Emmy-winning cinematographer and photographer John Simmons has spent six decades documenting Black life in America — starting at 15, shooting for the Chicago Defender. Now, a selection of that work is on view at Mason Fine Art in Atlanta, in a solo exhibition called “It Started in the 60s,” running through July 25. 

WABE's Sherri Daye Scott sat down with Simmons at the gallery to talk about the work on the walls and the stories behind them.  

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More than 100 visitors and locals stopped by WABE's phone booth at the Atlanta Cultural Exchange this summer, sharing what their impressions of the city during FIFA World Cup 2026. On this episode, hear from radio personality Jade Jones, a visitor from South Africa, a shoutout to local creative Dante Kyle, and a very confident young voice with strong opinions on who's taking home the trophy. Sherri Daye Scott has more 

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Harry Connick Jr. made his Carnegie Hall debut this year with an original orchestral piece written as a tribute to his late mother. On this episode of WABE Arts' What's Feeding You?, Sherri Daye Scott talks with Connick about writing that piece, the idea behind his forthcoming book, “Babe: Elaboratio,” and why he never plans a set list before a show. Connick brings his band to Chastain Park July 11. 🎧 

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Atlanta is a hip-hop capital now, but it wasn’t always. On this episode of WABE Arts, Sherri Daye Scott talks with Dr. Regina N. Bradley, associate professor of English and African Diaspora Studies at Kennesaw State University and author of “Chronicling Stankonia,” about how the city and the music shaped each other, from OutKast and the Dungeon Family to trap and the neighborhoods that gave the sub-genre its sound. Bradley previews “How Hip-Hop Made Atlanta,” her free three-part lecture series presented by the Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) and supported by a grant from Georgia Humanities for the nation’s 250th anniversary. 🎙

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Atlanta poet and spoken word artist Ashlee Haze is one of sixteen writers to receive a 2026 South Arts Literary Arts Grant. Her award is going toward “KIERA,” a nonfiction book and audiobook exploring abundance, wealth and liberation for Black women and the historically marginalized. For Haze, the project is as much about how the story gets told as what it says. 

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The Shakespeare Tavern Playhouse on Peachtree Street is home to some of Atlanta's most polished classical theater. But a few nights a year, the stage belongs to something wilder. 

Actors don't know their roles. In some cases, they don't even know what play they're performing. They find out the same way the audience does — when someone reaches into a hat. 

That's the premise of Shakespeare Out of a Hat, a recurring event at the Atlanta Shakespeare Company that blends improv with the company's deep repertory

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chefATL started as a class assignment. Now it’s an Emmy winner. On this episode of WABE Arts, Sherri Daye Scott talks with Astrid Sims, a SCAD student director who worked her way up from production assistant to helming two episodes of the student-produced docuseries made in partnership with WABE. Sims, who also took home a 2026 Gracie Award for Director (TV – Student), talks about what it takes to connect with Atlanta’s chefs on camera and why the show is about so much more than food. chefATL Season 2 premieres June 25 on WABE TV. 🎙️

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The World Cup has come to Atlanta, and a new exhibition at ADAMA, the African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta, is asking viewers to look beyond the pitch. On this episode of WABE Arts, WABE Arts and Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott walks through “The African Game,” the immersive body of work by photographer and filmmaker Andrew Dosunmu, shot across nine African countries over more than two decades. ADAMA founder and executive director Fahamu Pecou explains why the exhibition centers the fans and what that perspective reveals about community, spirituality, and the culture of the game across the African diaspora. The exhibition is on view through July 25. 🎭

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Now in its eleventh year, SanSe Atlanta is Georgia’s largest Puerto Rican festival — and one with a philanthropic mission. On this episode of WABE Arts, Sherri Daye Scott talks with Belisa Urbina, co-founder and CEO of Ser Familia, about what it takes to bring Puerto Rico’s post-Christmas spirit to Alpharetta in June and proceeds go directly to mental health and family counseling services for Latino communities across Georgia. With Elvis Crespo headlining and DJ EU on the decks, Urbina says the party is the point — and so is everything it funds.  

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GRAMMY-winning singer-songwriter and longtime Maroon 5 keyboardist PJ Morton is back with a new double album: ‘Saturday Night, Sunday Morning,’ half R&B, half gospel, out June 19. On this episode of WABE Arts, Sherri Daye Scott talks with Morton about the project’s origins and the Bogalusa, Louisiana studio where he recorded it. Morton also shares the kismet behind the album’s structure, his lifelong pull toward nine-song records, and what’s ahead as he takes the new music on the road this summer. 🎧 

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