Listen to an interview with the poet, activist and educator Nikki Giovanni, who passed away on December 9th at the age of 81. In 2015, Giovanni spoke with WFYI’s Kyle Long. They discussed her work in music, and her connections to Indianapolis.

Also, as we approach the end of the year, media outlets including NPR, Rolling Stone, the New York Times and Pitchfork are publishing their annual “best of” music lists. We’ll explore music from the Indiana musicians featured among the year’s best, including Jlin, Omar Apollo, Justin Hicks of the HawtPlates, and Freddie Gibbs.

Hear the final episode in our two-part series celebrating the life and music of Barbara Dane, a legendary, folk, blues, and jazz singer who used her voice to advocate for social justice and civil rights. Dane passed away in October of 2024, she was 97 years old. Listen to a 2018 interview Dane recorded with WFYI’s Kyle Long, along with rare recordings from her discography.

Barbara Dane began singing on the picket lines of Detroit as a teenager. Politics and activism would remain a central focus of her music. She would go on to record for the biggest labels in American music and collaborate with iconic artists, including Louis Armstrong, Earl Hines, and Lightnin’ Hopkins. 

At the height of the 1960s folk music boom, Bob Dylan called Dane a hero. But Dane never experienced the commercial success of her folk singing peers like Dylan. She refused to compromise her principles for corporate record companies, which led Dane to start her own label in the 1970s, Paredon Records. Through her Paredon label, Dane issued revolutionary music from Palestine, Vietnam, and Cuba. She also released her own recordings on the label, including the 1973 album “I Hate the Capitalist System”. 

On this edition, we’ll discuss Dane’s work with Paredon, and her connection to Bob Dylan.

Hear the first episode in our two-part series celebrating the life and music of Barbara Dane, a legendary, folk, blues, and jazz singer who used her voice to advocate for social justice and civil rights. Dane passed away in October of 2024, she was 97 years old. Listen to a 2018 interview Dane recorded with WFYI’s Kyle Long, along with rare recordings from her discography.

Barbara Dane was born Barbara Jean Spillman in Detroit, Michigan in 1927. She began singing on the picket lines of Detroit as a teenager. Politics and activism would remain a central focus of her music. Dane would go on to record for the biggest labels in American music and collaborate with iconic artists, including Louis Armtstrong, Earl Hines, and Lightnin’ Hopkins. 

At the height of the 1960’s folk music boom, Bob Dylan called Dane a hero. But Dane never experienced the commercial success of her folk singing peers like Dylan. She refused to compromise her principles for corporate record companies, which led Dane to start her own label in the 1970s, Paredon Records. Through her Paredon label, Dane issued revolutionary music from Palestine, Vietnam, and Cuba. She also released her own recordings on the label, including the 1973 album “I Hate the Capitalist System”.

Listen to a special episode celebrating National Native American Heritage Month. Learn how Native American musicians are reinventing traditional culture in the 21st Century, featuring interviews with the experimental pow wow group Medicine Singers, and the hip-hop artist Supaman.

Fort Wayne’s Troy Shondell was one of Indiana’s first rock and roll stars. He’s best remembered for his 1961 single “This Time”. That song went to number 6 on the Billboard chart and sold over 3 million copies.

Shondell never managed to recapture the success of “This Time” and is often labeled a one-hit wonder. But there’s much more to Shondell’s story. He toured with Chuck Berry, recorded with Phil Spector, and produced legendary funk sessions with the Patterson Twins, and Trust at Fort Wayne’s Star Fox studio. Join us to hear rare recordings from Troy Shondell.

In 1973, the Beech Grove Indiana rack band Zerfas released their self-titled debut album. The band was led by brothers Dave and Herman Zerfas, who independently distributed the Zerfas record. The album went largely unheard at the time of its initial release, but over the years Zerfas has attracted a strong cult audience. Today, the Zerfas album is considered a lost classic of psychedelic rock music, and original copies of the LP sell for thousands of dollars. 

A new album from the Logansport Indiana rapper Id Obelus celebrates the legacy of Zerfas. The project is titled “Safrez”, it includes samples from the 1973 Zerfas LP, along with rhymes inspired by Zerfas’ lyrics.

This week on Cultural Manifesto, listen to an interview with Id Obelus, as he shares the inspiration behind “Safrez”.

Also, hear a 2015 conversation with the late Moe Whittemore, he recorded and released Zerfas’ 1973 album from his 700 West studio in New Palestine, Indiana. During the 1970s, Whittemore recorded and released dozens of important Hoosier albums from his home in New Palestine.

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Listen to an interview with the legendary vocalist Dionne Warwick. She’ll be performing in Central Indiana later this month. 

Warwick rose to prominence in the early 1960s, after catching the attention of the songwriter and producer Burt Bacharach. During the 1960s, Warwick became the primary voice for Bacharach’s chart-topping compositions, co-written with lyricist Hal David. Songs like “Don’t Make Me Over,” “Walk on By,” “I Say A Little Prayer,” “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” and many others, dominated the charts. That success led Warwick to become one of the most-charted vocalists of all time, with 80 singles hitting the Billboard charts. Warwick has won 6 Grammy awards, among many other notable accolades. Last month, she was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Listen to an interview with the prolific rock and roll drummer, and former Bloomington, Indiana resident Kenny Aronoff. Here in Indiana, Aronoff is best known for his work with John Mellencamp. But his work outside of Mellencamp’s band is even more notable. Aranoff has performed with the greatest icons in popular music, including Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen and many others.

Listen to words and music with the tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain, one of the most celebrated performers in the history of Indian classical music. Hussain has also found success in Western music, collaborating with iconic musicians including George Harrison, Earth Wind & Fire, Van Morrison, Tina Turner and members of the Grateful Dead.

Hussain will perform at the Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel on November 1st. He'll be joined by the santoor player Rahul Sharma. The santoor is a hammered-dulcimer instrument featuring 100 strings. Rahul Sharma is the son of the late santoor pioneer Shivkumar Sharma, a longtime collaborator with Hussain. The concert will pay homage to Shivkumar Sharma, who died in 2022.

It's a special Halloween episode of Cultural Manifesto. Hear an interview with Yung Rev, an Indianapolis-based musician and entrepreneur. Yung Rev is the promoter behind Dystopia, a unique event series featuring skateboarding, pro wrestling, and live music. Yung Rev’s latest event is titled Spooktopia, and features performances from artists including Mula Kkhan and Mxjor.

Also, hear an hour of truly terrifying music from Hoosier history, including:

- Lost tapes from an occult rock musical titled “The Satanic Bible”. The musical premiered in Indianapolis in 1972, and featured the Muncie, Indiana psychedelic rock band The Ritual

- Music from Gary, Indiana’s Michael Esposito, a paranormal investigator and experimental sound artist. Esposito creates music utilizing EVP recordings. EVP, short for electronic voice phenomenon, is a term used by ghost hunters and paranormal researchers to describe sounds believed to be spirit voices.

- Coven, a pioneering Indianapolis proto-metal band known for their 1969 album “Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls”.

- Michael W. Ford, an Indianapolis-born occultist and musician known for his work with in dark ambient, and black metal music.