Artsgarden welcomes back lunchtime concert series

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A roster of artists is ready to make some noise as part of a lunch concert series.

Organizers say the lunch concert series at the Artsgarden is one important way to start bringing people back to downtown Indianapolis after a very long two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. They say the Artsgarden — the glassed dome spans the intersection of Washington and Illinois streets — is a reason to bring people together, and performers Joshua Thompson and AshLee “PsyWryn Simone” Baskin began the series with an ode to Black classical music.

“This is part of the culture in what makes this city shake,” Thompson said.

“Grateful to be able to create art. to be able to express it,” Baskin said.

The series will feature a variety of music genres. Organizers say the city has an incredible music history and, for 25 years, the Artsgarden has been a centerpiece of creativity.

Julie Goodman, president and chief executive officer of the Arts Council of Indianapolis, said, “It’s always important to celebrate our artist and musicians and live performances here in the city but especially right now as we’re coming back together.”

The styles of Thompson and Baskin are different but somehow meld into a unit. “A lot of what you hear are these cultural hallmarks of blues and jazz but also traditional classical music,” Thompson said about their styles, “and it’s a really wonderful, engaging way to let folks know that this genre is not as stuck up and hoity-toity as we think it is.”

Baskin says music is a universal language and, despite differences in genre, music can often segue together with ease. “It’s important to understand how different genres of music are actually connected, and so a lot of times we have your R&B and you have your jazz, you have your rock ‘n’ roll and your gospel. We forsake or maybe don’t even know there’s some classical roots in there.”