Kenya Vaughn

The room at St. Louis County Library's Clark Family Branch filled with a quiet buzz last Tuesday evening. A hint of it was still in the air as St. Louis County Library CEO and Director Kristen Sorth welcomed one of the most decorated writers of his generation.

There was no speech. No introduction. The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra presented a tribute to John Coltrane and East St. Louis' own Miles Davis that opened Saturday night with a groove. Guitarist Charles Altura set the tone with a simmering vamp, David Ginyard locked in on bass, and Oscar Seaton laid down a hypnotic pocket on drums. Tom Oren's keys slipped in masterfully.

Music is the thread that weaves together the Black experience in America. The contributions of Black people to the canon of American music represent more than creative expression through sound. They are volumes of American history in their own right — art that reflects the unshakable will and resilience of a people who have defied […]

Before guests even pulled into the parking lot for the ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday morning, the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation's tradition of countering negative narratives about East St. Louis was already in motion. Volunteers with wide smiles waved cars into the lot and directed attendees toward the event. As guests made the short walk from the JJK Center to the new JJK Food Agriculture Nutrition Innovation Center — known as JJK FAN — greeters stood at every turn, each welcome warmer than the last.

When LaKisha Jones sang “I'm Here,” the signature song from the Tony Award-winning musical The Color Purple, she made two pronoun changes that captured the intention behind the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra's IN UNISON Chorus presentation of Soul of a People: A Juneteenth Celebration of Black Music.

Clive Davis — the record executive whose ear, instincts, and long-view approach to artistry helped shape the sound of popular music for more than half a century — has died. He was 94.

Before the world knew him as a force in jazz dance and a mentor who shaped generations, Reginald Ray-Savage was a young man from St. Louis who walked into the Muny, saw Rudolf Nureyev, and never looked back. The dancer, choreographer, educator and founder of the internationally respected Savage Jazz Dance Company died on May […]

When Opera Theatre of Saint Louis needed someone to step into one of the most electric roles in its season — and do it with almost no notice — they turned to Gerdine Young Artist alum and baritone Benjamin Taylor.

Dr. Pamela Washington stepped onto the grounds of the Barack Obama Presidential Center on opening weekend and felt the presence of the people who came before her.

Long before the Barack Obama Presidential Center welcomed its first visitors, Daria Smith was helping imagine what it could become.