About the concert

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Samora Pinderhughes was born just as Francis Fukuyama was sketching his vision of the end of history. It was 1991: the Berlin Wall had fallen, the Cold War was over, the USSR had surrendered to the delights of entropy, and the Western world was – at least for a moment – at peace. With no pressing needs, it was the perfect time for societies to take a good look at themselves.

Samora grew up in a good home in the Bay Area, California – where, thirty years earlier, the Black Panther movement was born. His parents were academic activists: his father a sociology professor researching youth violence, generational trauma and systemic racism; his mother – also a university professor – studied environmental justice and taught the boy that art and education must go hand in hand with real value for the world.

These themes became central to the young artist’s work. Pinderhughes has played the piano since the age of seven, but he is always searching for new means of expression. At university he began combining music with socially engaged poetry and theatre.

In 2016 he unveiled his first project – The Transformations Suite – a multimedia performance exploring African American protest. Soon afterwards, together with Robert Glasper, Karriem Riggins and Common, he co-founded August Greene. Their single “Optimistic” became a hit, with Samora as lead vocalist and co-composer. By then he was also working closely with Herbie Hancock.

2022 saw the release of 'Grief': an intimate, moving record about mourning, fear and coping with systemic oppression. The New York Times quickly hailed it as one of the best albums of the year. For Samora, though, that still wasn’t enough: in parallel he created the monumental The Healing Project, transforming hundreds of interviews with prisoners and victims of police brutality into moving sound installations.

The years and projects that followed – 'Venus Smiles Not in the House of Tears' (2024) and 'Black Spring' (2025) – continued the evolution of his style, moving freely between jazz, soul and hip-hop. This Harvard doctoral student combines academic wisdom with street-level, live magic, presenting a world in which history – contrary to Fukuyama’s predictions – hasn’t ended at all, and the fight for humanity goes on.

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Check it out if you like: Robert Glasper, Ambrose Akinmusire, Kamasi Washington

Band

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Samora Pinderhughes - piano, voc
Elliott Skinner - guitar, voc
Josh Hari - bass
Jack DeBoe - drums
feat. Elena Pinderhughes - flute

Additional information

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We don’t take table reservations and seating is limited, so we recommend arriving early to get a seat.

19:00 – doors open

20:30 – concert

Powered by Singleton. The event is supported by Singleton, renowned for its exceptional single malt whiskies, prized for their smoothness and depth of flavour.