Billie Holiday Center for Liberation Arts > Our Mission > News Archive > Hundreds attend Jazz at Lafayette Square

Hundreds attend Jazz at Lafayette Square

The 2021 Billie Holiday Jazz at Lafayette Square was a great success. Hundreds of community members, faculty, and staff attended to hear live music, spoken word, and other performances. Speakers included: Councilman John Bullock (District 9), Storyteller Grandmother Edna, BHPLA Artist in Residence Noah Silas. Staff also collected personal stories from West Baltimore elders for the Baltimore Africana Archives Project.

The annual, free Billie Holiday Jazz Concert at Lafayette Square is a musical celebration of the rich and important legacy of Billie Holiday. Lafayette Square is an anchor of Baltimore’s African American religious life, and close to where Billie Holiday herself once lived.

Larry Jackson on stage at Billie Holiday Jazz event
Larry Jackson on stage at Billie Holiday Jazz event
Gathered group under tents
Woman in vibrant pattern speaking in front of band
Storyteller Grandmother Edna
Larry Jackson with Dean Celenza and Anna Celenza
Larry Jackson with Dean Celenza and Anna Celenza
Trumpet and saxaphone players
Stage with a jazz band
Man in a Ravens jersey with a microphone
BHLPA artist-in-residence Noah Silas
Five young band members
Kali-Ahset Amen with a community member
Kali-Ahset Amen and her mother
Two people recording an older man telling a story
Collecting stories from neighborhood elders
A woman in a headscarf talking with another woman
A woman talking to people handing out pamphlets
COVID-19 ambassadors from the Baltimore City Health Department
Maimouna Youssef aka Mumu Fresh performing
Maimouna Youssef aka Mumu Fresh performing
Panorama of people seated at Billie Holiday Jazz concert
People seated on blankets at a concert
Large group of people seated in grass