Fans of an Alabama jazz pioneer are celebrating his life this week. The first ever so-called Sun Ra* Festival runs through Saturday. Birmingham native Herman Blout changed his name to Sun Ra and went onto to inspire modern musical groups like Outkast, Sonic Youth, Radiohead, and Widespread Panic. Festival organizer Lee Shook** says he’s not the only member of his family who was a fan of Sun Ra…
“My mom helped put on the very first Alabama Music Hall of Fame ceremony here in 1985 which helped raise funds for the album use call up in Muscle Shoals. And Sun Ra performed at that and I actually got to go and be a part of that ceremony when I was a kid,” he said.
Shook created a GoFundMe account with the goal to raise $31,000 to support the festival, which will include movies, concerts, and public discussions about Sun Ra and the impact his music had on the industry. Shook says even if people haven’t heard of Sun Ra or bought his music, the list of modern artists who were influenced by the Birmingham born jazz pioneer is long.
“I mean, you talk about people like Outcast Janelle Monae, fish, widespread panic, Radiohead, Sonic Youth, like so many different bands and people,” Shook said.
Thursday was also observed as “Sun Ra Day,” It would have been the artist’s one hundred and eleventh birthday.
