Cultural Manifesto

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 iss

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 labe

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 impo

Long Description:   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 alb

Listen to an interview with the Indianapolis musician and producer, Inga McDaniel. For over 40 years, McDaniel has been self-producing and self-releasing electronic dance music. A new anthology of her music, titled “Double Mug”, was recently issued by the Indiana-based label Ulyssa.

Hear a conversation with NPR music contributors Ann Powers and Alison Fensterstock. They’ll discuss the new book “How Women Made Music: A Revolutionary History from NPR Music,” a celebration of women in music featuring archival interviews, essays, and rare photos.

Listen to a special pledge drive episode featuring show highlights selected by host Kyle Long. Hear interviews with Carlos Santana discussing the influence of Indianapolis guitarist Wes Montgomery, Meshell Ndegeocello on her work with Indianapolis composer Hanna Benn, Omar Apollo recalling his early years in Northwest Indiana, author Tyler Alpern discussing the Indiana LGBTQ+ music pioneer Bruz Fletcher, and much more. Also, hear lost Indiana recordings recovered by Long featuring music from Duke Ellington and The Vanguards.

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with an hour of music from composer Juan Orrego-Salas. Orrego-Salas was born in Santiago, Chile in 1919. He moved to Bloomington, Indiana in 1961 to direct Indiana University’s Latin American Music Center. Now in it’s 63rd year, the Latin American Music Center manages one of the largest archives of 20th century Latin American art music in the world. Orrego-Salas retired as the center’s director in 1987 and remained in Bloomington until his death in 2019 at the age of 100. As a composer, Orrego-Salas left behind a large catalog of music, including symphonies, concertos and chamber music pieces. Join us for a selection of rare recordings from Orrego-Salas.

Listen to an interview with the Indianapolis rock band Wishy. Their debut album Triple Seven has been praised in publications including Pitchfork and The Guardian. Wishy’s music draws inspiration from 1990s shoegaze and dream pop bands like My Bloody Valentine and The Sundays. Also, hear a tribute to the Indianapolis rockabilly pioneer Ronnie Haig, he passed away this month at the age of 85. Haig was born in Indianapolis in 1939, and grew up in the Fountain Square neighborhood.  At age 19, Haig released two singles for the Indianapolis label Note Records. The sessions were recorded at Chicago’s famous Chess Records studio, and featured an all-star group of Indianapolis musicians, including guitarist Wes Montgomery. Haig is best remembered for 1958 single “Don’t You Hear Me Calling, Baby”, a regional hit in markets around the United States.

Listen to an interview with jazz saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin. 2024 has been a breakout year for Lakecia. She was nominated for 3 Grammy awards, and made high profile appearances on NPR’s Tiny Desk, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. She will be performing at this year’s Indy Jazz Fest.

Listen to an interview with rock and roll legend Felix Cavaliere of The Rascals.  Vocalist, organist and songwriter Felix Cavaliere confounded Rascals in 1965. Originally known as The Young Rascals, the band would go on to chart 9 top 20 Billboard singles, including three number 1 hits. Today, The Rascals are considered one of the defining American rock bands of the 1960s. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, and Cavaliere was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009. The Rascals will be performing at the Brown County Music Center in September.

Listen to an interview with the New York-based musician John Roseboro. He describes his music as “post bossa,” a unique blend of American indie rock and Brazilian bossa nova. Roseboro will be performing in Indianapolis on September 14 at State Street Pub.

Carl Broemel started his career as a choir boy at Indianapolis’ Christ Church Cathedral, today he travels the world as a guitarist with My Morning Jacket. This week on Cultural Manifesto, hear Broemel discuss his roots in the Indianapolis music scene. Broemel’s work with My Morning Jacket has received widespread critical acclaim. In 2007, he was named on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of “20 New Guitar Gods”. Broemel has worked with a wide range of musicians, from CCR’s John Fogerty to Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters. Broemel will be performing with My Morning Jacket at the Bourbon & Beyond in Louisville on September 22.

Listen to an interview with photographer Jacob Moran. He’ll discuss “Visual Aural”, a book and mixtape documenting the Indianapolis rap music scene.  Also hear from two of the musicians featured in “Visual Aural,” rappers 4200Kory and Joosi.