With “The Breakdown Live – Telling The Stories and Singing The Songs,” Dara Starr Tucker melds her commentary on cultural and racial equity with live musical performances that illuminate seminal social and historical events. Referred to as “a fighter for social justice wielding music as a balm,” (Grammy.com) Tucker, a jazz and roots singer-songwriter, has amassed over 1 million followers on the TikTok platform with her compelling video essays. As featured on BET.com, NPR’s Jazz Inspired, HBO and OWN TV, Tucker’s band presents “The Breakdown Live” as a unique song and story experience for performing arts centers, colleges, clubs and sacred spaces.

“Music of the Movement” features performances of the music of artists such as Harry Belafonte, Nina Simone and The Staples Singers, with commentary on the civil rights movement and the lives of the musicians who gave us its soundtrack.

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“Jewish Writers Sharing Black Culture” features music from early theatrical works like Porgy and Bess, Showboat and Great Day. This is a deep dive on how Jewish songwriters took inspiration from Harlem Renaissance figures like Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston and W.E.B. Du Bois.

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The Films of Spike Lee — We’ll examine how films such as “Do the Right Thing,” “She’s Gotta Have It,” “Jungle Fever” “X” and “Bamboozled” provide commentary on race and culture. And we’ll accompany that with performances from those films’ soundtracks.

To book The Breakdown Live, contact Greg Bryant at
[email protected]