A day after turkey and dressing, the Louisville Orchestra and Jack Harlow treated the city of Louisville to a collaboration that, I think, everyone knew was going to happen, at some point. Jack Harlow's "No Place Like Home" was a two-night event at Whitney Hall that seemed to be billed as a social event as much as a musical one, from the encouragement on the LO's event page to "dress to impress," to the after party with DJ Samosa. WUOL's Kiana Del and Laura Atkinson each attended one of the nights, and had a few thoughts on this much-hyped collaboration.
In our six-minute conversation, they talked about the hometown pride energy zipping through the audience, who were definitely not sitting down for this show, Jack giving his grandmother a shout-out, and observing an event like this, and an artist like Harlow, through the lens of a Black art form. You can read some of their thoughts below.
Louisville native Jack Harlow’s collaboration with the Louisville Orchestra challenged the idea of what is “appropriate etiquette” in concert halls everywhere. Seeing a rowdy crowd clapping along, shouting, and dancing at an orchestra event lit my heart on fire. However, a few things did fall short for me – there were delicate parts of the arrangement that were washed out and I wanted to hear more of the supporting vocalists sound-wise.
My criticism with Jack Harlow as a brand, or any white person in the hip-hop space, is always to be careful to ensure paying homage doesn’t turn into mimicry. Hip-hop is an art-form from Black culture deserving of the platform it was given in this setting, but there’s no need to “act Black,” or embody what you think hip-hop should be. I also don’t think a Black artist would have had the same reception, and would likely have been judged more harshly for their lyrical content. Pay your respects, but ultimately, be yourself. I hope we continue to challenge “concert etiquette,” I hope I get to see Maestro Teddy Abrams dancing and singing along more often, and it was sweet to catch a glimpse of Jack’s inner child dreams coming true. Overall, I’m grateful for collaborations like this in Louisville music.Kiana Del
Seeing the crowd enthralled in such an openly physical way was thrilling, and had me thinking a lot about what else could be possible in classical music spaces. Would I want to hear my neighbor singing along to Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto? I mean, kudos to anyone who could, but I’d have to think about that a bit more. That said, I think we have lots of room to stretch as both audience members and musicians, and collaborations like this make reimagining classical spaces possible.
I’m such a fan of everything both Teddy and Jack have done for the arts community here in Louisville, and I think Jack Harlow is smart to do it. New York City and LA don’t need Harlow, but we do. NYC and LA also can’t support him in the way we can here in Louisville- we laugh at his St. Matthews jokes, his grandmother stood to roaring applause at his shout-out, and many of his fans proved they’ve supported him from the beginning when he broke out some fairly unknown early sets. The feeling, and the benefits, are mutual, and I'm excited to see how Harlow continues to use his influence in his hometown.Laura Atkinson
