THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Bark Out Thunder Roar Out Lightning is a complex work, as the artist formerly known as Christian Scott leads us on a new path in his journey.
Bark out Thunder Roar Out Lightning bridges past and future by marrying the folkloric styles, ceremonial and ritual practices of the Maroon and Afro-Indigenous Chiefdoms, and culture of New Orleans with Stretch Music. The result is a spellbinding exhibition of Afro-New Orleanian and West African expression where music, dance, and cultures unite.
Adjuah is a scion of New Orleans’ first family of art and culture, the Harrisons, and the grandson of legendary Big Chief Donald Harrison Sr., who led four nations in the city’s masking tradition. The HBO series Treme borrowed the storyline and the name Guardians of the Flame from the group Adjuah began “masking” as a member of with his grandfather in 1989. In 2018, Tulane University’s acclaimed Amistad Research Center announced its archive of the Donald Harrison Sr. legacy papers to highlight the Harrison / Scott / Nelson family’s contributions to the arts, activism, and African diaspora cultural expressions. The Harrison family’s story has been documented by Oscar-winning director, the late Jonathan Demme, in his post-Hurricane Katrina filmic works.”
