Stew and Heidi Rodewald are the creative force behind the band the Negro Problem and the Tony-winning 2008 musical "Passing Strange." It told the story of a Black youth who left middle-class Los Angeles to search for a more "real" life in Europe and mixed rock with jazz and gospel and a story of incredible depth and wit, redefining what a musical could be years before "Hamilton."

Stew has referred to "Passing Strange" as spiritual copyright infringement on the life of James Baldwin, and now the musician has taken his love of Baldwin a step further with "Notes of a Native Song."

PICA artistic director Angela Mattox: "It's really about Stew's relationship to the life and work of James Baldwin, but it's not just an homage. It's really Stew looking at incidents and issues of the American moment and interweaving timely storylines and commentary amidst this luscious musical landscape of jazz and blues-influenced songs — a song cycle.

"Sometimes the last show I book feels the most important, or the show that holds things together. I booked this weeks before the catalogue went to print, and it feels like the right show to make this festival. It feels timely."

The show runs Sept. 8-9 at 8:30 p.m. at Lincoln Hall.

We can't tell you how much we loved "Passing Strange," so naturally we couldn't pass up the opportunity to talk with Stew about this new work.