INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — It’s a chance to support small businesses in a big way. Small Business Saturday is back downtown on Indy’s Massachusetts Avenue. More than 40 independently owned restaurants, shops, art, theater and more will offer some special deals to help people buy local.
All Indiana spoke with Heather Givans, owner of the modern quilting shop, Crimson Tate, about why Small Business Saturday is so important to her and the other locally owned spots on Mass Ave. She also gave a preview of what she’s offering customers who are shopping for the holiday season.
Watch the video for more. Small Business Saturday on Mass Ave starts Saturday, November 25th, at 9 a.m.
Click HERE for event details.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Eli Lilly and Company’s Global Day of Service celebrated its 15th year on Thursday by giving nearly 1,000 employees a chance to volunteer in 19 projects across the city.
The community improvement projects included tree planting, helping with park maintenance, and a special mural for the Brightwood Community Center.
This year’s focus is on “building healthy lives, minds, and communities.”
The concept of the mural was created by Indianapolis-based artist and WISH-TV’s Joy Hernandez along with co-artist Jarrod Dortch.
Watch the video to see how Brightwood Community Center Executive Director, Shonna Majors, wants the project to reflect on its mission to provide a safe space for kids in the community.
Keep Indianapolis Beautiful President and CEO Jeremy Kranowitz also talks about why these projects are special to the organization and what kind of impact they can make on neighborhoods that need a boost.
According to Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, which has been a part of the day of service since the beginning, Lilly employees have completed more than 1.2 million volunteer hours on the day alone in 65 countries all over the world.
Here are some quick facts on what Lilly’s Global Day of Service has done since its inception, according to Keep Indianapolis Beautiful:
- Planted 255,909 plants
- Planted 17,351 trees
- Used 5,536 gallons of paint on 73 murals
- Shoveled 17,643 yards of mulch (nearly 1,800 dump trucks worth)
- Cleared 109 acres of invasive plants
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — It’s the race meant to give bragging rights and the title of “Fastest Street Car in America.” HOT ROD Drag Week is underway and its second pit stop, on Tuesday, was at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
During the weeklong event, drivers put their endurance and creativity to the test over five days, four cities, and more than 1,000 miles.
All Indiana’s Randall Newsome caught up with Alex Taylor, drag racer and co-host of “Hot Rod Garage,” just before her race. He also visited with Betsy Bennett, HOT ROD Drag Week events and experiential producer, who broke down what draws racing fans and drivers to this event every year.
Hot Rod Drag Week 2022 began Monday in Madison, Ill., and includes stops in Cordova and Byron, Ill. The competition wraps up Friday in St. Louis.
Click here for more details on this year’s event and how to watch the rest of the competition.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH)– As part of the second annual “BUTTER” Fine Art Fair, organizers, GangGang is giving visitors a chance to get educated. While more than 50 black visual artists from Indiana and across the country will have their talent on display, “BUTTER 2” is also highlighting the history that looms in the very space of the celebration of black art and culture.
Sampson Levingston, the host of “Through 2 Eyes Indiana” is giving art fans an opportunity to take part in his ‘Walk & Talk” tours and get a crash course in the history inside The Stutz building as well as Crispus Attucks High School and other historic venues that once occupied that space and put a spotlight on the black culture and community of Indianapolis.
“There’s so much black history, black excellence on display in this neighborhood and not just right now [but] for the past century and that’s what I can’t wait to tell everybody about,” Levingston said. “This is the 10th tour that I’ve built and this one feels so special.”
During his tours, Levingston is focusing on why black schools, churches and businesses disappeared decades ago and he’s also painting this picture to show the significance of welcoming Black art back in the neighborhood.
You can RSVP for Levingston’s “BUTTER” Walk & Talk tours HERE and get tickets for “BUTTER 2” HERE. The event is open to the public and taking place in three new locations along the south side of The Stutz factory building in downtown Indianapolis.
From organizers GangGang on the mission of “BUTTER”:
BUTTER employs an equitable and reparational process designed to benefit the artists—we do not require a fee for artists to participate nor do we take a commission on the sale of their work.
That Hoosier sound. No matter what form it takes, it has become a staple in the world of music.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH)– Indiana has always made its mark in the music industry, but every artist that’s been a part of the Indy’s Music Scene series agrees that there’s something special about what’s been happening lately.
“I think it’s starting to be appreciated more,” Jared Thompson, a jazz musician, said. “I think we are starting to do better at elevating our voices.”
Like many, Thompson believes the talent was always here.
“There is a very distinct flavor about Indianapolis musicians there always has been,” Thompson said. “We go back to the 1940s and 50s of Indiana Avenue. That Indianapolis sound was a distinct sound that Wes Montgomery introduced to the world.”
However, he thinks the musicians of today are moving with a new sense of urgency, partly because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think a lot of us are just taking this even more seriously than before because we realize it can be taken away from us,” Thompson said.
Since childhood, he’s always gravitated to jazz.
“All my friends were listening to Biggie and 2Pac and Green Day and I was listening to Coleman Hawkins and (John) Coltrane and Sunny Rollins,” Thompson remembered. “At the core of my being, that’s the kind of music that has always reached me; it’s always spoken to me.”
Thompson and his group, Premium Blend, have been a part of the scene for several years and have become one of the most sought-after live bands in the city. The only thing he might enjoy as much as being out on stage is watching someone else doing the same.
Someone like Lorea Turner, another Indianapolis-based artist.
Her love for R&B first caught everyone’s ears on social media, where she sang some of her favorite classics.
After fine-tuning her craft and getting the opportunity to perform at a music festival with popular artist H.E.R, Turner says she is ready to ascend to her next level.
“In this season of my life, I feel like I’m doing it, I’ve arrived,” she said. “I know myself. I feel like I can give my all on stage now. I kind of learned the confidence. You know I’ve always sung, but now I feel like I can really tap in.”
It’s led her to make a pivotal career decision: This fall, she’ll be leaving home to sharpen her skills in Los Angeles.
“I want to do it all, honestly,” Turner said. “I hope to accomplish everything that I always wanted to do and more. I don’t even want to limit myself.”
When News 8’s Randall Newsome asked Turner why she wanted to be a part of the series and perform her songs at The Cabaret, she had a unique reason. She says has never performed there and it’s one of the places she wants to perform when she returns to her home state.
As Turner steps into her next chapter on her journey to becoming the best artist she can be, she gave her thoughts and feelings on where she feels Indiana’s music scene is today.
“We’re out here,” she said. “We’re doing it. We’re making it happen. I’m just proud that we’re all starting to come together.”
That Hoosier sound. No matter what form it takes, it has become a staple in the world of music.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
(WISH) — Two people are using their talents to show people that on your way to that right sound, persistence and consistency might be the most important ingredients.
While one artist uses her powerful voice to lift people up, the other is using his lyrics to lift up his city for the world to see.
First, News 8 made a quick trip to Azmyth Recording studios in Indianapolis to meet with Josh Kimbowa, known in the music world as UG skywalkin.
“The UG stands for Uganda, Africa, where I’m from and then ‘Skywalkin’ is a lifestyle,” he said. “Just living above all the negativity.”
Kinmbowa prides himself on being versatile as an artist. “When you get me you’re going to get pop, you’re going to get afro (beats), you’re going get some rap songs, you’re going to get some inspiring songs,” he said. “It’s like gumbo. It’s a mix of all worlds of music.”
He’s equally proud of how that versatility helped him find a new way to keep his dream alive after trying to get his shot for years. “To me the new way of (making it as an) artist is to be entrepreneurs then artists,” he said.
“Versatile” and “adaptable” are words he would use to describe his second home after Uganda: Indiana. His songs are inspired by the city of Indianapolis.
It’s a song that put him and the city in the national spotlight called “Love in My City.”
After getting to participate in the American Song Contest, he’s hoping that momentum will carry him to greater heights.
It’s a similar mentality that gospel and R&B artist Racheal Martin-Clark has. She says she remembers being discovered while singing in church as a child but feels like her dream was taking a long time to come into fruition. She says when she felt like giving up her faith in her purpose wouldn’t let her quit. She decided to follow the motto of the gym she and her husband own, Stay Consistent Fitness.
“You can use that with any part of your life,” she said. “Stay consistent with your dreams, stay consistent with the purpose, stay consistent with what you know you’ve been gifted to do.”
That Hoosier sound. No matter what form it takes, it has become a staple in the world of music.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
(WISH) — When it comes to music, sometimes it’s not just about the beat but also what you say in a song that can make a real impact and, with the help of their sultry sounds, these artists take their hearts and pour them out on the stage.
For Anneliese and Ali Klausing, they never thought the feeling of their words could take them so far. They’re start in music came in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic on a Quarantine Karaoke Facebook page. “I never would’ve thought in a million years ‘Oh, I’m going to get paid to play our songs our music,'” Ali said. “Songs that matter to us.”
Not too long after Anneliese convinced Ali to pick up a guitar for the first time, the duo figured out they had something special.
Now they’re booked and busy and in demand, sometimes four times a week throughout Indiana and elsewhere. “It’s almost surreal; like, how is this happening to us?” Ali said.
However, when they gave it a little thought, they realized it may be just the right timing that fans want to hear what they have to say. “We have a lot of songs that have a lot of meaning behind mental health awareness, and I feel like now is the time to let those songs be heard,” Ali said. “We’re just regular people following a dream and Indiana’s kind of making it happen.”
Meanwhile, another duo also aims to impact audiences with their vulnerable style: Keller & Cole.
“If you come see us play live, you’re going to feel it,” Landon Keller said. “We both get choked up singing our songs on stage sometimes.”
“It’s coming from the gut,” Kara Cole said. “It’s not for show.”
The pair connected when Cole’s youth program for at-risk youths was celebrating its one-year anniversary with a music festival. She asked her future music partner to headline the show and that led to conversations that led to a meeting at Landon’s house.
“She met my family. That went well, and then we went upstairs and we wrote a song in 15 minutes,” he said.
The duo’s chemistry and harmony made a big enough impression over the last few years to get the call to play at The Palladium at the Center for Performing Arts in Carmel.
When News 8 asked where they hope to go from here, Keller responded: “As far as it’ll take us.”
It’s a similar hope for music artist Brett Wiscons. He’s not new to the Indiana music scene but he remembers falling in love with music like it was yesterday. “I think it just goes back to being a kid in my room with the door shut listening to music and having posters on the wall of all my favorite bands.”
Since then he’s developed his own seasoned sound, and his writing usually taps into his own life. Most recently, he came up with the lyrics to one of his songs after being quarantined with his daughter during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’re stuck in the house and she wanted to open up her own little nail salon in the house and daddy was her first client,” he said.
It’s the reason he performs barefoot with fingernails and toenails painted by his little girl. No matter what hobby they picked up during their time together, he says, she typically had the same response.
“‘Daddy, let’s do it again, let’s do it again,'” he laughed while mimicking her.
That little phrase and the fond memories that came with it became the chorus to his latest song.
Like Brett’s inspiration, Anneliese & Ali along with Keller & Cole believe something special has sparked in Indiana’s music scene.
“I don’t feel like Indy’s music scene is touchable,” Cole said. “We have such great local musicians.”
“Everyone’s kind of getting a shot to be heard,” Ali said.
That Hoosier sound. No matter what form it takes, it has become a staple in the world of music.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — It’s a fusion of classic genres that have come together to create unique sounds. The Indiana-based bands known as “Forgotten Tribe” and “Huckleberry Funk” are using those sounds to pave their own paths in the music scene. “We’re more of a counter culture to help inspire those to think outside of that box,” Forgotten Tribe bass guitarist, Khaleel, “General Spazz”, Harrison said.
“[We are] going by ‘Forgotten Tribe’ for all those that feel like they’re forgotten in the world,” Forgotten Tribe lead singer, Khiry “Managan” Hollowell said.
Both bands use their diverse cultural and musical backgrounds to create their art and aim to share it with others. “We’re able to bring people with different styles of music together in one place, and the magic can happen there,” Forgotten Tribe guitarist Angel “Ocho” Ochoa said.
Brothers Khaleel and Khiry founded the group, but it wasn’t until the pandemic hit that they joined with guitarist angel, Omar Aguilera and drummer, Ray Sarmiento. The two groups decided they were stronger together.
“It shocked me because it was so good,” Ray laughed. “We always just enjoy each other’s company and each other’s vibe.”
Omar is the most multifaceted in the group, playing more than five instruments, including the conga drums, the accordion, and the melodica.
He believes his role in the group is to help “keep everybody together” and with his mellow demeanor and talent, it’s not hard to see how he makes their dynamic flow on and off stage.
The band picked the historic Melody Inn as the meeting place and back drop for their story. Khiry talks about why. “When others may not look your way, right now because we’re just kind of starting, Melody Inn gave us an opportunity,” he said.
Forgotten Tribe hopes to keep building their Afro-American and Latino fusion sound and get popular enough to “have a life making music.”
During their interview, Huckleberry Funk, another five-man band came up in the conversation. A group they draw inspiration from, they refer to them as their “big brothers” in music.
“I wouldn’t call us a trailblazer because the talent has been here,” lead singer, Dexter Clardy, said. “I feel like we’re in that new phase of frontrunners that are helping try to push the sound of Indy.” They’re band refers to their style as a funky soul and gritty R&B. “We all like to describe funk more as an attitude than a genre,” Clardy added. “We’re all very different individuals, but we make it make sense on stage and we want people in the audience to come and feel like that, like come as you are.”
When asked where they wanted to meet, without hesitation they chose the “Hi-Fi Annex,” a popular live music venue in Indianapolis.
“This is the place [where] it was very obvious. [We] actually done our video release here, and performed one of our most popular songs to this point here for the first time. Just the scene itself is evolving because people are realizing how much talent exists here. We’re just proud to be a part of that.”
They also commented on what they feel is a growing music community in Indiana, along with a newfound sense of competition to stay at the top of the list when people want to be entertained by a live band. “The more bands that are doing this and are fighting for one spot, one night, it makes everyone better,” saxophonist, producer, and keyboard player Alex Dura said.
“A lot more artists are starting to lean on each other and that comradery of just ‘I do something completely different from you, but I support what you do,'” Clardy said.
Although, members of Huckleberry Funk have their eyes set on performing in New York’s Madison Square Garden one day, both bands are fueled by dreams of touring and playing their music all over the world.
That Hoosier sound. No matter what form it takes, it has become a staple in the world of music.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — If you want to understand where the music scene is and where it’s going, first you have to understand where it’s been. For more than 40 years, Geno “DJ Geno”, Shelton, and Sid “Uncle Jamz” Johnson have had the best seats in the house. DJ Geno remembers how Indiana’s music scene first captured his ears.
“When I came here to see all of these live bands that Indianapolis had, it was just amazing to me,” Shelton said. However, something else Indianapolis was becoming known for didn’t sit right with him.
“Indianapolis had a nickname called “Naptown” and it used to drive me nuts,” he said. “I was so upset by it because I’d heard that the story behind that was that it was not because of Indianapolis, but the fact that they thought we were napping.”
One show at a time, he felt he could help change that narrative. “I just wanted the city to be live, and just always to be thought of as a live place,” Shelton said.
Meanwhile, there was some noise being made around an R&B group out of Indianapolis called “Manchild.” Around that time, Sid Johnson made a connection with a member of the group who we would all come to know as Kenny Edmonds, also known as “Babyface.” He also ended up running into Bobby Lovelace, the leader of the music group, “Midnight Star.”
“I was given the nickname of ‘Uncle Jamz’ by Bobby Lovelace,” Johnson recalled. Johnson along with Edmonds, Bo Watson, and Belinda Lipscomb penned the lyrics to one of the group’s greatest hits: “Slow Jam.”
The classic R&B ballad was one of several hits on the group’s “No Parking on the Dance Floor” album. Johnson remembers the idea behind the classic love song stemming from a simple radio request.
“We [used to] call up the DJ up on the radio, feeling in that kind of mood saying ‘hey man, why don’t you play a slow jam tonight for me and my baby?'” he recalled. “So it was like, perfect.”
Magic, like what “Slow Jam” created, is what keeps Johnson and Shelton active in music today. They now both serve as mentors and managers for the next generation of talented musicians.
One talent they both have been impressed by in recent years is Indianapolis R&B and pop artist, Damon Karl.
“It was the vocal tone and the fact that he had an acoustic guitar around his neck which reminded me of someone that’s a very good friend of mine,” Johnson said. That friend was Babyface. Karl admitted that when he started drawing comparisons to one of his heroes.
“He has his own highway here, I mean, come on,” Karl laughed while in awe. In 2022, he’s earned multiple opportunities to open up for Babyface in concert. “It’s an incredible experience to open up for someone that’s a legend here, that’s a legend all over the world,” he said.
It has given him a motivation to live up to the hype and make his own mark. “[Fans] need to know I’m willing and ready to work, to put in that work, and create that good R&B music that we need today,” Karl said. “I think I have that power to bring it back with my music.”
He’s built confidence by being put around other legends, but remained humble with people like Shelton and Johnson in his corner. Karl describes what his music mentors give him as “legendary advice.”
Johnson and Shelton both believe that Karl is just one of many of Indiana’s music talent that can stack up against anyone around the country. “I mean, you have talent in country, pop, rock, R&B, Hip-Hop and jazz,” Johnson said. “We need to find a way to make the world realize that Indiana has it going on.”
That Hoosier sound. No matter what form it takes, it has become a staple in the world of music.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH)– Indiana has always made its mark in the music industry, but every artist that’s been a part of the Indy’s Music Scene series agrees that there’s something special about what’s been happening lately.
“I think it’s starting to be appreciated more,” Jared Thompson, a jazz musician, said. “I think we are starting to do better at elevating our voices.”
Like many, Thompson believes the talent was always here.
“There is a very distinct flavor about Indianapolis musicians there always has been,” Thompson said. “We go back to the 1940s and 50s of Indiana Avenue. That Indianapolis sound was a distinct sound that Wes Montgomery introduced to the world.”
However, he thinks the musicians of today are moving with a new sense of urgency, partly because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think a lot of us are just taking this even more seriously than before because we realize it can be taken away from us,” Thompson said.
Since childhood, he’s always gravitated to jazz.
“All my friends were listening to Biggie and 2Pac and Green Day and I was listening to Coleman Hawkins and (John) Coltrane and Sunny Rollins,” Thompson remembered. “At the core of my being, that’s the kind of music that has always reached me; it’s always spoken to me.”
Thompson and his group, Premium Blend, have been a part of the scene for several years and have become one of the most sought-after live bands in the city. The only thing he might enjoy as much as being out on stage is watching someone else doing the same.
Someone like Lorea Turner, another Indianapolis-based artist.
Her love for R&B first caught everyone’s ears on social media, where she sang some of her favorite classics.
After fine-tuning her craft and getting the opportunity to perform at a music festival with popular artist H.E.R, Turner says she is ready to ascend to her next level.
“In this season of my life, I feel like I’m doing it, I’ve arrived,” she said. “I know myself. I feel like I can give my all on stage now. I kind of learned the confidence. You know I’ve always sung, but now I feel like I can really tap in.”
It’s led her to make a pivotal career decision: This fall, she’ll be leaving home to sharpen her skills in Los Angeles.
“I want to do it all, honestly,” Turner said. “I hope to accomplish everything that I always wanted to do and more. I don’t even want to limit myself.”
When News 8’s Randall Newsome asked Turner why she wanted to be a part of the series and perform her songs at The Cabaret, she had a unique reason. She says has never performed there and it’s one of the places she wants to perform when she returns to her home state.
As Turner steps into her next chapter on her journey to becoming the best artist she can be, she gave her thoughts and feelings on where she feels Indiana’s music scene is today.
“We’re out here,” she said. “We’re doing it. We’re making it happen. I’m just proud that we’re all starting to come together.”