🎹 Eight-time Grammy winner Jon Batiste brings his 2026 Fantastical Tour Saturday to Chastain Park with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra, a rare orchestral date. He tells WABE Arts what keeps him grounded on the road, why all music is folk music, and what Atlanta means to him. 🎧

🎹 Eight-time Grammy winner Jon Batiste brings his 2026 Fantastical Tour Saturday to Chastain Park with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra, a rare orchestral date. He tells WABE Arts what keeps him grounded on the road, why all music is folk music, and what Atlanta means to him. 🎧

Jon Batiste: What's Feeding Him Before His Atlanta Date

After more than 30 years as a visual artist, Donna Mintz has written her first book,  'Stars at Noon,' out now from Mercer University Press. Her path from artist to published author began with a reading of James Agee's “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men,” alone on a Tennessee porch, a decade ago. WABE Arts and Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott talked with Mintz about what she had to learn — and unlearn — moving from clay and glass to the page, and what she hopes readers carry with them. 📖 

After more than 30 years as a visual artist, Donna Mintz has written her first book,&nbsp; 'Stars at Noon,' out now from Mercer University Press. Her path from artist to published author began with a reading of James Agee's &ldquo;Let Us Now Praise Famous Men,&rdquo; alone on a Tennessee porch, a decade ago. WABE Arts and Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott talked with Mintz about what she had to learn &mdash; and unlearn &mdash; moving from clay and glass to the page, and what she hopes readers carry with them. 📖&nbsp;

Visual Artist Donna Mintz Claims the Title of Writer 

Mike Jordan and his wife and fellow writer Jacinta Howard created the Lit literary karaoke series back in 2014. The premise was simple: readers take the mic to perform uncensored excerpts from their favorite books over a live music bed. Then COVID hit. Now, after a six-year hiatus, Lit is back. WABE Arts and Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott talked with Jordan about how the karaoke concept works, why admission is a book instead of cash, and what's brought local writers and first-time readers to the mic. 🎧 

Mike Jordan and his wife and fellow writer Jacinta Howard created the Lit literary karaoke series back in 2014. The premise was simple: readers take the mic to perform uncensored excerpts from their favorite books over a live music bed. Then COVID hit. Now, after a six-year hiatus, Lit is back. WABE Arts and Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott talked with Jordan about how the karaoke concept works, why admission is a book instead of cash, and what's brought local writers and first-time readers to the mic. 🎧&nbsp;

Mike Jordan Brings Literary Karaoke Night Lit Back to Atlanta 

T. Lang, founder of T. Lang Dance and inaugural chair of Dance Performance and Choreography at Spelman College, is opening a new academy for teenage dancers. Ursa Major is a conservatory-style program for ages 13 to 18, built around movement invention, choreographic process, and what Lang calls "ancestral soul movement." WABE Arts and Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott talks with Lang about the program’s training labs and why she wants young dancers to treat movement as an intellectual discipline, not just a physical one. 🎭 

T. Lang, founder of T. Lang Dance and inaugural chair of Dance Performance and Choreography at Spelman College, is opening a new academy for teenage dancers. Ursa Major is a conservatory-style program for ages 13 to 18, built around movement invention, choreographic process, and what Lang calls "ancestral soul movement." WABE Arts and Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott talks with Lang about the program&rsquo;s training labs and why she wants young dancers to treat movement as an intellectual discipline, not just a physical one. 🎭&nbsp;

T. Lang Launches 'Ursa Major' Academy for Teen Dancers 

Center for Puppetry Arts Artistic Director Jason Hines has been fascinated by the rivalry between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla since building a Tesla coil for a junior high science fair. Now his award-winning puppet spectacle "Tesla vs. Edison" returns to the stage, complete with a live Tesla coil and a Niagara Falls showdown lit to look electrified. WABE Arts and Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott talks with Hines about restaging the show, building an all-Atlanta creative team, and why, for now, "you gotta be in Atlanta to see it." 🎭 

Center for Puppetry Arts Artistic Director Jason Hines has been fascinated by the rivalry between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla since building a Tesla coil for a junior high science fair. Now his award-winning puppet spectacle "Tesla vs. Edison" returns to the stage, complete with a live Tesla coil and a Niagara Falls showdown lit to look electrified. WABE Arts and Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott talks with Hines about restaging the show, building an all-Atlanta creative team, and why, for now, "you gotta be in Atlanta to see it." 🎭&nbsp;

Center for Puppetry Art Brings 'Tesla vs. Edison' Back to the Stage 

Atlanta muralist Nick “Turbo” Benson is leading a team of four painting “Next Stop,” a new Atlanta Beltline Art mural going up under an overpass on Cameron M. Alexander Boulevard in English Avenue. On this episode of WABE Arts, Sherri Daye Scott talks with Benson about honoring the Reverend Cameron M. Alexander — and a surprise nod to Gladys Knight hiding in the paint. 🎧 

Atlanta muralist Nick &ldquo;Turbo&rdquo; Benson is leading a team of four painting &ldquo;Next Stop,&rdquo; a new Atlanta Beltline Art mural going up under an overpass on Cameron M. Alexander Boulevard in English Avenue. On this episode of WABE Arts, Sherri Daye Scott talks with Benson about honoring the Reverend Cameron M. Alexander &mdash; and a surprise nod to Gladys Knight hiding in the paint. 🎧&nbsp;

Nick Benson Paints ‘Next Stop’ Mural in English Avenue 

Atlanta’s Alif Institute, a nonprofit focused on preserving and sharing Arab cultures, had the idea to take some of its most popular arts workshops out of its Chamblee-Tucker building for a pop-up event at Johns Creek's Newtown Park. On this episode of WABE Arts, Sherri Daye Scott talks with Alif executive director Mouna Abdelhamid about why she's betting a public park can do what a classroom can't. 🎧 

Atlanta&rsquo;s Alif Institute, a nonprofit focused on preserving and sharing Arab cultures, had the idea to take some of its most popular arts workshops out of its Chamblee-Tucker building for a pop-up event at Johns Creek's Newtown Park. On this episode of WABE Arts, Sherri Daye Scott talks with Alif executive director Mouna Abdelhamid about why she's betting a public park can do what a classroom can't. 🎧&nbsp;

Alif Institute Brings Arabic Music and Dance to the Park 

VIVO, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's Summer String Institute, wraps up today with a free concert at Atlanta Symphony Hall. WABE Arts and Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott stopped by the ASO this week to see what five days of rehearsal taught a  group of young musicians from different backgrounds about playing as one. 

VIVO, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's Summer String Institute, wraps up today with a free concert at Atlanta Symphony Hall. WABE Arts and Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott stopped by the ASO this week to see what five days of rehearsal taught a &nbsp;group of young musicians from different backgrounds about playing as one.&nbsp;

VIVO Summer Strings Institute Culminates in Free Concert at Symphony Hall 

Atlanta Storytellers marks one year with its fifth show, “The Songs That Shape Us,” pairing live personal stories with live music at Eddie’s Attic. On this episode of WABE Arts, Sherri Daye Scott talks with founder and director Josh Cuthbertson about how a standing Moth date with his daughter turned into a storytelling series — and why he’s in no hurry to outgrow it. 🎧 

Atlanta Storytellers marks one year with its fifth show, &ldquo;The Songs That Shape Us,&rdquo; pairing live personal stories with live music at Eddie&rsquo;s Attic. On this episode of WABE Arts, Sherri Daye Scott talks with founder and director Josh Cuthbertson about how a standing Moth date with his daughter turned into a storytelling series &mdash; and why he&rsquo;s in no hurry to outgrow it. 🎧&nbsp;

Atlanta Storytellers turns one with ‘The Songs That Shape Us’ 

Emmy-winning cinematographer and photographer John Simmons has spent six decades documenting Black life in America — starting at 15, shooting for the Chicago Defender. Now, a selection of that work is on view at Mason Fine Art in Atlanta, in a solo exhibition called “It Started in the 60s,” running through July 25. 

WABE's Sherri Daye Scott sat down with Simmons at the gallery to talk about the work on the walls and the stories behind them.  

Emmy-winning cinematographer and photographer John Simmons has spent six decades documenting Black life in America &mdash; starting at 15, shooting for the&nbsp;<a href="https://chicagodefender.com/">Chicago Defender</a>. Now, a selection of that work is on view at Mason Fine Art in Atlanta, in a solo exhibition called &ldquo;It Started in the 60s,&rdquo; running through July 25.&nbsp;
WABE's Sherri Daye Scott sat down with Simmons at the gallery to talk about the work on the walls and the stories behind them.&nbsp;&nbsp;

John Simmons photography exhibit wraps at Mason Fine Art 

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.

WABE Arts

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