Right now, I am happy to share with you our first big production, the Grandmaster Djembe Xplosion Mega Conference, taking place in the heart of my hometown, St. Louis, Missouri. This event is a watershed moment in music and dance... Between the auspicious days of May 21 - 24, participants from across the world will pour into St. Louis and study the djembe drum with the world's most sought-after percussionists from Guinea, Mali, Senegal & the Ivory Coast. A total of 7 master djembe players including Bolokada Conde, Moussa Traore from Mali, and Khadyjah Harper of Nimbaya!, will light up the conference, teaching 25 mega workshops-- making it the biggest West African drum conference in the world. Never has such an event, dedicated solely to Africa's most important instrument, brought together so many djembe masters to teach. A brilliant partnership with BlackDance USA, the historical national festival of African, Caribbean, & African-American dance in St. Louis, will offer every Djembe X participant free master classes with top dancers including Guinea's legendary Moustapha Bangoura and Cuba's fire bolts Michelito Herrara and Kati Hernandez. Together, we will embark on a new level of learning and span a universe of extraordinary artistry and possibilities.

The dream that Bolokada and I embarked on a few months ago is rapidly coming to life. With less than 10 days to this epic program, it's nothing short of a miracle that we are birthing the next stage of the dream. A miracle produced by the divine spirit calling into being the very light, the very art that we need to breath power into our lives, and energy into our vision.  As we count down the days to Djembe X, we look to the future with excitement and belief. The more we try, the more the world bares the fruit of our greatest hopes.