On this May evening, the sky over Kreuzberg is covered with thick clouds, through which the evening sun is slowly peeking. The rain has stopped, but the air remains electric. Berlin vibrates as a special tension builds in the Kreuzberg Festival Hall – not excitement, but a deep, almost indescribable anticipation. It’s the third night of this year’s XJAZZ Festival, and the line-up includes two names that see the term genre more as an invitation to resist: Moor Mother and Lonnie Holley.
The two perform not alone, but with a band. Guitar, drums, and keyboards form an ensemble that gives the event a raw, vibrant physicality. Lonnie Holley, the 75-year-old artist from Alabama, sits at the keys, hidden behind an embroidered cloth that hides his keyboards from the audience – as if the resulting sounds were not played, but woven out of fabric. His voice is both powerful and fragile, full of stories and lived time. Moor Mother, aka Camae Ayewa, is his complementary counterpart. She is a poet, a musician and an activist. Her voice is her medium, her instrument and her resistance. She fills the room with her voice, creating vibration, urgency and impact.
Between Sound, Poetry and Protest
What follows is not a classic show, but a ceremony. The band plays tightly, almost telepathically. The drummer drives the songs forward with fast, prog-jazz impulses, while the guitar riffs unfold in free sound painting – a dense fabric of sound that seems structured and fleeting at the same time. Holley paints with chords, Ayewa burns her lyrics into the microphone – lyrics that don’t just want to be consumed, but lived.
The music oscillates between free jazz, rock, noise and futuristic sound poetry. Energy burns in many passages, while in quieter moments Holley’s voice sounds almost like a prayer. Then Ayewa breaks in again with fragmentary spoken word codes that are political, clever, and heartbreaking.
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The audience enjoys with closed eyes and swaying bodies. What Moor Mother, Lonnie Holley and their band bring to the stage tonight has no subtle entertainment ambitions whatsoever. This music wants to remind us of what was – and what could be. And that is where its power lies. It is protest because it does not forget. And it is beautiful because it does not give up hope.
