Walker Art Center Presents Us Premiere of Moor Mother’s The Great Bailout
On September 14, the Walker will present the US premiere of The Great Bailout, Moor Mother’s (Camae Ayewa) blistering new song cycle. In the artist’s ninth studio album, Ayewa confronts colonialism, slavery, and commerce in Great Britain and their historical parallels in the United States. The Great Bailout springs from Ayewa’s wide-ranging practice of art and activism, nodding to jazz, hip-hop, and Beat poetry.
Layers of instruments, voices, and electronics coalesce in this live rendition performed by an eight-piece ensemble including Ayewa (vocals, electronics, and sound making toys), Angel Bat Dawid (piano, clarinet, vocals), Melvin Gibbs (electric bass, guitar), revered Minneapolis musician Douglas Ewart (saxophones, flutes, invented instruments), Kyle Kidd (vocals), Luke Stewart (bass), Tcheser Holmes (drums), and tap dancer Melissa Almaguer. In addition to The Great Bailout, Ayewa and collaborators will also premiere a new piece for the first time at the Walker.
“Research is a major part of my work, and researching history—particularly African history, philosophy, and time—is a major interest,” Moor Mother said of the music’s focus on the effects of British colonialism. “Europe and Africa have a very intimate and brutal relationship throughout time. I’m interested in exploring that relationship of colonialism and liberation, in this case in Great Britain.”
Presented in partnership with Liquid Music.
Moor Mother: The Great Bailout
Saturday, September 14, 7:30 pm
McGuire Theater
Tickets start at $15, fees included
US Premiere
ABOUT MOOR MOTHER
A national and international touring musician, composer, poet, visual artist, and curator, Moor Mother’s (Camae Ayewa) music is a statement for the future and a way to honor the present. Her work uses Afrofuturism as a narrative tool, recognizing its ability to empower marginalized Black and Indigenous people and acting as an agitator in shaping Afrodiasporan past and future narratives.
Ayewa is also a vocalist and musician in collaborative performance groups, including free jazz group Irreversible Entanglements, post-punk duo Moor Jewelry, and club/noise duo 700Bliss. Most recently, Irreversible Entanglements released the critically acclaimed album Protect Your Light in 2023. Ayewa has also released numerous collaborative albums, including four in 2020 with YATTA, billy woods, Nicole Mitchell, and Olof Melander. She is a professor at the University of Southern California and a Pew fellow, Knight Foundation Art and Technology fellow, Blade of Grass fellow, Foundations for Contemporary Arts fellow, Moog Sound Lab Resident, and Wysing Arts Resident. Her work has been exhibited at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, and The Kitchen.
TICKETS
Ordering tickets is easy: visit walkerart.org/tickets or call 612.375.7600. Prices include all applicable fees. Box Office is open Wednesday–Sunday and one hour before performances.
ACCESSIBILITY
For more information about accessibility, visit our Access page.
For questions on accessibility or to request additional accommodations, call 612.375.7564 or email access@walkerart.org.
STUDENTS COME EARLY
Students own the rush line! Get in line an hour before showtime for $15 rush tickets. One ticket per person with student ID. (Some restrictions apply.)
GET TOGETHER
Experience these performances in a group of 10 or more people and save 15% on tickets. Purchase group tickets online, over the phone, or in person. The discount is automatically applied at checkout on orders of 10 or more tickets to the same performance.
MEMBERS DO MORE
Become a member and enjoy a 20% discount on performance tickets, receive unlimited free gallery admission, and more. Call 612.375.7655 or visit walkerart.org/membership.
ABOUT LIQUID MUSIC
Liquid Music is a leading producer of special projects in contemporary music, an internationally recognized laboratory for artists from across genre and disciplinary spectrums. This creative institution nurtures and realizes bold ideas from performers and composers, inspiring audiences to discover, learn, and be transformed. Founded at the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in 2012, Liquid Music became independent in 2020, owned and operated by artistic director Kate Nordstrum who has been widely praised for her programmatic vision, panoramic tastes, and “storied matchmaking” (Minneapolis Star Tribune). Through Liquid Music, Nordstrum has built a boundary-defying platform for collaboration and earned her reputation as “the most adventurous music curator in town” (MinnPost), “a presenter of rare initiative” (Minnesota Star Tribune), and “Twin Cities’ curatorial powerhouse with international pull” (Minnesota Public Radio). www.liquidmusic.org
ABOUT THE WALKER ART CENTER
The Walker Art Center is a renowned multidisciplinary arts institution that presents, collects, and supports the creation of groundbreaking work across the visual and performing arts, moving image, and design. Guided by the belief that art has the power to bring joy and solace and the ability to unite people through dialogue and shared experiences, the Walker engages communities through a dynamic array of exhibitions, performances, events, and initiatives. Its multiacre campus includes 65,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space, the state-of-the-art McGuire Theater and Walker Cinema, and ample green space that connects with the adjoining Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. The Garden, a partnership with the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board, is one of the first urban sculpture parks of its kind in the United States and home to the beloved Twin Cities landmark Spoonbridge and Cherry by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Recognized for its ambitious program and growing collection of more than 15,500 works, the Walker embraces emerging art forms and amplifies the work of artists from the Twin Cities and from across the country and the globe. Its broad spectrum of offerings makes it a lively and welcoming hub for artistic expression, creative innovation, and community connection.
Acknowledgments
The Walker Art Center’s Performing Arts programs are made possible by generous support from the Doris Duke Foundation through the Doris Duke Performing Arts Fund, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Producers Council
Performing Arts programs and commissions at the Walker are generously supported by members of the Producers’ Council; Christina Evans and Weston Hoard; Nor Hall and Roger Hale; King’s Fountain/Barbara Watson Pillsbury; Sarah Lutman and Rob Rudolph; Emily Maltz; Leni and David Moore, Jr./The David and Leni Moore Family Foundation; Therese Sexe and David Hage; and Mike and Elizabeth Sweeney.
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