Louisville’s favorite concert series returns on July 29th with NPR Tiny Desk Contest Winner Fantastic Negrito!
Fantastic Negrito is a musical reincarnation for Xavier Dphrepaulezz (pronounced Dee-FREP-ah-lez). Raised as the eighth of fifteen children in an orthodox Muslim household in rural Massachusetts, Dphrepaulezz moved as a teenager in the ‘80s with his family to the heart of urban Oakland, California. In the ‘90s, he signed a multi-million dollar deal with Interscope Records performing under his first name Xavier yet found the experience creatively draining and told the San Francisco Chronicle that he “lost his identity for a time.”
Dphrepaulezz’s life changed drastically when he was involved in a near death car accident resulting in a three-week coma, followed by intensive physical rehabilitation with his guitar playing hand permanently incapacitated. Following the accident, he sought to live his life more simply. He settled down, had a son and lived in Oakland raising chickens and growing his own vegetables. This quieter time spawned a powerful creative energy, and after a five-year hiatus, Dphrepaulezz created Fantastic Negrito. Inspired by all American music, most especially Delta bluesmen such as R.L Burnside and Skip James, he sought to modernize his compositions by sampling and looping his own live recordings. He told NPR that the name is “a celebration of blackness. The ‘Fantastic’ is self-explanatory; the ‘Negrito’ is a way to open blackness up to everyone, making it playful and international.”
“Fantastic Negrito lived up to his moniker…from the minute they went into their first actual song, neither he nor the three-piece behind him let up.”—Consequence of Sound
Timothy Showalter, under the moniker of Strand of Oaks, brings his folk-synth-rock to the Waterfront, following his most recent album release, HEAL.
“Timothy Showalter’s tale of rising out of the muck of the past on HEAL is certainly one of the year’s finest…With his passion, his lion’s mane and beard and his showmanship, Showalter and his band commanded the stage like they were always meant to be there.” –Philadelphia City Paper.
Alt-country North Carolina rockers American Aquariumcomplete July’s lineup.
“At one end of American Aquarium’s music is the beckoning call of the road, the neon excitement of nightclubs and bars, the urgency of rock ‘n’ roll, a life unbound and free. At the other end is home, an inescapable identity forged by bloodlines and place, those unwavering roots set deep and sturdy.” –Paste Magazine
The WFPK Waterfront Wednesday® Concert Series is a monthly free concert on the Big Four Lawn in Louisville Waterfront Park, located next to the Big Four Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge. To alleviate parking congestion caused by the KY/IN Bridges project, a free trolley service, courtesy of Republic Bank, will be offered between Witherspoon and the Big Four Lawn for people who park West of I-65. The Republic Bank Easy Trolley de Ville will run a continuous loop between 6:00 p.m. until 10:30 p.m. We strongly suggest parking West of I -65 in the Witherspoon, Humana and surface lots. VIEW MAP OF PARKING OPTIONS HERE.
In addition, increased bicycle parking will be offered in the event area, provided by Parkside Bikes.
The concerts take place on select Wednesdays of every month, April through September. Remaining dates for the 2015 season are: July 29, August 26 & September 30. The Big Four Lawn “opens” at 5 pm, and the music begins promptly at 6 pm.
WFPK Waterfront Wednesday is made possible by the generous support of Goose Island Brewing Company, MINI of Louisville, Republic Bank, and Passport Health Plan.
Special thanks to Friends of the Waterfront.