Waterboy and the Mighty World

Waterboy and the Mighty World examines the relationship between people of color and law enforcement in America. Who is being policed? Who is being protected? Who and what kind of people are enforcing the laws of the land? The performance reinterprets and remixes traditional songs made famous by Odetta Holmes — the voice of the civil rights movement — with original compositions that piece together the life of legendary Bass Reeves, the first African American US Marshall.

The Hawtplates have created a musical landscape that borrows from Korean pansori, mantra, dirge, gospel music, and experimental R&B that invites us to reconsider our contemporary historical moment, and honors both the folk and political history of a too often neglected American songbook. Part live concert, part concept album, Waterboy is a testament to the power of the human voice lifted in praise and protest.

Waterboy and the Mighty World features Justin Hicks, Kenita Miller-Hicks, and Jade Hicks.