Jomama Jones' "Radiate Live!" in Minnesota!

I am sitting on my bed, stuffing my face after a second go around at the gym and a long ass day at the office. I still have two more phone calls to make tonight before I can turn my brain off.

But let me not pretend like writing this blog is anything like work. In fact, I am sitting here, listening to the amazing new EP, "Six Ways Home," by the phenomenal Jomama Jones. This EP was a gift from Jomama's twin and alter ego, Daniel Alexander Jones, and my only regret about this album is that I was out of the office at a meeting when he dropped it off.

If you read my blog regularly, then you will know this is the fourth time I have posted about Jomama Jones. I can say with certainty that no other artist has appeared more as the subject of a blog in five years of writing this thing. All you have to do is listen to one of her albums or see one of her live theater/concerts and you will know.

Jomama Jones and the Sweet Peaches (her tremendous back up vocals) will CHANGE you.

The soul, politics, sweetness, truth, beauty, and love from every show and every album is just what this sometimes too black and white (Jomama walks that line too!) and often overly grey world needs. And if you are in Minneapolis this summer from June 13-24 then your life just got a little bit better. Jomama will be bringing her show, "Radiate Live!" (I've seen it...it's MAGNIFICENT) to my favorite theater in the ENTIRE WORLD: Pillsbury House Theater.

For information on tickets, showtimes and prices direct yourself here. 

Jomama (and Daniel!), Bobby Halverson, and the Sweet Peaches are not to be missed.  And pick up her new EP, "Six Ways Home," when you see the show.

Theater Review: Jomama Jones Does It Again

Last Tuesday night, I was sitting at Symphony Space in an audience with a couple hundred people waiting for the precious and beautiful Jomama Jones to take the stage.

I was sitting in the audience with Mr. Keith Stiles of StilesMassage and Cirque du Soleil fame after having been surprised at the door by running into Baraka de Soleil, my good friend Ben's ex and another Minnesota ex-pat living in the Big Apple (the Minne-Apple rocks!).

I'd spent a good part of the previous day and dinner beforehand praising Jomama Jones and the Sweet Peaches. How could I not? When Mr. Kenyon Farrow took me to see Jomama's show Radiate, I was in love with Jomama before she sang her first note. And the Sweet Peaches were so juicy and delicious that I wanted to run up on stage and take a bite!

I'm just saying.

Now if you have never seen Jomama Jones perform...think of Miss Lena Horne come back to life. She is TRUE elegance.

And her music is a magical music ride of funk, jazz, soul, punk and all the beautiful blackness at the root of so many of the musical traditions we consume in the English speaking world.

Once again, when Jomama took the stage, I was transfixed. Keith put his arm around my shoulder, and for the next hour and a half we laughed and stomped our feet and called out a couple of amens as Jomama OWNED THAT DAMN STAGE! With her collaborator Bobby Halvorson on stage with her, the sultry and sassy vocal gifts of the Sweet Peaches backing Jomama up, and some of the beautiful lyrics of Miss Sharon Bridgforth....the Rapture could have come right then and there, and I would have happily gone on to Heaven knowing that I had just heard true art made into beautiful musicality.

Seeing Jomama's beautiful sparkling, playful, teasing, loving eyes, and once again having Jomama's storytelling and truthtelling and spiritlifting swirling into my life was such a gorgeous blessing. Let me be real for a minute...if you have the dollars and some sense....bring this damn concert to your town and let Jomama wow audiences anywhere on the planet that folks have ears to listen. Jomama Jones and the Sweet Peaches aren't just artists...they heal with music.

Jomama Jones: Endless Summer Live

I love my friend Kenyon Farrow for so many reasons, but one of the gifts he has given me is introduce me to a tremendous human being by the name of Daniel Alexander Jones and his alter ego Jomama Jones.

Last January, on a night so cold I thought my left nostril was permanently frozen shut, I got a call from Kenyon saying that he had an extra ticket to see Jomama Jones' play Radiate. What he didn't tell me is that it was a rock opera soul diva funkadelic glam extravaganza with Jomama Jones who, when I walked in, I thought was Miss Lena Horne come back from the dead.

Radiate blew my mind.

Even more amazing was that I ran into my friend from Minneapolis, now a professor at Hampshire College, Djola Branner sitting in the lobby. Djola revealed to me that Daniel was once a part of the Minneapolis theater community, and we have tons of friends in common.

Well when I found out that Jomama was back with a summer concert, I almost lost my mind.

And when you hear this beautiful performer take the stage backed up by the Sweet Peaches, you are going to love her as much as I do.

The show is running Tuesday June 21 and Wednesday June 22, four show times, and you can buy tickets here. I will see ya'll there.

And for those of you NOT in New York City...you betta call somebody you know and book Jomama in your hometown.

A house of our own: drag balls spark a movement to create safe spaces for queer youth of color. (Intelligence Making Change).: An article from: City Limits

Theater Review: Jomama Jones

Last night, I hopped off the E train in SoHo and was greeted by a slap directly to the forehead by Old Man Winter. As my brain crystallized and froze over, I whispered a prayer for my boy Kenyon Farrow. The prayer went something like this:

"Dear Baby Jesus, please let this show be good tonight. I know the ticket is free. And I know I would walk across lava to get some face time with Kenyon. But I have lost three toes due to this arctic air, and if this show ain't no good, I am going to chew off three of Kenyon's and sew them on my feet. Hey Glory. Hallelujah. Amen."

I walked into the SoHo Repertory Theater, into a narrow hallway, which was packed on both sides by bundled up theater-goers. I was greeted by an adorable Asian woman that looked like she'd been molested by Ziggy Stardust. At the same time, I saw Kenyon, Asian Ziggy gave us a card on which to write a wish, and Kenyon and I sat down to obey her interstellar command.

Shortly thereafter, I noticed the sign for the bar, and Kenyon noticed the sign for the bathroom (he is much more evolved than I am). A few moments later, we were climbing the stairs and about to grab our seats, when I grabbed Kenyon and said, "I might be tripping, but I am fairly certain that the gentleman seated in the waiting area is Djola Branner, a friend of mine from Minneapolis that teaches in Amherst, MA."

It had been a few years since I'd seen Djola, so I erred on the side of not feeling foolish by screaming his name and having it turn out not to be him. Kenyon and I went to find our seats, and who should appear but my friends Christian and Mark. Immediately, my expectations for the show were raised. Kenyon has impeccable taste, but Christian has flawless taste. Between the two, I was expecting this performer to get up on stage and shoot rainbows out of her eyebrows.

Waiting for the show to begin, Kenyon and I ended up in the last row (in a very small theater, so the view was perfect), and into the theater walks the possibly Djola Branner. Well, the only open seats were right next to me, and as the possible Djola climbed over me, I squinted at him and said, "Ain't you Djola?" He looked at me a little startled and said, "Yes, I'm Djola." And I said, "Lord it's Brandon from Minneapolis."

Right there we had ourselves a reunion. It was fantastic. Djola thought I was still living in Oakland, and I had to let him know that I'd been in NYC for almost two years (way to keep up, Djola). We loved up on each other for a minute, and then the show started (beforehand, I found out that Djola knew the performer, who had spent some time in Minneapolis as well).

From the minute the lights dimmed and the curtains were drawn back, I knew that I was about to be changed for good.

Onto the stage walked Jomama Jones and the Peaches. I had to rub my eyes, and I almost made a collect call to Heaven, because when Jomama took the stage I thought, for a minute, that Miss Lena Horne had faked her own death and was now doing independent theater in lower Manhattan.

Jomama Jones, a character created and lived by Daniel Alexander Jones, was everything that I didn't know I needed. Combining original music, dance, storytelling, theater, lots of campy drama, and beautifully poignant moments, Jomama Jones took us on a journey that was never overtly anything but was subversively genderqueer, all about liberation for people of color, woman powerful, and responsibly communal. It would have been easy for this show to bludgeon the audience, instead, it gently and firmly carried the audience along with it, waking up the best in each of us, and helping us to see each other as a united community.,

Jomama Jones is the best in everyone of us.

Helga Davis and Sonja Perryman were the primary backup vocalists and co-performers along with Jomama, and let me tell you that when these women sang NOTHING else existed in my world. Helga has one of those voices that is vaguely reminiscent of Tina Turner but only in the way that it crosses over into the "traditionally" masculine, snatches you up by the back of your neck, and makes you call out to Jesus. And Sonja's voice was soul sexy smooth, like warm honey on cornbread and fresh maple syrup straight out of the boiler. These women not only sang, they LIVED.

It was a blessing to see Jomama Jones last night and to experience the beauty of that character, the storytelling, and the amazing cast and musicians that made it all come alive. For Tamar-kali and for Jomama Jones, I owe Kenyon Farrow a deep debt.

Thank you Jomama (Daniel), Sonja, Helga, and the rest of the cast. You have a forever fan right here. And how wonderful to get to share the show with an audience that included new and old friends. One love y'all.