Witching Hour: Sharon Udoh and the soul of Nina Simone – Iowa City Press-Citizen


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Editor’s note: This article is the fourth in a series looking at various performances that are part of Iowa City’s 2019 Witching Hour Festival.

When Sharon Udoh came through Iowa City with band Counterfeit Madison, for Mission Creek in 2018, they were confused.

“We didn’t understand why people were so nice; they were totally nice and just super accommodating,” Udoh recalled. “Because I am literally always something new, I struggle with (unfamiliar settings) more than some folks do. (I love) the unflinching curiosity that Iowans have.”

“I Got Life, And I Got Freedom: Exploring Personal & Social Change Through the Music of Nina Simone,” is a retooled performance of the famed soul-singer’s work by Nigerian-American vocalist, Sharon Udoh. The performance is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2 at The Englert Theatre.

“The thing is, Nina’s voice, physically, and my voice are very much almost the same,” Udoh said. “So personally, it is healing, it’s healing for me. From a listener’s perspective. Nina isn’t really pretending, she has a way of painting the most, singular essence of an emotion, she’s so good at that.”

She described listening to Simone’s music as a comfortable, familiar thing, like “an honest talk” from a respected authority figure that can open people up to be receptive to new ideas.

“I want people to take away two things,” Udoh said of the show. “I want people to really understand how hard it is to be black. The politics look a little different. The laws look a little different, but the fine-tuning and the day-to-day that occurs when you’re a black persona in America — I don’t know how anyone does it. I don’t know how I do it.”

The second thing Udoh hopes to prompt with this show is violent self-reflection informed by the music of Simone.

“I want people to know and learn about and question themselves,” Udoh said. “I think a lot of the reason we oppress is because we’re scared of other people and we’re scared of ourselves and I want people to be challenged and do a lot of self-reflection.”

Isaac Hamlet covers arts, entertainment and culture at the Press-Citizen. Reach him at ihamlet@press-citizen.com or (319)-688-4247, follow him on Twitter @IsaacHamlet

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