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Ten-time Grammy Award nominee Meshell Ndegeocello will perform as the headliner for the upcoming MUSE Conference, presented by the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center.
The inaugural MUSE Conference, Wednesday, March 25, is a one-day series of 50-minute sessions dedicated to providing artists with the tools necessary to be successful in the music industry. Conference attendees will hear firsthand from and participate in discussions led by music industry professionals. The conference is free, but registration is encouraged. Register online.
Ndegeocello will speak on her career in a 3 p.m. session; after the conference, the 10-time Grammy Award nominee will perform from her latest album, “Ventriloquism,” at 7 p.m. Tickets to the performance are $39, $10 for students, and may be purchased online or by calling the ASC Box Office at 205-975-2787. Visit AlysStephens.org for more information.
Ndegeocello’s music twists and turns through many genres, from R&B, pop, and jazz to hip-hop. Not surprisingly, she has defied labels throughout her more than 20-year career as one of the brightest and most innovative artists in music today, according to her artist’s statement.
Musically, her latest album, “Ventriloquism,” has the hallmarks of all of Ndegeocello’s work, lush and investigative, subversive and sublime. She pays tribute to her diverse influences, and in these 11 covers, we hear them layered over one another. Ndegeocello filters “Tender Love” through a folky, Californian filter and brings vaudevillian accents to “Sensitivity.” She recreates “Smooth Operator” and turns “Private Dancer” into a sultry waltz. The reimagining affords not just a new musical experience but also a comment on the narrow expectations of sounds and structures for black artists and black music.