🎭 Georgia Tech historian Matthew Hild spent years researching the woman behind the pop star — and he argues the most iconic thing Olivia Newton-John ever did wasn’t star in “Grease” or sing “Physical.” It was the cancer treatment center she fought to build in Australia, which now draws patients from around the world. Hild talks with WABE Arts and Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott about why John Travolta compared Newton-John’s star power to Taylor Swift’s, how “Grease” erased her country music legacy, and the Atlanta ties that thread through her story. 🎵 

🎭 Georgia Tech historian Matthew Hild spent years researching the woman behind the pop star &mdash; and he argues the most&nbsp;iconic&nbsp;thing Olivia Newton-John ever did wasn&rsquo;t star in &ldquo;Grease&rdquo; or sing &ldquo;Physical.&rdquo; It was the cancer treatment center she fought to build in Australia, which now draws patients from around the world. Hild talks with WABE Arts and Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott about why John Travolta compared&nbsp;Newton-John&rsquo;s&nbsp;star power to Taylor Swift&rsquo;s, how &ldquo;Grease&rdquo; erased her country music legacy, and the Atlanta ties that thread through her story. 🎵&nbsp;

WABE Arts features stories of art and culture in Atlanta.

WABE Arts features stories of art and culture in Atlanta.

WABE Arts

Each week, WABE Arts features stories of art and culture in Atlanta.

Each week, WABE Arts features stories of&nbsp;art and culture in Atlanta.

Biographer Matthew Hild on the life and legacy of Olivia Newton-John 

The Amplify Decatur Music Festival has been turning live music into community support since 2010 — and a decade ago, it claimed the Decatur Square as its home. This week, the festival marks ten years outdoors with a lineup headlined by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, on a brand-new downtown stage about to host its very first concert. On this episode of WABE Arts, Sherri Daye Scott talks with co-board chair Mike Killeen about what it took to build a festival around a cause, why music and anti-poverty work belong together, and what it means to finally land an artist that's been on the wish list for years. The Amplify Decatur Music Festival runs June fourth through seventh on and around the Decatur Square. 🎵 

The Amplify Decatur Music Festival has been turning live music into community support since 2010 &mdash; and a decade ago, it claimed the Decatur Square as its home. This week, the festival marks ten years outdoors with a lineup headlined by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, on a brand-new downtown stage about to host its very first concert. On this episode of WABE Arts, Sherri Daye Scott talks with co-board chair Mike Killeen about what it took to build a festival around a cause, why music and anti-poverty work belong together, and what it means to finally land an artist that's been on the wish list for years. The Amplify Decatur Music Festival runs June fourth through seventh on and around the Decatur Square. 🎵&nbsp;

Amplify Decatur celebrates 'A Decade on the Square' with Gillian Welch & David Rawlings 

For more than a year, ‘Amy Sherald: American Sublime’ packed museums in San Francisco, New York, and Baltimore. Now the exhibition — the largest of the Georgia native’s work to date — has arrived at its final stop: Atlanta’s High Museum, the city where Sherald honed her craft. On this episode of WABE Arts, Sherri Daye Scott talks with Angelica Arbelaez, assistant curator of modern and contemporary art at the High, about what visitors will find inside: the visual language Sherald developed over nearly 20 years, the new triptych created specifically for this show, and how the museum has organized an exhibition that asks you to slow down and meet the gaze of every subject in the room. 🎨 

For more than a year, &lsquo;Amy Sherald: American Sublime&rsquo; packed museums in San Francisco, New York, and Baltimore. Now the exhibition &mdash; the largest of the Georgia native&rsquo;s work to date &mdash; has arrived at its final stop: Atlanta&rsquo;s High Museum, the city where Sherald&nbsp;honed her craft. On this episode of WABE Arts, Sherri Daye Scott talks with Angelica Arbelaez, assistant curator of modern and contemporary art at the High, about what visitors will find inside: the visual language Sherald developed over nearly 20 years, the new triptych created specifically for this show, and how the museum has organized an exhibition that asks you to slow down and meet the gaze of every subject in the room. 🎨&nbsp;

Inside 'American Sublime': Amy Sherald’s homecoming at the High Museum 

In 2019, producer Michael Shulman invited Gloria Estefan to score a musical he was developing based on ‘Landfill Harmonic,’  a documentary about a children’s orchestra in Paraguay that builds its instruments from recycled trash. Estefan invited her daughter Emily to write alongside her. On this episode of WABE Arts, Sherri Daye Scott talks with Gloria and Emily Estefan — during rehearsals at the Alliance Theatre ahead of the musical’s May 30 premiere — about what it takes to write original music for the stage: the panic, the process, the songs that didn’t survive, and why Atlanta audiences will help shape what ‘Basura’ becomes. 🎭

In 2019, producer Michael Shulman invited Gloria Estefan to score a musical he was developing based on &lsquo;Landfill Harmonic,&rsquo;&nbsp; a documentary about a children&rsquo;s orchestra in Paraguay that builds its instruments from recycled trash. Estefan invited her daughter Emily to write alongside her. On this episode of WABE Arts, Sherri Daye Scott talks with Gloria and Emily Estefan &mdash; during rehearsals at the Alliance Theatre ahead of the musical&rsquo;s May 30 premiere &mdash; about what it takes to write original music for the stage: the panic, the process, the songs that didn&rsquo;t survive, and why Atlanta audiences will help shape what &lsquo;Basura&rsquo; becomes. 🎭

Biographer Matthew Hild on the life and legacy of Olivia Newton-John

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