Back in 2019, Kranzberg Art Foundation executive director Chris Hansen announced a reboot of Music at the Intersection, a supersized version of a small, local festival that had taken place years before in Grand Center.
The festival would be part of the new St. Louis Music Week, which Hansen said would spotlight St. Louis’ musical heritage and attract and retain talent.
The event was scheduled for September 2020 on the streets of Grand Center. We all know how that turned out.
The pandemic continues, but Music at the Intersection finally took place last weekend, at the Fox Theatre, the Grandel, Jazz St. Louis, the Sheldon, the Big Top and under a VIP tent.
There were more than 60 performers in various genres, including Roy Ayers, Gregory Porter, Lalah Hathaway, Bettye LaVette, Lee Fields and the Expressions, the Soul Rebels, Keyon Harrold, the Baylor Project, Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentleman, Dam-Funk, Don Bryant featuring the Bo-Keys, Denise Thimes, Anita Jackson, Janet Evra, Beth Bombara, Blvck Spvde, Brothers Lazaroff, John Henry, Tonina, Marquise Knox, the Mighty Pines, Mike Zito, Scooter Brown, iLLPHONiCs, Midwest Avengers, Kaleb Kirby, Katarra, Tef Poe and Roland Johnson.
While the festival wasn’t what had been originally planned, it seemed well executed with no major hiccups, aside from some poorly attended shows and late cancellations (GZA, Booker T. Jones, Brock Seals).
