Listen to an interview with the Indianapolis rock band Wishy. Their debut album Triple Seven has been praised in publications including Pitchfork and The Guardian. Wishy’s music draws inspiration from 1990s shoegaze and dream pop bands like My Bloody Valentine and The Sundays. Also, hear a tribute to the Indianapolis rockabilly pioneer Ronnie Haig, he passed away this month at the age of 85. Haig was born in Indianapolis in 1939, and grew up in the Fountain Square neighborhood. At age 19, Haig released two singles for the Indianapolis label Note Records. The sessions were recorded at Chicago’s famous Chess Records studio, and featured an all-star group of Indianapolis musicians, including guitarist Wes Montgomery. Haig is best remembered for 1958 single “Don’t You Hear Me Calling, Baby”, a regional hit in markets around the United States.
Listen to an interview with jazz saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin. 2024 has been a breakout year for Lakecia. She was nominated for 3 Grammy awards, and made high profile appearances on NPR’s Tiny Desk, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. She will be performing at this year’s Indy Jazz Fest.
Listen to an interview with rock and roll legend Felix Cavaliere of The Rascals. Vocalist, organist and songwriter Felix Cavaliere confounded Rascals in 1965. Originally known as The Young Rascals, the band would go on to chart 9 top 20 Billboard singles, including three number 1 hits. Today, The Rascals are considered one of the defining American rock bands of the 1960s. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, and Cavaliere was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009. The Rascals will be performing at the Brown County Music Center in September.
Listen to an interview with the New York-based musician John Roseboro. He describes his music as “post bossa,” a unique blend of American indie rock and Brazilian bossa nova. Roseboro will be performing in Indianapolis on September 14 at State Street Pub.
Carl Broemel started his career as a choir boy at Indianapolis’ Christ Church Cathedral, today he travels the world as a guitarist with My Morning Jacket. This week on Cultural Manifesto, hear Broemel discuss his roots in the Indianapolis music scene. Broemel’s work with My Morning Jacket has received widespread critical acclaim. In 2007, he was named on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of “20 New Guitar Gods”. Broemel has worked with a wide range of musicians, from CCR’s John Fogerty to Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters. Broemel will be performing with My Morning Jacket at the Bourbon & Beyond in Louisville on September 22.
Listen to an interview with photographer Jacob Moran. He’ll discuss “Visual Aural”, a book and mixtape documenting the Indianapolis rap music scene. Also hear from two of the musicians featured in “Visual Aural,” rappers 4200Kory and Joosi.
Listen to an interview with the Indianapolis-based poet and filmmaker Too Black. He’ll discuss his new book, “Laundering Black Rage: The Washing of Black Death, People, Property, and Profits”, co-written with Dr. Rasul Mowatt. The book explores how the rage directed at the police murder of George Floyd was re-channeled away from the Black Lives Matter movement into corporate advertising and questionable leadership.
Listen to a preview of this year’s edition of Chreece, an all-day hip-hop festival happening in the Fountain Square neighborhood of Indianapolis. Hear a conversation with Chreece organizers Oreo Jones, Jane Kim, and Jay Brookinz; along with interviews and music from Chreece performers 4200Kory, and Joosi Got Bars. Plus a conversation with Yung Rev, the organizer of Dystopia, a multimedia event series happening in Fountain Square.
Listen to a special podcast edition of Cultural Manifesto, featuring an unedited conversation with Oreo Jones, Jay Brookinz, and Jane Kim — the organizers of Chreece, an all-day hip-hop festival happening in the Fountain Square neighborhood of Indianapolis.
Listen to an interview with the Hobart, Indiana pop star Omar Apollo. He will discuss his new album “God Said No”, his memories of growing up in northwest Indiana, and his upcoming concert in Indianapolis.
Listen to an interview with the Bloomington-based jazz keyboardist, bandleader, and author Monika Herzig. She’ll discuss the latest album from her band Sheroes, titled “All In Good Time”. Monika Herzig’s Sheroes is an all-star group, featuring prominent women in jazz music. Sheroes is one of many projects Herzig has created to support women in jazz.
Listen to an interview with the composer and multi-instrumentalist Leon Todd Johnson. He creates classically inspired ambient music under the name Airport People. Johnson will discuss the new Airport People release “Midwest Dispossessed”, a collaboration with photographer Michael Ginda. The album includes a 136-page book of photography by Ginda, along with Johnson’s score. “Midwest Dispossessed” has been described as a “blend of visual and auditory art, that explores the current state of rural communities in and around the Wabash Valley.”
In the summer of 1928, the Vocalion Record Company visited Indianapolis in search of the city’s best musical talent. The label’s trip to Indianapolis was a success, Vocalion discovered and recorded several early stars of Indianapolis country, blues, jazz, and pop music — including blues legends Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell, Black country music pioneers Lulu Jackson and James Cole, future Hollywood star Dick Powell, and more. This week on Cultural Manifesto we’ll listen to Vocalion’s historic Indianapolis recordings.
This week on Cultural Manifesto, listen to an interview with jazz bassist and educator Bethany Robinson. Robinson earned national recognition as a music teacher at Noblesville High School and was recently appointed as leader of the Purdue jazz program. Also hear a selection of notable new Hoosier music releases from artists including Airport People, Los Aptos, Hanna Benn, Jordan Munson, Jlin and more.
Hear an interview with the Indianapolis rock band The Last IV. The group features a quartet of local music luminaries who’ve made significant contributions to punk, hip-hop, and indie rock music in Indiana.
Last month, the legendary bassist and singer-songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello recorded a session for NPR’s Tiny Desk. The vocals for that performance were handled by The HawtPlates, a musical ensemble co-founded by the Lafayette, Indiana siblings Justin and Jade Hicks. The HawtPlates have worked extensively with Ndegeocello and contributed to her Grammy-winning 2023 album "The Omnichord Real Book”. This week on Cultural Manifesto, listen to an interview with Justin and Jade Hicks.
It’s been 50 years since The Beach Boys released their chart-topping compilation album Endless Summer in 1974. The band’s 2024 tour Endless Summer Gold celebrates the legendary Beach Boys hits featured on that album. This week on Cultural Manifesto, Beach Boys vocalist and co-founder Mike Love will share his thoughts on the band’s legacy, and discuss The Four Freshmen, an Indianapolis vocal group that deeply influenced The Beach Boys’ sound.
Celebrate Pride month by exploring the work of historically significant Indiana LGBTQ+ musicians. Listen to interviews with Lē Weaver of Software, and writer Tyler Alpern, author of the 2010 book “Camped, Tramped and A Riotous Vamp” a biography of the Indiana songwriter Bruz Fletcher. Software was an Indianapolis synth-rock band that played a crucial role in the Lesbian music scene of Indiana during the 1980s. Stoughton “Bruz” Fletcher, a pioneer of LGBTQ+ music during the 1930s. Bruz was born into one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in Indiana, and his life was filled with extraordinary luxury and tragedy.
Listen to interviews with the Indianapolis vocalist Bayem, and keyboardist Simon Marvin of Hiatus Kaiyote. Bayem’s music blends elements of R&B, with ’80s pop, and electronic music. His 2022 EP “Afterglow” accrued millions of streams online. Bayme’s most recent EP “OASIS” is inspired by the futurism of internet vaporwave music. Simon Marvin is keyboardist for Australia’s critically acclaimed jazz-funk band Hiatus Kaiyote, they’ll be performing in Indianapolis on June 21st. Hiatus Kaiyote’s unique sound has earned praise from music icons like Prince, Erykah Badu, and Questlove.
This week on Cultural Manifesto, listen to a conversation with Dave Samuelson, a record producer, writer, radio host, and country music historian based in Battle Ground, Indiana. Samuelson has contributed to the Encyclopedia of Country Music, and written liner notes for albums by Merle Haggard and Hank Williams. During the 1970s, Samuelson founded the Puritan Records label. Puritan issued rare archival music from country pioneers, and contemporary releases from Indiana-based artists.