Tickets & Events

Sunstar Festival: Mic Check

KST Presents

Featuring Clara Kent, INEZ, Rhyme, and Brittney Chantele

***THIS EVENT IS POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE***

Saturday, March 14
7:00pm Lobby Opens
8:00pm Concert

KST’s Alloy Studios
5530 Penn Ave.

Pay What Makes You Happy!

From producers, to vocalists, and songwriters to MC’s, Mic Check presents an evening of all Pittsburgh-based musicians who are putting their own spin on the local music landscape. Featuring R&B, Soul, Rap, and Hip-Hop, Clara Kent, INEZ, Rhyme, and Brittney Chantele offer songs to inspire positive change, battle depression, and highlight the positivity of Black women and femmes worldwide.

Mic Check is a part of the 2020 Sunstar Festival.


ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Clara Kent is an afro-indigenous singer-songwriter and emcee with Tribe Eternal Music Group. The self proclaimed “Multidimensional Artistic Individual” hails from Homewood, Pa, a Pittsburgh neighborhood known for its talented people and challenging environment. There she learned quickly how to take in her surroundings and release her varied emotional experiences while growing up in adversity through soul music. Clara was highly influenced by her late mother, Trayce Reed, who also had a keen sense of expressionism in music and visual artistry. She recalls that her upbringing with her mother and grandmother is what inspired her to challenge the narrative of artistry being a hidden hobby instead of a passionate career. Her debut project Aura is a testimony to her trials from grief, battles with depression, the nature of toxic behavior & relationships, and her resolve to rise above adversity with self reflection. Aura led Clara to many stages across the country, including; SxSW 2018, BB Kings in Times Square, the Harlem Stage in Brooklyn, WYEP Summerfest 2019, a 2019 Sofar Sounds Tour and much more. She also earned a cover feature for her album in April 2018 and was named “Person of the Year: Music ” by Pittsburgh’s City Paper 2019. Clara is gearing up to release a mixtape series called The Four Winds on March 20, 2020, exclusively on Bandcamp. Clara’s music has been described as dream-R&B, progressive, multigenred with a foundation in soul. Her sound is familiar, yet it sits apart from the main vein of current music with her unique vibrato, tone and vocal palette, and her metaphoric writing style. Her sound displays the variety of her influences and abilities as a vocalist and writer.

Producer, singer-songwriter, and self-proclaimed “FireShorty™️”, INEZ, is a multi-faceted talent from, Homewood in Pittsburgh, PA. Stepping from behind the audio engineering desk, and in front of the microphone, INEZ, delivers her soul unashamedly with each performance. “I was raised on music that meant something, music that healed people. I don’t sing it, perform it, or write it unless it’s 100% me and my heart. Love always has to be present.” she states. INEZ mixes unconventional sounds, syncopated drums, and vocal layering to tell her own stories of love, loss and healing. Heavily influenced by Lauryn Hill, Aretha Franklin, Beyoncé, and Stevie Wonder, INEZ explores R&B/Soul in the same limitless way; the soul of the music being the focus, not a labeled genre-box. While her production style is a conflation of genres and sounds, her songwriting is a direct result of her life experiences of resolve, heart break, trauma and triumph. She has performed alongside fellow Pittsburgh songstresses Clara Kent and Sierra Sellers, at Hartwood Acres Amphitheater, Mr. Smalls Theater, and the Thunderbird Cafe; eyeing more opportunities to grow the visibility and respect for the R&B/Soul scene in Pittsburgh. In December 2019, INEZ not only released her debut album, “Voicemails and Conversations,” she was also featured on the cover of the Pittsburgh City Paper. INEZ hopes to continue using her talents as a way to highlight and positively impact Black women and femmes worldwide.

Pittsburgh-based artist Rhyme, was born in Minneapolis, MN and raised in Flint, MI. Rhyme began taking dance classes at the age of three. She studied various dance styles, and took music lessons at The Flint Institute of Music. By 2012, she attended Point Park University and graduated in 2016, obtaining her BFA in dance. Upon graduating college, she danced professionally in the city of Pittsburgh, PA. In 2017, she experimented with songwriting and she turned her lyrics into freestyles; creating her rap name “Rhyme”. As a rapper, Rhyme performed at different venues and had the opportunity to open up for Warren G in 2018. Taking her music in a fresh and exciting direction, Rhyme has revamped her sound and is currently focusing on her new music. She lists Erykah Badu, amongst many others, as one of her musical influences. With a mixture of various genres ranging from Hip-Hop to EDM. Rhyme, is a melodic storyteller who creates music from a place from within. Having songs that pertain to  women empowerment with lines like “slaying ain’t nothing to me” from her song “Sis Please”. Rhyme, invites listeners into a world filled with bold imagery and impactful emotion. As a classically trained dancer and flutist, she loves to integrate both into her craft. Known by peers and collaborators for having an “ear for music,” Rhyme enjoys bringing her creative ideas to the forefront by making music in her own way.

Not afraid to go deep, and not afraid to do the work, singer-songwriter, visual artist, speaker, and activist, Brittney Chantele uses a combination of art and action to inspire people to create positive change. Brittney’s life as a queer, bi-racial, non-binary individual who grew up in a small town and served in the Army National Guard has given them a very personal understanding of injustice. From witnessing, and sometimes being subjected to, injustice such as racism, sexism, and sexual assault, homophobia, and xenophobia, these experiences became a turning point that gave them two options: say nothing, or do something.


DON’T MISS THESE OTHER SUNSTAR FESTIVAL EVENTS

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Friday, March 13
7:00pm Lobby Opens
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KST’s Alloy Studios, 5530 Penn Ave.
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Click for tickets and more info!

 

Sisters are Doin’ It
A Brunch & Conversation Facilitated by Girls Running Sh**

Saturday, March 14
1:00pm Brunch
1:45pm Conversation

KST’s Alloy Studios, 5530 Penn Ave.
Pay What Makes You Happy!

Click for tickets and more info!