The City Lights Collective

✦ Multidisciplinary artist Brill Adium argues that artistic styles are mere constructs—and that venturing beyond your creative comfort zone can spark innovative solutions to everyday challenges. His first solo show, "Brill Adium: Finding My Rhythm," is currently on view at One Contemporary Gallery through September 6. WABE arts reporter Summer Evans spoke with Adium, along with One Contemporary curator and director Faron Manuel, about this expansive exhibition.

✦ Sharon Van Etten is one of indie Music's most influential voices. Her latest record, "Sharon Van Etten and the Attachment Theory," marks a new chapter in her already illustrious songwriting career. The album explores her chosen family, her biological family, grief, aging, and the modern landscape that contextualizes us all.  Van Etten has just announced new fall tour dates that will see her returning to the South in October. When City Lights Collective member Jacob Smulian spoke with the musician this past April, she explained the inspiration behind the title of her new album.

✦ Atlanta's vibrant world of cocktails and zero-proof beverages thrives in our bars and restaurants as well as our local distilleries and non-alcoholic bottle shops. Few may know this world better than Beth McKibben, editor in chief and dining editor at Rough Draft Atlanta. Beth's expertise is invaluable as she continually explores our city's elevated beverage programs and examines the latest trends in mixology. She joins The City Lights Collective monthly for "The Beverage Beat," and this month, McKibben discusses snack-size cocktails and why sometimes less is more.

✦ For some artists, Atlanta is a giant canvas. And that seems true for VAYNE, one of our city's most notorious, admired, and internationally recognized graffiti-style writers. You've likely seen his name in giant block letters, sprayed or paint-rolled on some of Atlanta's seemingly impossible-to-reach billboards and overpasses. And yet – there it is. Last year, VAYNE had his first-ever solo exhibition, and this spring, he was a featured artist at Oakland Cemetery's yearly Illumine event. When City Lights Collective Co-host Kim Drobes caught up with VAYNE, they discussed his life spent in the shadows yet seen everywhere.

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✦ We've all felt a little "othered" at times, but the shy, serious, teenage Leela, born in India, and on the autism spectrum, might have a bit of extra insight into the feeling. She's the lead character in the acclaimed play "Orange" by Aditi Brennan Kapil, which opens at Stage Door Theatre on August 9 and runs through the 24. City Lights Collective co-host Kim Drobes recently spoke with director Amee Vyas about the play and how the story of teenage growth unfolds.

✦ Since 2014, re:imagine/ATL has been empowering the next generation of creatives through hands-on training, mentorship, and real-world media production. With programs that equip young people to navigate Atlanta's growing film and production industry — and provide access to professional opportunities — the organization is helping emerging talent build both skills and careers. City Lights Collective producer Josh Thane spoke with Program Director Jessie Sparrow and program alum Syeara Dunlap to learn more about their work — and how they're using creativity to shape futures and communities.

✦ City Lights Collective members Jasmine Hentschel and EC Flamming, the creatives behind Atlanta's visual art print magazine, "GULCH", want you to get out and engage with the city's art scene. Each week, they spotlight five standout happenings, and today their mix includes: a story about how the Goat Farm is picking up where MINT left off, bringing the family to the High Museum for free, and explorations of Southern, Black, queer history and iconography.

✦ Comedian and podcaster Sean Jordan is following his life's calling to spread laughter and positivity to the masses, but these days, that can be a challenge. Especially as he balances fatherhood and life as a touring comedian, Sean strives to show up, hold it down, and turn life's ups and downs into material for his standup. You can see for yourself, as he makes his Atlanta debut this Friday, the 8th, at the Limelight Theater, and he spoke with City Lights Collective engineer Matt McWilliams ahead of the show.

✦ Several Georgia playwrights are showcasing never-before-seen works at this year's Essential Theatre Play Festival. WABE arts reporter Summer Evans shares more.

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✦ Atlanta is a city rife with creativity. One of the artistic endeavors that Atlanta, and Georgia for that matter, has seen hockey stick growth within is film making. Not to be forgotten, however, amongst the known stars, million-dollar budgets, and expensive studios are the indie-film makers. City Lights Collective co-host Jon Goode sat down with poet, indie-film maker, and Atlanta native Malik Salaam, director of the new film Cut, to discuss the movie, his journey, and Atlanta's indie-film scene.

✦ A speakeasy meets a night of jazz-opera fusion, R&B, and chill vibes this Saturday. WABE arts reporter Summer Evans shares more about "The Den on Queen" event.

✦ City Lights Collective member, podcaster, and self-proclaimed history nerd Victoria Lemos lives to research the stories behind Atlanta's treasures, and this week, she dives into the wild origin story of one of the city's most beloved institutions: Zoo Atlanta. It all started in Grant Park in the late 1800s, where an abandoned circus, a lumber magnate with a vision, and some very confused animals collided to create Atlanta's first permanent menagerie. In today's story from Lemos, you'll meet the city's first zookeeper, an "educated pig," and learn how a train car full of lions, monkeys, and even a dromedary led to what we now call Zoo Atlanta. We'll uncover how public parades, dime campaigns, and even elephants named Coca and Cola shaped the park's future—and why the city's love for the zoo never quite matched the funding behind it.

✦ You know as well as we do that there is always a plethora of things to do in Atlanta, and we have earned the title of "The Cultural Capital of the South." Mike Jordan, senior editor at the AJC, and Sammie Purcell, associate editor at Rough Draft Atlanta, know this well too. They join us weekly to share a few of their picks for your weekend entertainment. Today, their mix includes two separate food events – one for veggies and one for jollof, and a film festival in the suburbs.

✦ Award-winning photographer Jim Alexander has spent his life refining what he calls the art of documentary photography. A photojournalist, teacher, activist, media consultant, and entrepreneur, Alexander has amassed an impressive collection of images showcasing Black culture and human rights. He's also a dear friend of photographer Sue Ross, who has spent five decades telling the story of Black Atlanta through images of politicians, artists, literary greats, community leaders, and as she puts it, "just plain people."

These two giants of photography have much in common, but it's their shared love for Music that is spotlighted in the exhibition, "We Are Music," currently on view at The Sun ATL.

Both Alexander and Ross have seemingly endless collections of live concert photography. They've both been stage-side to capture images of some of Black Music's biggest names, including Dizzy Gillespie, Gladys Knight, Miles Davis, Run-DMC, Herbie Hancock, and India Arie - many of whom were photographed at Atlanta's annual Jazz Festival. City Lights Collective co-host Kim Drobes recently visited The Sun ATL to view the exhibition and was given a tour by the legendary photographers.

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✦ If you're looking for your next much-needed laugh, Atlanta comedian Joel Byars has plenty of them ready for you at his "Funny Fridays" comedy showcase.  The next event in the series is scheduled for August 22 at the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center and will feature performances by Lace Larrabee, Carlos Rodriguez, and Emily Holden. Byars recently joined WABE arts reporter Summer Evans to talk more about why he's committed to making our Fridays funny.

✦ Last May, when the pizzeria-arcade chain Chuck E. Cheese announced plans to retire its famous animatronic bands, the backlash was swift. After hearing this outcry, the company promised to keep a few of the bands across the nation. You may be surprised to hear that there was an outcry over Animatronics, but the art form, which brings mechanical and electronic figures to life, continues to hold the public's attention. In fact, the University of North Carolina School of the Arts offers a graduate concentration in Animatronics. It's true. If you're a fan of life-like, magical, moving figures with Dead Eyes (Jon's words, not mine), you don't have to travel far to get your fix. City Lights Collective member Wesley Boutilier brings us the story of a Six Flags Over Georgia ride that recently underwent a significant animatronic upgrade.

✦ Local artist Carl Janes knows that making art isn't a solo effort—it's as much about community as it is about creativity.  Over the years, he has helped carve out spaces for Atlanta's local music and arts communities to gather, perform, and thrive—including his former East Atlanta home, The Secret Spot, and more recently, his location in Underground, called Inner Space.  For his latest endeavor, he has teamed up with local brewery Halfway Crooks to curate a diverse Summer Sunday Concert series, which will run throughout August. City Lights Collective producer Josh Thane recently sat down with Janes learn why he's bringing his Inner Space outdoors.

✦ City Lights Collective member Shane Harrison spends his days at Arts ATL looking for cultural events to share with readers, and he joins us weekly to share highlights. Today, his mix includes Black Writers Weekend 2025, and True Colors Theatre Company's adaptation of Jordan E. Cooper's Ain’t No Mo’.

✦ Artist and music enthusiast, Kosmo Vinyl. He spent several decades immersed in music and began his professional career at London's pioneering indie label, "Stiff Records." In 1979, Kosmo started working exclusively with "The Clash" and stayed by their side until the punk icons disbanded in 1986. Over the years, Kosmo's record collection became legendary. In 2014, he began posting about his favorite releases on social media as part of his series, "Kosmo's Vinyl of the Week," and he joins us weekly to share the stories behind the records he treasures. Today, Kosmo discusses the story behind Ann Peebles’ “I Can’t Stand the Rain.”

✦ The game of Pinball has seen a resurgence in popularity over the last decade, and for those who love the game, August 1 is considered National Pinball Day. City Lights Collective co-host Kim Drobes brings us the story behind the celebration.

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✦ What's the unlikeliest place you can think of to start a podcast? Well, back in 2016, the creatives behind the hit podcast Ear Hustle launched their show from inside California's San Quentin State Prison. Their goal? To tell first-hand true stories of life during and after incarceration. The show is co-hosted by Earlonne Woods, who spent over 20 years in prison, and Nigel Poor, who first came to San Quentin as a photography instructor. The duo will be hosting a live taping of "Ear Hustle" at Terminal West on August 5, and they recently sat down with City Lights Collective co-host Kim Drobes to discuss what's in store.

✦ The Atlanta spoken word community is going through an extremely tough time. Actor, musician, spoken word poet, and brother to all, Malcolm Jamal Warner, suddenly and tragically passed away last week. To honor and celebrate his life, his art, and his legacy, a collection of some of the best poets in the nation, including Grammy award winner J Ivy, Tony award winner GA Me, Theresa Tha Songbird, Abyss, Queen Sheba, and many others are performing at City Winery tomorrow. Doors are at 11a.m. and the performances take place from Noon to 3pm.

✦ Tossing bean bags or rolling bocce balls—it's the kind of simple fun that can make you feel like a kid again. Only this time, maybe you've got a beer in hand. The Atlanta Cornhole and Bocce League is all about bringing that playful energy to a local pub near you. WABE arts reporter Summer Evans shares more on how these outdoor games are turning weeknights into something worth showing up for.

✦ The Pan African Festival returns on August 16 with the theme of Liberation Rising: Remember, Resist, Rejoice. Created by the Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights, this is the festival's 5th year, and the event promises to bring music, food, dance, and discussion to the heart of Decatur. The Alliance's co-chair is Fonta High, and when City Lights Collective member Katina Pappas-DeLuca recently caught up with her, the leader began by explaining the organization's history and mission.

✦ Could the key to advancing AI, educating under-resourced youth, and even healing the divisions of our country lie in hip hop?  Author Manny Faces thinks so.  A longtime advocate for hip-hop culture and academia, Faces speaks with experts and explores this concept in his new book, "Hip Hop Can Save America!"  City Lights Collective producer Josh Thane sat down with him to learn more.

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✦ 61 years ago, racial minorities had no legally protected right to vote. A new documentary film “Harmony of Freedom” reminds us of this unsettling fact while celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, through the power of music. WABE has partnered with Georgia State student conductor and filmmaker Jackson Allred to air “Harmony of Freedom” on August 4th. The film showcases orchestras from all over the state of Georgia performing composer Margaret Bonds’ “Montgomery Variations.” City Lights Collective co-host Kim Drobes recently sat down with Jackson Allred to learn more.

✦ Atlanta Pride, Georgia's oldest nonprofit organization serving our city’s local LGBTQ+ community, turns 55 this year. To celebrate, they’ve partnered with Out on Film and are showcasing queer resistance in the South - through a film screening and community summit. WABE arts reporter Summer Evans shares more.

✦ For nearly three decades, Dad's Garage has been become synonymous with improv comedy in Atlanta. And as their fans have put down roots and grown families here in Atlanta, so to has Dad's expanded their offerings to appeal to the next generation of comedy lovers. Performing Saturday matinee shows, Wowie Zowie is a playful and engaging experience for audiences of all ages. Kids get to let loose and see their creative ideas come to life on stage, while parents can enjoy an afternoon out of the house without suffering the oppressive summer heat. City Lights Engineer Matt McWilliams recently caught up with Dad's Garage ensemble player Avery Sharpe-Steele after a sold-out Wowie Zowie show.

✦ . You may be familiar with Toni Morrison, the Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning author of novels “Beloved,” “The Bluest Eye,” and more. But did you know that Morrison was also one of the first Black editors for a major publishing company? A new book, “Toni at Random,” examines Morrison’s years as an editor at Random House and the book’s author, Dana Williams, will celebrate her new release tomorrow, with a discussion at Atlanta’s Auburn Avenue Research Library. City Lights Collective member Alison Law recently caught up with Willams to talk about “Toni at Random” ahead of tomorrow’s event.

✦ City Lights Collective members Jasmine Hentschel and EC Flamming, the creatives behind Atlanta’s visual art print magazine, “GULCH”, want you to get out and engage with the city’s art scene. Each week they spotlight five standout happenings, and today their mix includes: prints galore at the Black Art in America Print Fair, love and care in a group show at the historical Haugabrooks Gallery on Auburn Avenue, and thoughtful textile explorations at Gallery Chimera.

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✦ If artists are the heartbeats, pumping out music, then DJs are the people with their fingers on the pulse. People in-tune with the rhythms that allow you to feel how love, longing, and light in a song, and in your soul. There are DJs that play arenas, clubs, weddings, backyard BBQs, and every place in-between. They can make or break or night, but my goodness the right DJ can transform a dance floor into a time machine; into a place that can take you to the past, into the future, or just make time stand still. Atlanta has some of the best DJs on the planet. On our new series, “Thank You DJs” we'll sit down with DJs you know, DJs you don't, and DJs you should, so that we might know them, their journey, and their love for music a little better. First up DJ Greg Nyce.

✦ What do you do when you're stuck at home during the pandemic, with too much free time and no creative outlet? For Atlanta Symphony Orchestra bassist and composer Michael Kurth, you create a chamber group. WABE arts reporter Summer Evans shares more on the Ridibund Chamber Music Society.

✦ City Lights Collective member, podcaster, and self-proclaimed history nerd Victoria Lemos recently took a deep dive into the Southern institution that never sleeps — Waffle House. From its roots in a chance friendship in Avondale Estates, to being used as a FEMA disaster barometer, she traced how two neighbors turned a $4,000 investment into a 24-hour empire. This is more than just breakfast — it's a story of Southern identity, innovation, and two visionaries who made waffles a way of life.

✦ You know as well as I do that there is always a plethora of things to do in Atlanta, and we have earned the title of "The Cultural Capital of the South." Mike Jordan, senior editor at the AJC, and Sammie Purcell, associate editor at Rough Draft Atlanta, know this well too. They join us weekly to share a few of their picks for your weekend entertainment. Today, their mix includes free music, peaches, and a trip to the stars.

✦ It's been a long road since The Swell Season first captured hearts with their Oscar-winning song "Falling Slowly" and the hit film Once, which dramatized their real-life connection. That breakout moment led to a beloved Broadway adaptation and the release of their critically acclaimed second album, Strict Joy. Now, 16 years later, Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová reunite for a new collection of heartfelt songs—and will bring their long-awaited return to Atlanta with a performance at the Woodruff Arts Center on August 2. City Lights Collective producer Josh Thane sat down with the duo to discuss their reunion and everything that has unfolded in the years since.

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✦ From street corners to collectors' closets, sneakers have become more than just footwear. They're currency, they're conversation starters, and they're Culture. In Atlanta, sneakers have found their way into exhibitions, college degrees, and even job opportunities. WABE arts reporter Summer Evans recently laced up to learn more about the billion-dollar industry behind the kicks that turn heads and spark hype.

✦ It's time to check in with our artistic community and hear from an artist in their own words. Today, we're catching up with poet Lauren Doriahna. She's an Atlanta lyricist, and she's here to share the rhyme and reason behind the art of language.

✦ City Lights Collective member Shane Harrison spends his days at Arts ATL looking for cultural events to share with readers. He joins us weekly to share highlights, and today, his mix includes a few options for Comedy and details on a 3-band show at the Garden Club with a few of Georgia's finest.

✦ Five Eight is playing the Garden Club with Magnapop, Anna Kramer, and Easy Now on Saturday. Five Eight emerged from the Athens scene in the late 1980s with live shows fans described as "brilliance bordering on a train wreck," delivered with frontman Mike Mantione's trademark honesty and immediacy.  As mentioned, there's a documentary called "Weirdo: The Story of Five Eight," created by filmmaker and music journalist Marc Pilvinsky, which was filmed over a nine-year period. Ahead of the Five Eight show this Saturday, we listen back to Kim's 2024 conversation with Five Eight's Mike Mantione and documentarian Marc Pilvinsky.

✦ Artist and music enthusiast Kosmo Vinyl spent several decades immersed in music and began his professional career at London's pioneering indie label, "Stiff Records." In 1979, Kosmo started working exclusively with "The Clash" and stayed by their side until the punk icons disbanded in 1986. Over the years, Kosmo's record collection became legendary. In 2014, he began posting about his favorite releases on social media for his series, "Kosmo's Vinyl of the Week," and he joins us weekly to share the stories behind the records he treasures. Today, he tells us the story behind Them's version of "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue."

✦ In his YouTube documentary series "Our Voices, Our Lives," Atlanta-based filmmaker William Feagins Jr. shines a light on our city's creatives of color. The program has been running for 7 years, and City Lights Collective member Jacob Smulian recently spoke with the award-winning documentarian to learn more about the celebratory project.

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✦ 0:30 - Atlanta's music scene is often associated with sold-out arenas, local small stages, or eclectic late-night venues. But hidden in corners of the city, another kind of music space is thriving, one powered by turntables, vintage speakers, and the warm crackle of vinyl. These are Atlanta's listening rooms, where music isn't just played; it's experienced. The rooms come in various flavors, shapes, and styles; almost all have opened within the last two years. City Lights Collective member Jacob Smulian has more.

✦ 11:24 - After three weeks of intensive workshops at Alliance Theatre's Palefsky Collision Project, twenty metro-Atlanta teens will showcase their original productions on July 25 and 26.  WABE arts reporter Summer Evans shares more.

✦ 13:23 - Atlanta Artist Jym Davis describes himself as a myth builder. And that's true. However, the creative, better known as "False Face," is also a sculptor, photographer, online content curator, and a five-time National Park artist-in-residence. Davis's primary medium is elaborate and otherworldly papier-mâché masks inspired by nature. The artist then wears the masks in natural settings and captures their essence using performative photography. The result is enchanting. City Lights Collective co-host Kim Drobes recently spoke with Davis to learn more about his practice and how he curates his incredibly successful and beautiful Instagram account.

✦ 28:19 - Stone Mountain stands over 800 feet tall, making it the largest exposed piece of granite in the world. While it offers incredible views of the Atlanta skyline, it has a dark history and was once a well-known meeting ground for intolerance and hate. Photographer Jean Shifrin hopes to change that narrative by showcasing the diverse range of people who make the mile-long trek up to its peak year-round, and she aims to reframe Stone Mountain as a place for unity and diversity. WABE arts reporter Summer Evans recently spoke with the photographer about her new book, "Rise Above: On Top of Stone Mountain."

✦ 42:10 - Through light and sound, the sensory manifestations of mathematics, quantum physics, and vast archives of raw data are dancing on the walls of the High Museum this summer. In an immersive exhibition, critics are praising as "awe-inspiring" and "visceral," leading Japanese artist and electronic composer Ryoji Ikeda invites us to experience "data-verse." City Lights Collective producer Josh Thane recently spoke with High curator Michael Rooks about Ryoji Ikeda's epic installations.

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✦ 0:40 - The five main food groups that are important for anyone’s diet include—fruits, vegetables, protein, grains, and chocolate…okay, maybe not the last one. However, it remains an essential building block of a balanced diet. A new exhibition at the Museum of Design Atlanta, also known as MODA, explores the origins of chocolate, its evolution into a global commodity, and the designs of some of the most popular chocolate brands we know today. WABE arts reporter Summer Evans visited MODA to check out this delicious exhibition.

✦ 11:28 -  We preview of this week’s WABE’s Sounds Like ATL music documentary series. For the unfamiliar, the show dives into the heart of Atlanta’s music scene. And each week, Sounds Like ATL spotlights a local artist—sharing their creative process and a few live performances. You can catch new episodes every Wednesday on the YouTube channel, @WABE ATL. Here’s a preview of the episode coming in a couple of day that features singer-songwriter, Kira. 

✦ 15:03 - A new development is promising to reconnect neighborhoods and restore opportunity in the city’s core. It’s called BLVD NEXT and City Lights Collective co-host Jon Goode went to the groundbreaking ceremony to learn more about the arts organization that’s been tapped to collaborate.

✦ 26:42 - City Lights Collective members Jasmine Hentschel and EC Flamming, the creatives behind Atlanta’s visual art print magazine, “GULCH”, want you to get out and engage with the city’s art scene. Each week they spotlight five standout happenings, and today their mix includes: Blaxploitation film posters on display at ADAMA, live figure model drawing at The Supermarket, and the all-ages Contemporary Kids art program at Atlanta Contemporary.

✦ 38:12 -  One of Atlanta’s own is heading to Switzerland this summer to participate in the first-ever “European Throat Singing Festival and Competition.” City Lights Collective co-host Kim Drobes recently caught up with Atlanta throat singer Aileen Loy ahead of her upcoming European adventure.

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