Known as the gateway to the West, St. Louis is a city with a rich legacy and significant cultural impact from its unique food scene, which includes toasted ravioli, to the iconic Gateway Arch. The St. Louis Art Museum is a must-visit destination, along with Forest Park and other attractions. The Missouri city has a lot to offer, but the real star of the show is its eclectic music scene.
Iconic names in music have St. Louis ties
As a result of the Great Migration during the early 20th century, St. Louis became a hub for blues music, fostering a distinct local sound that was not only melodic and rhythmic but also emotionally resonant.
Some of the most profound names in Black culture and American music as a whole have ties to the city, including St. Louis natives Chuck Berry, Donny Hathaway and Miles Davis, as well as Josephine Baker, Nelly and others. Despite being born in Tennessee, the late Tina Turner moved to the city as a teen before becoming the “Queen of Rock’ n’ Roll.”
Today, the city aims to hold on to its influence on music culture through organizations like the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, which recently held a concert to pay homage to Chuck Berry with a birthday bash tribute as part of CHUCK100, a yearlong celebration of the 100th anniversary of Berry’s birth featuring band members from the Rolling Stones, Living Colour, the Pretenders, and other special appearances.
Music at the Intersection, or MATI, is another way the community celebrates St. Louis’ contributions to music, and its recent installment marked five years of the organization’s transformation of the Grand Center Arts District into a weekend-long celebration of sound, art and community.
“Just because of what the name of the festival is, it’s changed to MATI, but before it’s Music at the Intersection Festival, which is originally it’s a lot of people with St. Louis roots and how St. Louis music has really affected the world,” MATI artist-in-residence Keyon Harrold told Blavity when asked how the event speaks to the heart and soul of his city.
A jazz trumpeter, Harrold has performed at the festival annually. But this year, he played a key role in guiding the festival lineup, which included headliners like Lucky Daye, Leon Thomas, Patti LaBelle, Leela James, and his mentor, Common, who helped to launch his career by giving him his first professional touring gig during the Like Water for Chocolate Tour during the early 2000s. The Chicago native performed at the event alongside his longtime friend and collaborator Pete Rock.
Harrold continued, “When you think of somebody like Gary Clark Jr. coming to this festival a few years ago, it’s the direct result of Chuck Berry, you know? All these people have direct lineages as to what kind of music you bring here. And now it’s going deeper and deeper; again it’s getting more global and more global, so I’m super excited,” adding, “It all comes down to soul music, so diastereic dopeness, that’s what I call it.”
More than just a music festival
Along with acts on the main stage, the essence of MATI was captured through curated panels geared toward helping creatives with aspirations of breaking into the music industry, as well as a kickoff event at The Dark Room featuring St. Louis native and entrepreneur A-Game, along with New York City’s Niko Brim and Kai Ca$h.
“I think that Music at the Intersection is a very powerful and important festival,” the “Til Death Do Us Part” MC, also the co-owner of HUSTL3 C1T4, continued. “I don’t know how other cities get down, but I know for us, this is one of those moments where you know the underground or independent scene gets to share the same space and energy as some of our favorite national acts, and that kind of energy is priceless.”
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