The sun was out. The sky was blue.  The air was–slightly less humid.  The tunes were hot and the audience at Gordon-White Park was treated to, among other acts, a 1920s-style hot jazz group and the most unusual marching band.  On October 1st, Art on the Atlanta Beltline hosted Trey Dahl and the Jugtime Rag Band and Black Sheep Ensemble.

Such performances are part of the initiative to promote the public art featured around the Atlanta Beltline, the twenty-two miles of former railroad which now offers a walkable space filled with restaurants, boutique stores, and diverse neighborhoods.  Learn more here: About the Beltline

Until November 16th, local and international artists will show their work throughout the Beltline, and through October 9th, you can catch a live performance at a variety of Atlanta parks traversed by the Beltline.

If the performances I saw were any indication, there are some pretty innovate acts on the schedule.  One of which was Black Sheep Ensemble -not your typical marching band!  The self-described “vagapunk” band comes replete with a brass section, saxophone, percussion, a megaphone, and even tribal belly dancers keeping time with cymbals!  Not only was the band visually unique, but their repertoire was totally not what you’d expect from most marching bands, with influences including “Balkan, Bollywood, Second Line, and Ska,” according to their website About Black Sheep Ensemble as well as renditions of “Killing in the Name” by Rage Against the Machine and “The National Anthem” by Radiohead.  Well what do you expect with a name like “Black Sheep?”  See them perform below:

Thank you for reading,

E.M.