The roller-coaster music career of JankaNabay; Danielle Ariano, author of the memoir, Getting Over the Rainbow, on coming out to her family; and Rafael Alvarez’ holiday story, Aunt Lola’s Kitchen
Sierra Leonean musician Janka Nabay lists his influences as follows: “Michael Jackson, Bob Marley, and God.” This may seem like an odd triumvirate, but it starts to make sense when you hear his music. The melodies and rhythms are steeped in spiritual tradition, and they’re irresistibly danceable. Janka lives here in the US now. He splits his time between New York and DC, and he’s been recruiting American band-mates to join him as he carries on the torch of his musical heritage. Producer Aaron Henkin has the story.
In just 92 compact and crisply written pages, Danielle Ariano covers a lot of territory. Her forthcoming memoir is titled, Getting Over the Rainbow. It begins with her reluctantly accepting her sexuality, and it ends with her marrying the love of her life. In between point A and point B was, for Ariano, the daunting and unnerving prospect of coming out. She writes about the experience with honesty and candor, and she joins us to read from her reflections.
Contributor Rafael Alvarez reads his holiday fiction, Aunt Lola, a story about the power of memories and holiday traditions in a Highlandtown row house.
