. DJ and Producer Tay Powers started the show with a fun, high-energy set. She took the audience on an international musical journey: “I know we’re in Houston,” she told the crowd, “But we’re gonna go all over the world tonight.” And she did, with a wide-ranging mix that brought together soul, jazz, house and hip-hop. It was a mix of musical worlds, highlighted by a great mix of the Fugees’ 1995 hit “Fu-Gee-La.” With Lauryn Hill’s unmistakable voice belting out the melody, people in the crowd sang along to an unforgettable hip-hop hit.
Later, Tay Powers invited the audience to “sing along if you know it” to “No Letting Go,” by Jamaican reggae fusion artist Wayne Wonder. She effortlessly blended rapper Too $hort’s “Blow the Whistle” into Flo Rida’s electropop song “Whistle.” And she got the crowd moving with her version of Beyoncé’s house hit “Move,” joined by two live-wire twerk team background dancers. (Who knew a DJ could have background dancers?)
Kam Franklin, lead singer of The Suffers (Photo by Marco Torres/ @MarcoFromHouston)
After a brief intermission, patrons were treated to the smooth, sensual stylings of Lenora. An independent artist hailing from the South side of Houston, the HSPVA alum has forged her path in the music industry. She made a vivid first impression with a look that she said made her feel “like a superhero”: a glittery beige criss-cross halter top with matching cape and matching pants split to the thighs. (It was giving Foxxy Cleopatra.)
But even more alluring than the outfit was the music. Lenora took the audience through a series of deeply personal self-penned songs. But she started with a surprise: a high, breezy cover of “Free” by Deniece Williams. Lenora used the 1976 classic to set the tone for her show. During a lull in the music, she set some ground rules for the audience: “Relax, keep cool, and be free.”
Her next song choice followed that path. “I’m cool, so cool, too cool…like the other side of the pillow,” she sang — just what the crowd wanted to hear after sweating through the sweltering Houston heat.
She continued serenading the crowd with “Cool,” paying tribute to her Houston roots with a chopped & screwed breakdown: “I’m cool like the ice in a platinum chain/I’m like the slab comin’ down in the candy paint/I’m cool like the ice in a platinum chain/I’m the slab comin’ dine in the dirty ‘Tre.”
As she did during her stellar Jazzy Sundays concert in March, Lenora presented a suite of songs from Girls, her experimental debut album. The first songs explored a period of partying and dating: the sleek, groovy “Part-time Lover” (not to be confused with the Stevie Wonder classic), where she invited the audience to sing along, and “Girl,” written as a dishy conversation about a late-night escapade. Lenora threw the crowd a curveball when she incorporated “More, More, More,” the 1975 disco hit by Andrea True, “for all my disco fans!”
Tay Powers joins guests on the dance floor (Photo by Frank Hernandez/MFAH)
After these two numbers about getting out and playing the field, Lenora cooled the mood down slightly with her song, “Crush on You,” which she dedicated to the lovers. But she kept the party vibe going with tunes like Cookiee Kawaii’s “Vibe” and her song “Tonite.” Then she conveyed a serious message in a playful package with “Red Flags,” warning listeners to notice the red flags in a relationship. There, too, she got the audience involved; they joined her in a chant: “If you see a red flag, point it out in the sky/If you see a red flag, tell that boy bye, BYE!”
After the wrenching “Good to Me” — a gritty, confrontational anthem for those feeling underappreciated and disrespected in relationships — Lenora concluded by turning inward, ending with a trio of songs about self-reflection and self-care. “I’m gonna tidy up this place of mine,” she sang on “Homebody.” “Spent too much time away from what I gotta face inside.” It reminded us that as you clear away the clutter in your home, you can end up clearing your mind, too.
Next came “Power,” which she told the Forward Times was “one of the most important songs I’ve ever written.” That became clear as she introduced it to the crowd. “The songs that hit the hardest are the ones where I’m talking to myself,” she said onstage, explaining how important it is to recognize (and own) your own power. Finally, on “Relax,” she took one of her ground rules to heart. Lenora invited the audience to join her in a meditation where they closed their eyes, took deep breaths in and out, and emerged calmer.
It was important that they catch their breath, because the next act could easily take it away. The Suffers are a Houston-based band that consists of Jon Durbin (trumpet) Michael Razo (trombone), Jose Luna (percussion), Nick Zamora (drums), Kevin Bernier (guitar), Juliet Terrill (bass guitar), and lead vocalist Kam Franklin. They categorize their sound as “Gulf Coast Soul,” an acknowledgement of the various musical styles in & around Houston: blues, soul, country, hip-hop, Latin, Caribbean, Cajun and more. And those styles were on display in a fun, freewheeling show that turned the museum into a dance party.
The band performed songs from their latest album It Starts with Love, including the irresistible single “Don’t Bother Me.” With its punchy horns and propulsive percussion, this song evoked a Latin jazz feel, and it had everyone on their feet, dancing to the beat despite the steaming heat. “Can’t you see I’m living? Can’t you see I’m living? Don’t bother me,” Franklin belted out, her knee-length blonde braids swinging with each step, as the band played up a storm behind her.
Equally infectious was their performance of “Take me to the Good Times,” also from the album. Anchored by a rollicking piano and a great horn line, Franklin painted the picture of someone exploring a new city and wondering where all the great spots are. “I just got to get out most days you see/ I like walkin’ around; it’s good for me/ Could you tell me where we could go eat? Take me to the good times,” she sang, in an ode to traveling getting out and exploring the world around us.
After a masterful organ solo that took the crowd to church, The Suffers got deep for their performance of “Peanuts,” a soulful ballad. “Our life doesn’t always have to be so hard,” Franklin crooned. But before long, the mood and tempo had picked right back up. As the clock inched closer to midnight, the Suffers brought the beat back with another infectious song that had patrons dancing into the night.
Lenora performs during The Museum Of Fine Arts Houston’s Mixed Media night (Photo by Frank Hernandez/MFAH)
The Suffers jam out during Mixed Media night (Photo by Frank Hernandez/MFAH)
Guests experience William Kentridge’s In Praise of Shadows exhibit inside of The Museum Of Fine Arts Houston (Photo by Frank Hernandez/MFAH)
Mixed Media attendees Sharon DeLosSantos, Chinwe Ezenna, Elaine DeLosSantos, and Megan Schlichte (Photo by Marco Torres/ @MarcoFromHouston)
Attendee captures The Suffers’ Mixed Media performance (Photo by Marco Torres/ @MarcoFromHouston)
Guests experience William Kentridge’s In Praise of Shadows exhibit inside of The Museum Of Fine Arts Houston (Photo by Frank Hernandez/MFAH)