Spiegeltent
Martha Redbone
Guardian Spirit: The Words of bell hooks
bell hooks: Photo by Karjean Levine/Getty Images • Martha Redbone: Photo by Cedric Pilard
July 10–11
Spiegeltent
bell hooks: Photo by Karjean Levine/Getty Images • Martha Redbone: Photo by Cedric Pilard
July 10–11
Artist, composer, vocalist, and Spiegeltent favorite Martha Redbone returns to Bard SummerScape with a musical celebration of the words and legacy of bell hooks. In this developmental work-in-process, Redbone and longtime musical collaborator Aaron Whitby embark on a multidisciplinary musical exploration of bell hooks’s landmark poetry collection, Appalachian Elegy: Poetry and Place. Known for their powerful and award-winning settings of poets Ntozake Shange in for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf (2019 Drama Desk Award; 2022 Broadway revival) and William Blake on the album, The Garden of Love: Songs of William Blake, Redbone and Whitby channel bell hooks’s meditative, confessional, and political lyricism into a genre-defying soundscape that echoes the spirit of her Kentucky roots and heritage she shares with Redbone.
Martha Redbone, vocals, percussion
Aaron Whitby, music director, piano, keys
Charlie Burnham, violin, vocals
Robin Macatangay, guitar
Fred Cash, bass
Kevin Johnson, drums
Keith Anthony Fluitt, vocals
Ramona Renea, vocals
Vivian Sessoms, vocals
“Her stories shone a radiant light on everything I had ever known and so many secrets lost before my time. bell hooks helped me listen to the whisperings of the guardian spirit. Having left our planet [recently], it is only fitting to celebrate her writings, setting them in music and storytelling.” —Martha Redbone
Guardian Spirit: The Words of bell hooks is a co-commission by the Apollo Theater and Fisher Center LAB, the Fisher Center’s artist residency and commissioning program. The presentation of Guardian Spirit at the Spiegeltent is co-presented with the Center for Indigenous Studies at Bard College. Guardian Spirit is generously supported by the New York State Council on the Arts.
Grab a bite and a drink while you’re at the Fisher Center! We offer theater concessions at Sosnoff Theater, LUMA Theater, and Olin Hall. Across the way is the al fresco Spiegeltent Garden—or grab a nosh while seeing a Spiegeltent performance. There is ample space for outdoor picnics across the Bard College campus. Nearby villages and towns in the Hudson Valley boast a large selection of restaurants, as well as a variety of hotels, motels, inns, and bed & breakfasts.
Eat & StayBard College’s main campus is located in Annandale-on-Hudson (a hamlet of Red Hook), New York, on the east bank of the Hudson River, about 90 miles north of New York City and 220 miles southwest of Boston. The Taconic State Parkway and the New York State Thruway provide the most direct routes to our campus. Click the Google map below, or get directions by entering the following address into your GPS: 60 Manor Avenue, Red Hook, NY 12571.
From the East
If you are traveling from east of the Hudson River in New York State, take the Taconic State Parkway to the Red Hook / Route 199 exit, drive west on Route 199 through the village of Red Hook to Route 9G, turn right onto Route 9G, drive north 1.9 miles, turn left onto Annandale Road, then turn right onto Manor Ave.
From the West
If you are traveling from west of the Hudson River, take the New York State Thruway (I-87) to exit 19 (Kingston), take Route 209 (changes to Route 199 at the Hudson River) over the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge to Route 9G, turn left onto Route 9G, drive north 3.5 miles, turn left onto Annandale Road, then turn right onto Manor Ave.
Spiegeltent
Accessible Seating
Wheelchair-accessible seating is available in the ring seat and floor table areas for patrons who use wheelchairs and their companions.
Wheelchair-Accessible Restrooms
A single-use, wheelchair-accessible restroom is available at the Spiegeltent.
All-Gender Restrooms
Bard College and the Fisher Center support guests of any gender identity/expression in using the restroom of their choice. Additionally, all-gender restrooms are available at all venues.
Find answers to some of the most common questions patrons have regarding our venues and performances. If you have a question not answered in our FAQs, please call 845-758-7900 or email [email protected] during regular Box Office hours.
Our “Know Before You Go” guide answers all of your pre-show accessibility and navigation questions for your next performance at the Fisher Center!
