2026 SPEAKER SERIES

15:00-16:00 at Irmao Restaurant front bar deck

THE FREQUENCY OF NOW

By Lucinda S

Discussion on how Black music has always responded to “A World On Fire.” DJ / Producers share and explain influential songs that speak to the moments of yesterday and today. In 2026, with the world fracturing from multiple pressure points, this panel asks where the frequency is now, who is generating it, and what it means to be a long-established artist living through another revolution.

Featured Panelists: 

Rich Medina

Ge-Ology

Marcellus Pittman

14:00-15:00 at Irmão Restaurant front bar deck

Global Sounds, Global Marketplace: Selling the Diaspora on Vinyl

By Adrian Loving 

Inspired by Brazilian jazz fusion, Baile Funk, Soul, Latin and Portugal’s Batida, this topic explores how DJs, vinyl collectors and record labels conceptualize and market their events and Afro-Diasporic sound exports to vinyl-buying communities and retailers globally.

Featured Panelists

Godi Osegueda 

Victor Sias 

Salah Ananse 

16:00-17:00 at Irmao Restaurant front bar deck

Africa’s House Movement: Jazz, Funk, Electronica, and Dance

Moderated by Adrian Loving 

From the earliest Afro-Jazz, Kwaito, and Afrobeat to today’s Amapiano and Afro-House - Africa’s massive history and influence is explored in relation to contemporary dance culture.

Featured Panelists

Soulfreakah 

Kai Alce 

Kelson