At the Cleveland Museum of Art, All the World’s a Stage

It’s been an extraordinary summer of music for City Stages, the Cleveland Museum of Art’s acclaimed summer concert series featuring artists from around the world. This year the museum partnered with FRONT International for six free concerts in five neighborhoods, bringing music throughout the city to audiences of all ages, including the final concert from Tel Aviv–based Gili Yalo on the Nord Family Greenway at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Orquesta el Macabeo performing in Ohio City. Images courtesy Scott Shaw Photography for Cleveland Museum of Art.
Cheick Hamala Diabate performing in Mall C, Downtown Cleveland. Images courtesy Scott Shaw Photography for Cleveland Museum of Art.

“Teaming up with FRONT International has enabled us to take these popular summer concerts around town, shining a light not only on the various FRONT installation locations but also several neighborhoods and venues — great music, great fun, and a boon for the entire city,” says Tom Welsh, director of performing arts, music, and film at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Cheick Hamala Diabate performing in Mall C, Downtown Cleveland. Images courtesy Scott Shaw Photography for Cleveland Museum of Art.

Music at the Cleveland Museum of Art has a history nearly as long as the institution itself. The Department of Performing Arts endeavors to mirror the collection in its breadth and range, honoring the past while looking to the future. Audiences have a unique opportunity to experience the museum and the world through its performance series in a way that distinguishes this institution and elevates the region. City Stages is a notable example of this commitment.

For the final 2018 City Stages concert at the CMA, Yalo brought his blend of Ethiopian roots music with a modern touch of jazz and soul.

Copyright Gili Yalo — Selam (Official Video) via Dead Sea Recordings 2017.

Listen to this year’s incredible international lineup of artists and check out images from downtown, Ohio City, and Glenville performances.

Jupiter & Okwess — From Kinshasa, Jupiter Bonkodji and his band infuse a wealth of traditional Congolese rhythms into contemporary African music.

Copyright Jupiter & Okwess — Ofakombolo (official video).

Sidi Touré — A highly acclaimed practitioner of Songhai music whose band features the most exciting new faces on the Malian music scene, Sidi Touré makes danceable, dynamic, trance music that overflows with joy and is carried by the beauty of his voice.

Copyright Sidi Touré — Heyyeya (Official Music Video), via Thrill Jockey.

Orquesta el Macabeo — One of the great sensations of the current Puerto Rican salsa scene, Orquesta el Macabeo recovers the island’s salsa tradition and updates it with new ideas and energy.

Copyright Orquesta El Macabeo — Lluvia con sol, via CD Baby, The Orchard Music; Regalias Digitales (Publishing).

Cheick Hamala Diabate — Diabate explores West African rhythms in the griot tradition and successfully fuses the traditional rhythms and vocals of his ancestors with the more electric American sounds he has absorbed while living in the US over the past decade.

Copyright Library of Congress. Cheick Hamala Diabate Ensemble performance.

M.A.K.U. Soundsystem — Juxtaposing the traditional percussion of their Colombian homeland with drums, electric bass, guitar, and vocals, NYC-based M.A.K.U. Soundsystem create an explosive performance filled with unshakable grooves — a unique sound encompassing their immigrant experience.

Copyright MAKU SOUNDSYSTEM — POR ENCIMA [Oficial Video].

Orquesta el Macabeo performing in Ohio City on Wed, 7/25.

Images courtesy Scott Shaw Photography for Cleveland Museum of Art.

Cheick Hamala Diabate performing in Mall C, Downtown Cleveland on Wed, 8/15.

Images courtesy Scott Shaw Photography for Cleveland Museum of Art.

M.A.K.U. Soundsystem performing in Glenville on Wed, 8/29.

Images courtesy Scott Shaw Photography for Cleveland Museum of Art.

CMA Thinker

Art from another angle.

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