The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Library:
On Sunday, July 14, the Watertown Free Public Library (WFPL) and the Watertown Pigsgusset Initiative invite you to experience the electrifying album THUNDERCHILD by Mwalim DaPhunkee Professor. All are welcome!
As a multi-award-winning artist and Mashpee Wampanoag elder, Mwalim infuses his latest album THUNDERCHILD with musical history and innovation. Blending soul and blues with undertones of funk, Caribbean, and punk rock – the result is a mesmerizing journey through sound, story, and musical authenticity.
Storytelling and performance are woven throughout Mwalim’s life. Coming from long family lines of West Indian/Bajan (Barbados) and Mashpee Wampanoag oral traditionalists, Mwalim is also a student and keeper of the AHANAEENUN, or Sacred Clown, tradition of Wampanoag people. The album title THUNDERCHILD refers to the collective term used to describe the various sacred clown traditions of Indigenous people.
For over 30 years as a performer, teaching artist and curriculum development consultant, Mwalim has taught theater and language arts as well as music for private and public schools, community programs, arts academies, colleges, and conferences throughout the United States and Canada. He is a recipient of numerous awards, fellowships and grants for theater, music, and media arts and the keyboardist and songwriter for the 6-time Grammy-nominated band The GroovaLottos. Mwalim is a tenured professor of English and the former Director of Black Studies at UMass Dartmouth.
Mwalim’s THUNDERCHILD tour comes to the Watertown Free Public Library on Sunday July 14. The performance begins at 2 PM and lasts approximately 80 minutes. Registration is not required. Learn more at watertownlib.org/thunderchild
This program co-hosted by WFPL and the Pigsgusset Initiaitve. It is made possible by a Watertown Community Foundation grant.
About the Pigsgusset Initiative
The Pigsgusset Initiative seeks to increase communication and promote collaboration among Watertown residents to undo the erasure of Indigenous Peoples from the place now called Watertown and to promote inclusive historical narratives. It is a working group of Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice, and the Environment.
About WFPL
The Watertown Free Public Library provides access to a wide variety of popular materials, resources, services, and programs that fulfill the informational, cultural, and recreational needs of Watertown and surrounding communities. Our Library works to create an environment that attracts and welcomes users of all ages and abilities. watertownlib.org