The Museum is thrilled to celebrate the return of our First Friday Music Series this Spring. Kick off your weekend mingling at The Reginald F. Lewis Museum with local musical performances. Explore our latest on-of-kind exhibitions along with food and drinks by local chefs. During our Black Futures, Black Imaginings Music Edition, experience a wide range of music connected to Black futurism and celebrating the imagination, time, and liberation.

Black Futures, Black Imaginings Music Edition: Featuring Navasha Daya & Lafayette Gilchrist

Friday, April 7, 2023 | 6 pm – 8:30 pm | Performance begins at 7 pm, Exhibits Open at 6 pm.

For Jazz Appreciation Month jam with “astral soul goddess” Navasha Daya and jazz pianist/composer Lafayette Gilchrist as they perform music that will liberate the soul and spirit. Navasha Daya, Baltimore-based singer, songwriter and producer, has performed all over the globe for over 25 years as an indie – soul and jazz artist. Grammy- Award winning artist India.Arie described Navasha’s voice as “the true definition of soulful”. As a composer, Navasha has written numerous songs focused on culture, spiritual evolution and liberation pinning songs that encourage the utilization of indigenous technology as a solution to society’s injustices. As a solo artist she has received international acclaim from her solo releases. Prior to her solo releases, Navasha served as lead vocalist, songwriter and co-founder of the highly acclaimed Baltimore based soul/jazz band, Fertile Ground. Navasha’s composition “Peace & Love” was remixed in Europe and opened the door to Fertile Ground’s international acclaim. Continuing the musical legacy of her cousin the late great Gil Scott Heron, and embodying the influences of the likes of Phyllis Hyman, Patti Austin, Lyn Collins, Mahalia Jackson, Miriam Makeba, Mavis Staples… her live show fuses her eclectic mix of Soul-Jazz – Funk and World Rhythms while pulling from her Mississippi Blues lineage.

Drawing on the span of jazz history from stride to free improvisation, along with inspiration from hip-hop, funk, and Washington D.C.’s unique go-go sound, Lafayette Gilchrist’s music thrives on making surprising connections between styles and influences, boldly veering from pile-driver funk to piquant stride, vigorous swing to hip-hop swagger, contemplative abstraction to deep-bottom grooves. Gilchrist has performed with Cassandra Wilson, Macy Gray, Oliver Lake, Andrew Cyrille, Orrin Evans, Paul Dunmall, Hamid Drake, William Parker, and many more. He has also recorded and toured regularly with Grammy-Award winning legendary saxophonist David Murray. Lafayette’s previous album Dark Matter (2019), Gilchrist’s second solo recording, muses on the elusive and mysterious matter that ties the universe together and landed on numerous critics’ best of 2019 lists. His composition “Assume the Position” was used in the score for the HBO drama television series The Wire. His compositions have also been used in the HBO series Treme and The Deuce.

Special Admission: Members: $20 and Future – Members $25; Food Prices are Separate Cost.