This week on "State of Wonder," Soul'd Out sues Cochella, three native playwrights soar at Oregon's biggest theaters, poet Shayla Lawson's love letter to Frank Ocean, and the quiet heartache of Black Belt Eagle Scout.
Soul'd Out Festival Sues Coachella
A David and Goliath showdown might soon come to a federal courtroom near you. This week, Portland’s homegrown Soul’d Out Music Festival filed a suit against one of the west coast’s giants: the Coachella Festival in Indio California and its affiliates. Soul’d Out alleged the big guy is violating anti-trust law through anti-competitive practices by barring any bands playing Coachella from playing another concert within 1300 miles for five months — basically ruling out any other West Coast shows — unless it's with one of Coachella's affiliate promoters.
Shayla Lawson's Love Poem to Frank Ocean - 4:23
Some artists move us, and some artists move us to make new things of our own. Frank Ocean was already one of the hottest names in music for his effortlessly brilliant lyrics and non-conventional musical collaging, but when he started writing songs about loving other men, as well as women, he blew open some long-standing music industry taboos. Just as Ocean has inverted his musical form, Shayla Lawson's new book of verse, "I Think I’m Ready To See Frank Ocean," pays tribute to the iconoclastic figure in soul by offering up some very different ideas about poetry.
Oregon Stages Align for Three Indigenous Playwrights - 18:21
There's been an incredible alignment in Oregon theater this month. Three of our biggest and best professional theaters are staging works by three contemporary indigenous playwrights, who all happen to be women. Mary Katherine Nagle’s play, “Manahatta” is onstage at Oregon Shakespeare Festival through Oct. 27. Delanna Studi is performing her autobiographical one-woman about retracing the Trail of Tears with her father, “And So We Walked,” at Portland Center Stage through May 13. And Artists’ Repertory Theatre is presenting “The Thanksgiving Play”, by Larissa Fasthorse. This. Has. Not. Happened before.All three playwrights arranged to be in Portland this week. They did some panel discussions. But we could not resist inviting them in to talk. They’ve been running in the same circles forever, to the point where it was hard for them to say where they first met.
The Sonic Judo of Black Belt Eagle Scout - 42:02
Katherine Paul’s musical journey has taken her from pow wows on the Swinomish Reservation in Washington to grunge-drenched rock clubs, but it was on her own that she truly found her voice. Last year, she released her solo debut, “Mother of My Children,” as Black Belt Eagle Scout. She plays all the instruments on the record. Of course, Paul, who goes by KP, is no stranger to Portland music lovers. She’s been a member of several bands, including Genders and Forest Park.
