Legacy Ball: A Look Back

Monday, June 29 │ 7pm ET

This year we salute the 50th anniversary of the first pride march in NYC by revisiting our historic Apollo Legacy Ball. Join us as we take a look back at last year’s best performers, talk to some key figures who helped create the first kiki ball at the Apollo Theater, and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community.

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APOLLO CAREER PANEL REBROADCAST
CURATING THE CROWD: BEYOND THE TURNTABLE

This panel discussion introduces students to the numerous spaces in which DJs are curating audience experiences through music. Panelists explore career challenges, producing via multiple platforms and media, and give participants a better understanding of branding, while speaking to the benefits of mentorship in the entertainment industry.

Featuring: DJ Likwuid, DJ Olivia Dope, DJ Taela Naomi, and moderated by Abhita Austin

Presented as part of the Apollo Career Panel Series, Pathways to the Arts.

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Rebroadcast: Amateur Night at the Apollo Nothin' But Soul

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All month long, we are celebrating Black Music Month through the Apollo Sound on the Digital Stage. Programs include special conversations with Apollo artists, highlights from the Apollo Theater Archives, Black Music Month resource guides for parents and teachers, and more.

 

Tune in below for Let’s Stay (In) Together, a special event to support the Apollo, featuring music that lifts our spirits, shapes our lives, and continues to unite us all.

Special Appearances by:
Dionne Warwick, Gary Clark Jr., Doug E. Fresh, Ledisi & Robert Glasper, Kool & the Gang,  “Captain” Kirk Douglas of The Roots, Michael McDonald, Robert Randolph, Lil Buck and Jon Boogz, Infinity’s Song, Ray Chew, Warren Haynes, Celisse Henderson, Roy Wood Jr., Keb Mo, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, DJ Reborn, Ziggy Marley, Vernon Reid and more surprise guests!

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Missed the afterparty? Catch it here as DJ D-Nice salutes the Apollo in Club Quarantine.

Watch the Afterparty

 

While the theater is dark, we are celebrating the performances, artists, audiences and personalities that have made us what we are on our Apollo Digital Stage. We hope doing so will lift your spirits. If you are in the position to do so, please consider making a contribution to the Apollo Theater by visiting apollotheater.org/donate.

The Digital Stage celebrates the many facets of what the Apollo Theater has to offer. Join the A-List for updates and follow us on social media to share special moments each week including world class performances and events, invaluable education programs, and resources to support our community and each other. As the home for Black culture, we are still here to bring joy during these challenging times.

Let's stay connected, #ApolloFam!

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#ApolloFam Playlist:

As we collectively make our way through this difficult time, we invite you to vibe with the Apollo community by listening to the #ApolloFam Playlist. This week Jodine Dorce, Host of Apollo Music Cafe curates a playlist that takes you on a condensed journey of the brilliance of Bessie Regina Norris also known as Betty Wright. This playlist is a sample of her original music, songs that she produced, influenced and songs on which she provided vocals.

Follow and tune in each Monday when we release a new playlist, and listen to our full list of archived playlists below.

Apollo Playlists

 

More from the Digital Stage:

In Conversation with DJ D-Nice

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Apollo's Executive Producer Kamilah Forbes speaks to DJ D-Nice on how he leaned in to music and social media to help heal thousands through Club Quarantine, his work as a photographer and artist, his experiences at the Apollo and connection to Harlem, and more.

 

STORIES OUR ELDERS TELL US

This podcast series in partnership with 4th and 5th graders from C.S.154 takes a look at five members of significant elders of Harlem, a community outreach group focused on empowering and passing down knowledge to younger generations.

Our first episode focuses on the life of Andi Owens, a Harlem historian. Mr. Owens walks us through his most significant moments from growing up in Minneapolis to his perseverance and contribution during the fight for racial equality in Harlem.

REMEMBERING THE LIFE OF LITTLE RICHARD

Read more about the architect of rock & roll, Apollo Legend Little Richard, in the Walk of Fame guide.

Photo courtesy of the Apollo Theater Archives
Learn More
While the theater is dark, we are celebrating the performances, artists, audiences and personalities that have made us what we are on our Apollo Digital Stage. We hope doing so will lift your spirits. If you are in the position to do so, please consider making a contribution to the Apollo Theater by visiting apollotheater.org/donate.

Celebrating Stevie Wonder

In His Own Words

In honor of Apollo Legend Stevie Wonder's 70th birthday on May 13th, we have released never before seen 1988 footage from our archives.

 

Apollo Education Walk of Fame Guide

 This family-friendly Apollo Walk of Fame study guide provides insight into the early life and activism of our beloved Apollo Legend, Stevie Wonder.

Learn More
While the theater is dark, we are celebrating the performances, artists, audiences and personalities that have made us what we are on our Apollo Digital Stage. We hope doing so will lift your spirits. If you are in the position to do so, please consider making a contribution to the Apollo Theater by visiting apollotheater.org/donate.

APOLLO MUSIC CAFE: LIVE ARTIST SESSION

WEDNESDAY, MAY 13 | 6PM EST

Join Apollo Music Café alum Avery*Sunshine for a Facebook Live edition of our signature Music Café. This week's session will include a special tribute to Stevie Wonder in honor of his 70th birthday.

Tune in on Facebook Live

FROM OUR FRIENDS AT OPERA PHILADELPHIA

DIGITAL BROADCAST PREMIERE: WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED

Enjoy the digital broadcast premiere of We Shall Not Be Moved, our co-commissioned opera with Opera Philadelphia. Review the supplemental education materials from the Apollo Education department below, including the history and creative elements of opera, and historical context surrounding the 1985  Philadelphia MOVE bombing.

Education Study Guide Watch Online

APOLLO UPTOWN HALL: MOVEMENT REQUIRED

In support of the New York premiere of We Shall Not Be Moved, the Apollo hosted a community discussion surrounding themes explored in the opera. Topics included law enforcement and community relations, lack of youth services in urban America, and featured Tamika D. Mallory, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and more. Tune in to listen to the rebroadcast of Apollo Uptown Hall: Movement Required on WBAI-FM.

Listen

While the theater is dark, we are celebrating the performances, artists, audiences and personalities that have made us what we are on our Apollo Digital Stage. We hope doing so will lift your spirits. If you are in the position to do so, please consider making a contribution to the Apollo Theater by visiting apollotheater.org/donate.

INTERMISSION

APOLLO DANCE PARTY WITH DJ HARD HITTIN' HARRY
FRIDAY, MAY 8 | 6PM EST

 Dance into the weekend with Apollo Music Cafe's very own DJ Hard Hittin' Harry.

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PARTY RIGHT HERE ON THE DIGITAL STAGE:

While the theater is dark, we are celebrating the performances, artists, audiences and personalities that have made us what we are on our Apollo Digital Stage. We hope doing so will lift your spirits. If you are in the position to do so, please consider making a contribution to the Apollo Theater by visiting apollotheater.org/donate.

 

INTERMISSION

APOLLO DANCE PARTY WITH DJ SPINNA

FRIDAY, MAY 1 | 3PM EST

Get up offa that thang!! We're LIVE with INTERMISSION: The #ApolloFam Dance Party! You've got until 6PM to get up, get into it, and get involved with this #JamesBrown-infused set featuring @djspinna on the 1s and 2s ???????? https://t.co/PSHEUst2pF

— apollotheater (@ApolloTheater) May 1, 2020

While the theater is dark, we are celebrating the performances, artists, audiences and personalities that have made us what we are on our Apollo Digital Stage. We hope doing so will lift your spirits. If you are in the position to do so, please consider making a contribution to the Apollo Theater by visiting apollotheater.org/donate.

APOLLO MUSIC CAFÉ: INTERNATIONAL DAY OF JAZZ

CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE LIVE ON FACEBOOK 

Join six-time GRAMMY® Award-winning jazz bassist Christian McBride in this month’s virtual edition of Apollo Music Café honoring International Day of Jazz and Apollo legend James Brown. Mr. McBride will broadcast on Facebook Live in an intimate concert with a mix of jazz and his expansive knowledge of James Brown’s catalogue. Special guest appearances to be announced.

Tune in on Facebook Live


While the theater is dark, we are celebrating the performances, artists, audiences and personalities that have made us what we are on our Apollo Digital Stage. We hope doing so will lift your spirits. If you are in the position to do so, please consider making a contribution to the Apollo Theater by visiting apollotheater.org/donate.

APOLLO LIVE WIRE REBROADCAST

RE-VOLUTION LIVE: 50 YEARS AFTER SAY IT LOUD
SUNDAY, MAY 3 | 3PM EST

Fifty years after the release of James Brown’s hallmark anthem, Apollo Live Wire brings together a lineup of acclaimed artists and thinkers to reflect on the impact of that pivotal song in music history for an improvised evening of music and conversation. Featuring Duke University Professor of African and African American Studies, Mark Anthony Neal; bassist, composer and host of Jazz Night in America, Christian McBride; and guest DJs: DJ KS 360, DJ LiKWUiD, DJ MamaSoul.

reVolution Live Program Book

Learn More: Check out the Apollo Education Department's Walk of Fame Study Guide and the Say It Loud Digital Resource exploring James Brown's legacy.

While the theater is dark, we are celebrating the performances, artists, audiences and personalities that have made us what we are on our Apollo Digital Stage. We hope doing so will lift your spirits. If you are in the position to do so, please consider making a contribution to the Apollo Theater by visiting apollotheater.org/donate.

 

TIDAL X New Jack Swing Presented by the Apollo Theater

The epic IG battle between Teddy Riley and Babyface nearly broke the internet in a throwback of some of the most memorable R&B hits of our time. Check out our throwback to December 2018 when Teddy Riley and Keith Sweat graced the Apollo stage along with DJ D-Nice, Guy, members of Blackstreet, Doug E. Fresh, Kool Moe Dee, SWV​, ​MC Lyte, and Al B Sure.​

One World Ideas & Action:
Ta-Nehisi Coates and Heather McGhee

THURSDAY, APRIL 16 | 8PM ET

Apollo Theater’s Master Artist-in-Residence Ta-Nehisi Coates joins Heather McGhee, one of our leading thinkers on economic and social policy, for an evening of conversation. Ta-Nehisi Coates is the author of several bestselling books, including the modern classic Between the World and Me and, most recently, the #1 bestselling novel The Water Dancer and Heather McGhee, former president of the Demos Foundation, is one of our leading thinkers on economic and social policy, and author of the forthcoming book The Sum of Us. Together, they will elaborate about their work, this moment in our society, and how we might start to think about the world we’ll make on the other side of it.

Moderated by Chris Jackson, Editor-In-Chief at One World.

The inaugural Master Artist Residency at the Apollo Theater is supported by the Ford Foundation. The Master Artist Residency program is generously funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Amateur Night at the Apollo

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15 | 7:30PM ET

Amateur Night at the Apollo is one of New York’s most popular live entertainment experiences, attracting performers and audiences the world over. Tune in here to see the best of the best from our April 17, 2019 performance.

Tune in right here or join the conversation on Facebook Live.

Watch on Facebook Live

IN CONVERSATION WITH DONALD LAWRENCE

Instagram Live Conversation with Kamilah Forbes

Apollo Theater's Executive Producer Kamilah Forbes speaks to gospel artist Donald Lawrence. They discuss how faith can carry us through uncertain times, Donald’s involvement with Lifetime's Clark Sisters biopic, his latest album, Goshen, and more.

APOLLO LIVE WIRE

How I Got Over - The Spirit of Gospel Music

This Friday, watch a rebroadcast of How I Got Over – The Spirt of Gospel Music, a conversation exploring the history and influence of Gospel music and the Black religious experience. Judith Casselberry, associate professor of Africana Studies at Bowdoin College and author of The Labor of Faith: Gender and Power in Black Apostolic Pentecostalism, guides us through this journey that begins in the early 20th century and winds across the decades through the migration experience, regional influences, denominational traditions, and innovative performers to today’s contemporary Gospel music scene.

Panelists Include:
Charrise Barron, Ph.D. - Interim Director, Brown Center for Students of Color (BCSC), Visiting Assistant Professor of Africana Studies, Brown University
Mellonee Burnim - Professor of Folklore and Ethnomusicology; Director, Archives of African American Music & Culture University of Indiana Bloomington; Co-editor of African American Music: An Introduction
Joyce Marie Jackson - Professor of Folklore and Ethnomusicology in the Department of Geography & Anthropology at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
Matthew D. Morrison, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor, New York University; Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music

With musical reflections by:
Marcelle Davies-Lashley, Jhetti, and Samuel Guillaume

Apollo Live Wire is presented by the Apollo Education Department.

View the Program Book for How I Got Over Follow the Playlist

Amateur Night at the Apollo

Amateur Night at the Apollo is one of New York’s most popular live entertainment experiences, attracting performers and audiences the world over. Tune in here to see the best of the best from our May 15th live streamed performace.

APOLLO LIVE WIRE

She's a Rebel: A Tribute to the Girl Groups of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s

Closing out Women’s History Month, this Apollo Live Wire highlights the story and members of the original girl groups of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s in celebration of their contributions to American music.

Hear from Joshie Jo Armstead, former member of The Ikettes, Sarah Dash, former member of Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles, and Martha Reeves of Martha and the Vandellas, as they discuss their experiences as female artists in the music industry. Music journalist and essayist Christian John Wikane moderates.

Apollo Live Wire is presented by the Apollo Education Department.

View the Live Wire Program Book She's A Rebel Playlist