Medusa the Gangsta Goddess performs at the annual Simon Rodia Watts Towers Jazz Festival at the Watts Tower Arts Center campus last year. The 43rd annual Day of the Drum Festival will be held Sept. 27 followed by the 48th annual Jazz Festival on Sunday, Sept. 28.
Photo by Lorenzo Gomez
By Darlene Donloe
Contributing Writer
WATTS — The Watts Towers Arts Center will host two iconic festivals — the 43rd annual Day of the Drum Festival Sept. 27, and the 48th annual Simon Rodia Watts Towers Jazz Festival Sept. 28.
Both festivals run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Watts Towers Arts Center Campus, located at 1727 E. 107th St.
Presented by the city of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and Friends of Watts Towers Arts Center, the events are designed to bring together music lovers, art enthusiasts, families and the community for a fun-filled weekend of cultural enrichment.
“These festivals are a true L.A. experience, and we are proud to produce these iconic events since 1976,” said Daniel Tarica, general manager of the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs. “Each year, the local community comes together to soak up live music and celebrate the amazing diversity of musical traditions.”
Rosie Lee Hooks, Watts Towers Arts Center campus director, agrees.
“Watts has a deep-rooted artistic and musical legacy,” said Hooks, an award-winning actress who has appeared in film, television, and on stage. “The music, art exhibitions, fine art workshops and activities happening all across the campus celebrate that legacy, and give a sense of civic pride.”
The Day of the Drum Festival Sept. 27 is a celebration of the heartbeat of cultures worldwide.
The lineup includes Danza Azteca Xochipilli, traditional Aztec dance and drumming; Don Littleton’s Tribute to Eddie Harris, which includes a performance blending Italian jazz with West Coast soul; the World Stage Big Band and trailblazing female rapper, Medusa, Tha Gangsta Goddess. There also will be a collective celebration of drumming in the Universal Drum Circle.
On Sept. 28, the Watts Towers Jazz Festival will take center stage, featuring a lineup of jazz, soul and gospel performers, including the JMP Allstars featuring Patrice Rushen and Munyungo Jackson, who will perform straight-ahead jazz; the Herman Jackson Sunday Morning Jazz will perform soulful jazz and gospel classics; the Jasmine Tommaso Group, a Korean classical music and dance company.; and Amir Sofi, who will perform rhythms of the Middle East.
“The festival allows for a reminder of the richness of local talent and that includes artists of all disciplines,” said Rushen, who chaired USC’s Popular Music program from 2013 to 2023. “All of this is happening in the shadow of the Watts Towers, which themselves represent the enduring power of creativity and freedom. The music acts as a physical manifestation of being at the towers.”
“The music presented at the jazz festival showcases diverse ideas and highlights the cultural richness of the area,” Rushen added. “Plus, the festival allows us a space to be free together and create.”
Playing with Rushen will be bass player Reggie Hamilton, drummer Clarence Penn, Nicole McCabe on saxophone, Parisian trumpeter Ludo Louis, and festival co-producer and world-renowned percussionist Munyungo Jackson.
“Reggie Hamilton, Munyungo, and I represent the three mentors that people have come to recognize with the jazz mentorship program that Rosie Lee Hooks established,” said Rushen, who is writing a symphonic piece that Juilliard will premiere in Venice, Italy, in November. “We’re going to play music that people are familiar with. We’re going to play songs that the five of us know without even having to rehearse. The vocabulary of jazz allows us to do that. The point is to come and have a good time and celebrate the music.”
Munyungo Jackson and Hooks, the recipient of two NAACP Image Awards and a founding member of the Black Ensemble Theatre Center at Los Angeles Theatre Center, set out to preserve cultural heritage and promote community engagement through these festivals.
“Everyone should attend the festivals,” said Jackson, a composer, arranger, producer, writer, author, four-time Grammy Award-winner, and percussionist, who will play with several artists throughout the two-day festival. “They are going to get some education, entertainment, eat some great food, see some artwork, and most of all — move. We’re also going to have a spot where people, the community, can play.”
Jackson, who grew up playing drums from different countries, has been attending the festivals for almost 40 years.
“It’s been great the entire time,” Jackson. “You don’t see this happening anywhere else in Los Angeles. Both Saturday and Sunday will be melodic, rhythmic days. Your heart beats like a drum. Some rhythms happen with that. Everyone should come out and learn some new things about Watts.”
“We created a nurturing and fulfilling environment for our constituency,” said Hooks, who has received several community service awards and produced numerous films documenting the culture of various ethnic communities. “We present live music from master musicians. It’s two free days with phenomenal music.
“We have arts and crafts and food vendors. There are no food trucks because we want to smell the food that’s cooking throughout the neighborhood. We are servicing all components of our constituents — kids to adults, and all of the visiting communities.”
Hooks said the festivals play a role in promoting civic pride and engagement among residents.
“The local residents are very involved in the festivals,” Hooks said. “I hire 25-30 homeless people every year that we’ve been doing the festival. We totally involve our community.
“We have support groups, such as the Friends of the Watts Towers Center. We have community groups that we listen to and involve. Our community is involved because we support it.
“The Department of Cultural Affairs ensures that it has museums and offers art education. We are all fighting for freedom, identity and our young people. Our motto is, ‘We don’t do mediocre because we don’t have to.’”
Hooks said both festivals are special because they “are coming from Watts.”
“Watts is the bowel of the universe,” she said. “Almost everyone thinks about the 1965 Watts Riots and the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. We want everyone to see the value of our contributions. I want people to recognize the phenomenal gifts of Black people. Carrying on the heritage is an important cultural enrichment.”
“I’m a little biased when it comes to the importance of live music,” Rushen said. “I know the value and impact of art on people. Everyone should come out to support the idea of art being all around us. See people. See art. It’s a destination. This will be a feel-good weekend. Music is what makes us human.”
Both festivals offer more than just music. Festival highlights include art exhibitions, including “Politics, Race & Cartoons” by David G. Brown, featuring prints by Oliver W. Harrington. Attendees can discover a diverse culinary scene and one-of-a-kind artisanal goods. There are also fun and creative experiences for children.
“Friends of Watts Towers Arts Center is pleased to work with the Campus staff, volunteers, merchants, and select, talented, renowned musical artists to bring another quality festival weekend to be enjoyed by Watts and greater Los Angeles families,” said Rudy Barbee, president of Friends of the Watts Towers.
Admission and parking are free.
For more information, call 213-847-4646 or visit wattstowers.org.
Darlene Donloe is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers who covers South Los Angeles. She can be reached at ddonloe@gmail.com.
