NOTE

America’s memory is short, fractured, and skewed; this week’s tragedy is last week’s forgotten hashtag. Were You There, a musical and theatrical meditation featuring DAVÓNE TINES, takes up the task of strengthening our collective memory by gathering and channeling some of America’s most prescient voices, from the words and melodies of African-American spirituals to the poetry of Walt Whitman. It is an invitation to give voice to, and shed light on, the memory of those slaughtered at the hands of racial injustice, in the hope that by illuminating past and recent tragedies, we ensure that we do not repeat them.

“Were You There” is not a concert. It’s a lament, a memorial and a catharsis. It’s a calm, measured shaking of the audience’s shoulders.” – The Bay State Banner