This summer I found some wonderful musical moments to share with you folks. The first event was held at Lincoln Center and was hosted by the Center for Traditional Music and Dance, which was celebrating its 50th anniversary with a fine lineup of heritage artists including West African Sidiki Conde & Tokounnou, Afro-Colombian traditional band Grupo Rebolu, and Cherish the Ladies representing the Irish musical tradition.

Sidiki was stricken with polio as a boy and has reconstructed dance steps using his hands instead of his feet. You can read more about him and his music on his website here.

As the humidity bore down on us the Afro-Colombian traditional band Grupo Rebolu hit the stage with firey enthusiasm that had folks up and dancing in front of their seats to the infectious beats. These folks perform a monthly residency in Teraza 7 in Jackson Heights. You can check out more about them here.

Representing the Irish tradition, Cherish the Ladies charmed the audience with their friendly banter and Irish dancers. I wasn't able to stick around for Andy Statman and his Klezmer Ensemble, as I wanted to catch George Ward at the Waterfront Museum in Red Hook for some 19th songs about the Erie Canal. All part of the research behind my own project on James J. Corcoran.

Finally, Safia and I had the extreme honor of hearing Mavis Staples perform her soulful classics. Wow! She encored with "The Weight," which was truly amazing to hear. Her voice seeming to come from some deep place still sounded charged and ready for fight, and folks responded with an encore.