Inside an Upstate NY Witch Camp

Last weekend, at OlioHouse—an unassuming Victorian-style home in Wassaic—a sizable group of 20- and 30-somethings attended Witch Camp. There were no spells cast at the upstate New York location, but there were art classes, sage-burning, a Halloween-themed party and lectures on the witch trials of the 16th and 17th centuries. While witches today don’t face the same horrific repercussions as those in history, Tara Kenny (an Olio …

Hot 8 Brass Band: Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division Cover)

The NOLA-based Hot 8 Brass Band has released a cover of Joy Division‘s “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” and it’s a sparking jazz tune. The song, which sounds like a rush of 1,000 horns, comes in the band’s 23rd year—they’ve been together since 1993, and though not all founding members are with the band today, its current roster is packed with talent, charisma and pure …

Artist Laolu NYC’s Mesmerizing Afromysterics

Bringing Yoruba patterns, themes and traditions to everyone from Belvedere to Beyoncé

It’s not uncommon to wonder what brings an artist from obscurity to attention. How do some names burst forth and leave an imprint of their work—and name—on the brains of people across the world? A little more than half-a-decade ago Laolu Senbanjo was a lawyer (like his father and brother) in Nigeria. Acknowledging that it wasn’t the future he wanted, Senbanjo moved to the States, began making …