City Lights with Lois Reitzes

This Saturday, March 22, Pasaquan is hosting the "Keepin' the Song" concert to celebrate the intersection of music and visual art. Performers include Subsonics, W8ING4UFOs, Token Hearts, and Pylon Reenactment Society. Charles Fowler, the caretaker of Pasaquan, and Buffi Aguero, Subsonics drummer, and co-founding member, discuss why the seven-acre folk art paradise created by artist Eddie Owens Martin is the perfect match for a day of music. Plus, Promo Ray takes the spotlight for our series, "Speaking of Dance," and literary contributor Alison Law joins us for the latest installment of "Bookmarked." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jim Farmer, director of the Out on Film Festival and Tam O’Shaughnessy, longtime partner of astronaut Sally Ride discuss “Sally” which screens for the Out on Film Spring Festival at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema on March 18. Plus, the annual Bonsai Show returns to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens this weekend, H Johnson stops by for the latest installment of “H Johnson’s Jazz Moment,” and director Lisa Adler and lead actor Carolyn Cook detail the new play “I Carry Your Heart with Me,” which opens at Horizon Theatre tomorrow and runs through April 5. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maestro Robert Spano celebrates 50 years of Atlanta Symphony Orchestra broadcasts on WABE ahead of his upcoming performances with the ASO on March 20, 22, 27, and 29. Plus, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s former principal clarinetist Laura Ardan reflects on her time working with Robert Spano. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Matt Hobbs and Travis Sharp, co-writers of “Hot Jambalaya,” discuss the new comedy-mystery-musical, which is on stage at Dad’s Garage through March 21. Plus, Anna Richardson, artistic director at Théâtre du Rêve, details their upcoming production of “Émelie: The Marquise du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight,” which is on stage March 12 through 23. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Actor and comedian Ben Schwartz stops by before his upcoming improv comedy show at Cobb Energy Centre on March 15. Plus, filmmaker Jarrett Ray discusses his new documentary, “Displaced but Not Erased,” which screens at the DeKalb History Center on March 13. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elisabeth Remy Johnson celebrates 50 years of Atlanta Symphony Orchestra broadcasts on WABE. The ASO Principal Harpist performs the GRAMMY Award-winning Harp Concerto by Atlanta School composer Jennifer Higdon on March 20th and 22nd. Plus, we learn about the three new solo exhibitions on view at Echo Contemporary and hear about Aris Theatre’s relaunch of “Cailini,” an Atlanta-based Celtic Woman Tribute Band. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meisa Salaita, Atlanta Science Festival co-founder and co-executive director, discusses the connections between art and science at this year’s festival, which runs from March 8-22 at various venues. Plus, Kosmo Vinyl tells us about Nina Simone’s “My Baby Just Cares for Me” for the latest installment of “Kosmo’s Vinyl of the Week,” and Karen Kelly, director of exhibits and education at the Children’s Museum of Atlanta, details “XOXO: An Exhibit about Love and Forgiveness,” on view through May 4. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Travel expert and PBS host Rick Steves stops by for the latest “ATL Up and Away installment.” This month, Steves discusses European efforts to curb climate change. Plus, Lauren K Watel takes the spotlight for our series, “Speaking of Poetry,” and vocalist Milton Suggs details his upcoming performance, “New Orleans Songbook: A Jazz at Lincoln Center Production” at the Rialto Center for the Arts on March 8. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trailblazer ballet dancer and Ballethnic dance coach Lydia Abarca Mitchell and author Karen Valby discuss Valby’s new book “The Swans of Harlem: Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History.” Plus, Associate Professor Jeff Albert, the interim chair of the School of Music at Georgia Tech, details this year’s Guthman Musical Instrument Competition, and filmmaker Johnathan Banks, along with South Fulton Arts executive director Jennifer Bauer Lyons, talk about “Say Yes to Destiny” which pays tribute to Alice Lovelace and screens at the Academy Theatre on March 6. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Atlanta Film Society executive director and theater owner Chris Escobar, along with Laura Hennighausen, facilitator of Arts Capital Atlanta and director of strategic philanthropy at Purpose Possible, discuss the coalition advocating for investment in Atlanta’s arts. Plus, we hear about Atlanta’s many Listening Rooms, where music isn’t just played; it’s experienced. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Filmmaker and director Oren Rudavsky discusses “Elie Wiesel: Soul on Fire,” which screens this week as part of the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. We hear how Atlanta Smart Academy is celebrating Black History Month with a student concert, Dr. Scott Stewart joins us for our series, “Music in Media,” and we learn about “Science Jazz Hands,” a semi-regular comedy night in the Atlanta area where local scientists, engineers, and medical professionals perform standup sets. Plus, Curatorial coordinator Rebecca Melsheimer details the interactive exhibition “Fury: The Power of Nature,” which is on view at the Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville through January 2026, and we hear about this year’s TEDx Atlanta Conference, which features two members of Atlanta’s artistic community, GFB3 and Chantelle Rytter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rabbi Micah Lapidus of the Temple of Atlanta and Ebenezer Baptist Church member and vocalist Melvin Myles discuss their new music and upcoming performance at Eddie’s Attic on March 15. Curator Tony Casadonte, gallery director at Lumiere, and co-curator Judith Thompson, wife of the late photographer and director of the Harold Feinstein Photography Trust, detail “A Soldiers View,” which is on view at the National Infantry Museum in Columbus, GA, through March 16. Plus, Beth McKibben, Editor-in-Chief and Dining Editor at Rough Draft Atlanta joins us for the latest episode of “The Beverage Beat.” This month, Beth shares the history of the Manhattan cocktail. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Curator Michael Rooks details “Thinking Eye, Seeing Mind: The Medford and Loraine Johnston Collection,” which is on view at the High Museum of Art through May 25. Plus, Donnita Hathaway, daughter of legendary soul singer Donny Hathaway and Robert King, Jr., writer and actor in the new musical revue "The Voices of Donny Hathaway," discuss the show, which is on stage at AMC Performance Company through March 2. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Legendary singer Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers details his first new album in over a decade, “Straight from the Heart.” Plus, Connor Lyons takes the spotlight for our series, “Speaking of Comedy,” and filmmaker Paul Phelan discusses his new IMAX experience, “Elephants: Giants of the Desert,” screening daily at Fernbank Museum. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joe Stephenson, director of the new film “Midas Man,” discusses the biopic, which screens as part of the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival on February 23, March 1, and March 3. Kosmo Vinyl talks about Everything but the Girl’s “Hatfield 1980,” DreTL details his time on the Netflix series, “Rhythm and Flow, plus we hear about “The Specific Stroll,” an analog immersive exhibit celebrating Edward Gorey on his 100th birthday,” which opens at Mother Lode ATL on February 22. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Avery Sunshine, winner of this year’s Grammy for “Best Progressive R&B Album,” discusses her upcoming performances at City Winery. Plus, Soul Food Cypher founder Alex “Cost One” Acosta and Cypher member Rio Nkosi discuss the intersection of art and community outreach. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chef, TV host, and author Alton Brown discusses his new book, “Food for Thought,” and his upcoming Atlanta show, “Alton Brown Live: Last Bite,” at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre on February 20. Chaz Bear of Toro y Moi details his new album, “Hole Earth,” ahead of his show at the Tabernacle on February 21, and author Tripp Whetsell shares the story of Norman Lear in his new book, “Norman Lear: His Life and Times.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Fahamu Pecou and Esohe Galbreath discuss the upcoming “Flowers and Seeds” event at the African Diaspora Museum of Atlanta, or ADAMA, which celebrates both established and rising artists of color. Plus, H Johnson stops by for the latest edition of “H Johnson’s Jazz Moment,” and we get an early start on Valentine’s Day and talk with Atlanta-based matchmaker Tennesha Wood, founder of “The Broom List,” the first and only matchmaking firm dedicated to pairing successful Black professionals. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Photographer Chris Aluka Berry discusses his book “Affrilachia: Testimonies” and his exhibition of the same name, which is on view at Mason Fine Art Gallery through February 28. Plus, Dr. Scott Stewart stops by for the latest installment of our series, “Music in Media.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre’s interim artistic director Matthew Rushing and choreographer Hope Boykin discuss Ailey’s upcoming performances at the Fox Theatre. Plus, Atlanta Jym Davis, better known as “False Face,” joins us to discuss his upcoming solo art exhibition, “Final Form,” which opens at Reinhardt University’s Fincher Visual Arts Center on February 12. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.