Sirens & Wordsmiths: A Night of Song & Poetry by Female Artists — November 10, 2022 — Red Light Café, Atlanta, GA
Relle The Poet (ATL), Ladee (ATL), Sariyah Idan (NOLA), share a stage doing solo sets of songs and poems as they offer their unique vibes to uplift your spirit and give your soul something to chew on. Possible onstage collaborations to ensue. Guest artists TBA.
New York bred and New Orleans based, Sariyah Idan is an internationally touring independent music artist, singer-songwriter, poet, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, and educator. Jazz and folk trained, hip-hop educated, and influenced by both Latinx sounds and her Jewish roots, Ms Idan has an "ability to seamlessly combine a wide variety of disparate styles and sonics into a memorable sound all her own", (Tinnitist). For her honoring the sounds of both influences and ancestors is a form of cultural activism. Her lyrics weave "powerful, soulful, spirited songs filled with stories of struggle, love and social justice". Following her EP Deeper Than Skin plus numerous guest features, she released her debut solo LP Breaking Shadows in 2019. The 17 track album addresses love, power, and shifting of toxic patriarchy from #MeToo to solidarity with Black Lives Matter; recorded in Los Angeles, Berlin, and Lisbon. She is currently in pre-production for two new recording projects.
As a singer-songwriter and music director she has rocked iconic venues like The Kennedy Center in DC, The Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, The Nuyorican Poets Cafe & Rockwood Music Hall in NYC, and PANDA Platforma in Berlin. Her music has been featured on Pacifica and NPR stations, WWOZ, college radio and online radio platforms. As a featured artist she has appeared on albums by numerous dub and hip hop artists including Dubblestandart from Vienna, First Nations hip hop artist Artson, and has toured with the late Lee “Scratch” Perry. Recognized for her solo/documentary theater show “Homeless In Homeland,” about Jewish identity and the occupation of Palestine, she was given an outstanding achievement award by the Los Angeles Women’s Theater Festival, and was a highlighted act at the Brighton Fringe Festival in England and the ONE Festival in NYC.
Both her solo show and her music are derived from her Poetry to Performance method which she has taught at colleges, high schools, art centers, and youth prisons in the USA and UK. She currently holds online writing/performance workshops for women in relation to the new and full moons called MoonWrites. Her writing and music practice are both rooted in somatic impulse and are greatly influenced by her background as a modern and world folk dancer growing up. She holds a BA in Arts and Social Change from Hampshire College and an MFA in Music and Interdisciplinary Theater from California Institute of Integral Studies. Sariyah continues to dance in both the improvisational and African diasporic dance communities in New Orleans.
“I proliferate possibilities with perfectly placed periods.”
To proliferate is to multiply. Jherelle Benn best known as, Relle the Poet, uses her natural talent and adoration for the art of poetry to multiply opportunities for herself and other artists in her community.
Relle began writing at a very young age. This expression became her outlet of choice and a form of therapy to cope with trials in life. Being born in Trinidad and raised in Brooklyn, NY created a strong sense of culture and birthed a colorful perspective sewed into the lines of her poetry.
“Think of these bars as the walls of your natural cocoon, and when they thought you was finished, just tell them STAY TUNED”
Relle evolved into a spoken word activist when she began to perform and use poetry as a medium (along with journalism) to speak out against injustice.
Working as a Program Director with Green Earth Poets Cafe put Relle in a position to bring poetry workshops and art therapy to incarcerated youth on Rikers Island. In the same position at the Brooklyn Arts Council, she was able to connect young artists with the resources in their community.
Relle the Poet went on to obtain a Bachelors degree in journalism from Brooklyn College and serve as News Editor for the school paper during her senior year. During this time she received awards and recognition for writing an in-depth article on, Eric Adams, the current mayor of New York City.
Relle is known to speak with a fiery passion and is dedicated to sharing not only her own voice, but uplifting the voice of others. She brought these words of fire when she blazed the stage opening for the inauguration of NYC Senator, Jesse Hamilton.
She has been published in The Brooklyn Reader, Odyssey online, Reveal Mag, Red Hook Star-Revue, Voyage ATL, Fame Live Magazine and a host of other online / local publications. She has performed internationally on stages in Trinidad and Tobago and Amsterdam. She took her poetry on the road as part of the “Am I Next?”, inter-state poetry tour, which hit NYC, Philly, and Detroit.
“The next time I go forward or need to back up in life, I’m gonna eliminate the distractions. Those insecurities that pit sister against sister and cause unessacary collisions.”
In 2017 Relle self-published her first collection, In Disarray, an anthology of poems, short stories, and letters. She worked her growing network to self-promote and organized several solo tours pushing herself on foot and selling hundreds of copies of her book in the years following its release. In 2021 Relle took her poetry to the big screen and her video poem “Crazy Black Woman” was selected and showcased in the Cadence Film Festival as well as the Divine Feminine Arts & Film Festival. In 2022 “Crazy Black Women” received international acclaim when showcased in the Zebra Poetry Festival in Berlin. Ask the poet what she is most proud of, she’ll tell you it’s her twins, who were born shortly after she released her book and were the inspiration to finally publish. The twins have inherited her love and passion for art and music.
Recently Relle has joined Von Trapp Network and is fostering relationships with various non-profits and community initiatives. Her debut poetry album releases summer 2022. She is looking forward to all the possibilities her poetry will create.
LaDee Ursurla [Lady er SIR la] is blazing a trail in Atlanta's creative industry as a new age renaissance woman. An old-school creole soul, bred in New Orleans, LaDee uses her innate abilities in music & art to gift others with the power & freedom of artful expression.
LaDee works as an Art Therapist & Advocate for young artists & entrepreneurs, a creative consultant for adult artists & entrepreneurs, while using love as a guide as she lives her dreams.
$10 Adv – $15 Door
Doors @ 7 PM (masks are strongly encouraged, but not required)
Advance ticket sales end one hour prior to door time. All ticket sales are final. No refunds.