Chicago-born singer/songwriter/poet/visual artist Willis Earl Beal takes the stage at The Garden Party at Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn this Saturday, July 21st. If you missed him at ?uestlove’s Shuffle Culture event earlier this year, you won’t want to miss this!

Beal will be joined by the multi-talented singer/songwriter Krystle Warren, who often is compared to the likes of Nina Simone and Tracy Chapman. Warren’s new album, Love Songs, is receiving widespread critical acclaim. Stick around after the performances for a special screening of the 2010 film “Night Catches Us” starring Anthony Mackie and Kerri Washington.

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You know we’re big fans of Willis Earl Beal and this video shot by Yourstru.ly perfectly sums up why. This guy has got the soul of an old blues crooner, the voice of a young man wise beyond his years, and a natural mysticism that permeates every note he sings and makes him say things like this:

“I was on the 99th floor of Sears Tower, looking out at all the torches, all the lights. I looked at Lake Michigan that was completely black. And I noticed how large the darkness was and how small the lights were. I thought to myself the darkness could completely swallow up the light if it wanted to. It just doesn’t. It’s just sitting there, waiting patiently.”

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BAM! Sorry I couldn’t resist. I hereby present maybe my favorite episode of OKP TV to date–probably because I was actually on hand for this one, immersing myself in the cathartic and inspiring artistic chaos that was ?uestlove‘s Shuffle Culture festival/mind-f*ck at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, talking backstage with Willis Earl Beal, listening to Reverend Vince practice his orations and generally dumbing out.  I only wish I could fit the names of all the artists who performed live in this symphonic mash-up in the headline but just hit play to see performances (and get insights) from ?uesto, Beal, Deerhoof, Sasha Grey, D. D. Jackson, Reggie Watts, Kenny Muhammad, Jeremy Ellis, Metropolis Ensemble and of course, the good reverend. And beacoups respect for PA’s finest Emmai Alaquiva for trooping across state lines to direct this OKP TV piece which not only documents this unique event but manages to capture the frenetic creativity that made being there such an unforgettable experience.

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He is still a little too weird for prime-time in America. YET. But mark my words, a year from now this dude Willis Earl Beal is going to own the world. He has got swag like Bruce Springsteen spliced with Kool Keith DNA and pipes like Alaska. IF you don’t believe me, watch him belt out “Swing On Low” live on Jools Holland (I said he was too weird for prime-time in America. Europe is already up on it, son!)  and better yet check some of the lyrics a little more closely.

Time passes through an open door / realize that there is no floor / calculator broke and so there is no score…I ain’t satisfied til I’m rockin the fool / microphone is my ticket, microphone is my tool / I’m shiver (?) fit to piss with a shovel in my fist / got my graveyard boots as I hide in the mist / I’m a fiend for the feeling / got a bone I could rock it /I’m goin’ so low, no bozos can stop it…

Consider yourself warned, bozos. Also shouts to Mr. Holland and PFTV for the timely promotion of Willis Earl Beal’s performance at ?uestlove‘s Shuffle Culture happening at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Kicks off tonight and WEB joins the shuffle tomorrow night. See you there.

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Willis Earl Beal is the new business. If you haven’t got that in your head yet, watch this PFTV webisode of him singing the soul out of a microphone, drawing a face and talking about his obsessions at 14 (“kind of a creepy age, right?”). By the end, you will hear him speak with insight and humility about his art and you will definitely witness why you need to come check him at the ?uestlove-curated Shuffle Culture happening at the Brooklyn Academy of Music this Friday. Don’t say nobody told you, jack.

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UPDATE: Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner…two, actually. Beaucoups congrats to Fahm Bekele and Hannah Cheadayne Appel for scoring a pair of tix apiece to Thursday nights show. The rest of you have to cop tickets the old-fashioned way (you know, the internet–buy here via the BAM site) but trust us its worth it. See you there.

Like we told you, our afro’d overlord ?uestlove is curating this festival thingy on Thursday and Friday of this week at the Brooklyn Academy of Music called Shuffle Culture (everyday we’re shuffling, shuffling–heh heh. Sorry, had to be done). Besides ?uesto himself, the two-day happening will feature Rahzel, Deerhoof, Sasha Grey, First Looker Willis Earl Beal and more–including undun piano-man D.D. Jackson and the full Metropolis ensemble–performing songs in “a free-flowing playlist—a kinetic mix of songs and sounds from unexpected musical bedfellows—that celebrates and reflects our current shuffle culture.”

Tickets start at 25$ (see full details after the jump or check  the BAM site) but Okayplayer and Okayafrica are offering you the chance to win a pair of tix for Thursday night’s performance (8 pm). All you have to do is sign up for our email lists using the link below–each site has 1 pair of tix to give away (2 pair, 4 tix total) so jump on it!

>>>Sign Up For your Chance to Win Tix to BAM Shuffle Culture

Shuffle Culture Festival at BAM

Conceived and curated by Questlove

Directed by Annie Dorsen
Conducted by Andrew Cyr

Featured Artists:
Questlove
Jeremy Ellis
Sasha Grey
D.D. Jackson
Rahzel
Kenny Muhammad
Deerhoof
Reggie Watts (Thursday show only)
Willis Earl Beal (Friday show only)
Gray (Friday show only)
Metropolis Ensemble:
Conductor: Andrew Cyr; Violin: Kristin Lee, Annaliesa Place, Elly Suh, Emma Sutton; Viola: Juan Miguel Hernandez, Danny Kim; Cello: Ashley Bathgate, Hiro Matsuo.

BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
Tickets start at $25

Stage Design by Samantha Sleeper
Sound Design by Jon Smeltz
Lighting Design by Joe Levasseur

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Oddball genius and First Look subject Willis Earl Beal released a video for the song “Monotony” a few days ago right after making his New York debut at Glasslands right up the block from us here in Brooklyn. Our own Dantana was on hand to experience it and recorded quite a bit. Between the two of them you can get a pretty good sense of why people (yes, we are people, too) are so excited about this cat. “Monotony” (above) displays the quiet, go-deep emotional honesty we associate with bedroom-recording artists–often artists who are imprisoned in their bedrooms by extreme introversion. But in his live shows WEB shows the fearless extroversion of high-wire artist; belting out a blues shout, accompanying himself on cymbal and reel-to-reel and even donning a cape ala James Brown or maybe the fantasy super-hero to his bedroom 4-track Clark Kent. Dan summed up the undeniable paradox of WEB’s appeal best when he said: “he has magneticism.” Watch the series of live clips beginning with “Evening’s Kiss” below and continuing after the jump to get a jolt of magneticism in motion–and a taste of what to expect when Beal joins our benevolent afrolord Questlove at BAM’s Shuffle Culture Festival on the 20th of this month.

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The Chicago Reader, who–as you may remember from our First Look feature–were instrumental in shining a light on the artistry of dude-to-watch Willis Earl Beal–have just posted a stream of his debut LP Acousmatic Sorcery. Previously available only in a weird and extremely limited edition box set complete with hand-drawn artwork by Beal himself (see above), Acousmatic Sorcery will finally reach a much larger audience with its release on Hot Charity/XL records (to which Beal recently signed) next Tuesday. For the moment, though, this is pretty much the only place to hear Beal’s music other than youtube clips of his live performances. Listen below to get a taste of the world of weird that awaits you and–speaking of live–if you are going to catch Beal at Glasslands tonight in Brooklyn, we’ll see you there!

spotted at CR

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The Roots drummer and president of rhythm nation, Questlove will be curating the line-up for the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) Shuffle Culture music festival on April 19 and 20. The line-up will include Deerhoof, Rahzel, Sasha Grey, Reggie Watts as well as Okayplayer First Look subject Willis Earl Beal. According to Pitchfork: “The event takes place as part of BAM’s 150th anniversary celebration, and will consist of Questlove and guest musicians performing a ‘free-flowing playlist’.”

In related news, ?uesto will also be delivering the ‘closing keynote’ speech (titled “Put the Needle on the Record: Diggin’ in the Crates With ?uestlove” ) on Sunday, March 25 at the EMP Pop Conference at New York University. (sidebar: DJ Rekha and myself will be moderating our own panel on tropical music and the politics of ‘discovery’ at EMP this Friday March 23rd as well–more on that soon!)

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Somebody just released this video for lo-fi wonder “Evening’s Kiss” by musical oddball and potential genius Willis Earl Beal,  hand-animated by Willis Earl Beal via www.willisearlbeal.com. Willis Earl Beal, Willis Earl Beal. I just want you to get used to the rhythm of those 5 syllables, cause I expect you’re going to be hearing them a lot in 2012. You might even hear them a few more times today. This is off Acousmatic Sorcery, dropping later this year via XL Records imprint/spinoff Hot Charity but you can cop the limited edition 7″ vinyl via their online shop.

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