The Mid-City Arts and Music Festival-Embracing Diversity on Community Streets

Community News, Entertainment — By Buddy Sampson on July 2, 2025 at 6:30 pm

By Buddy Sampson

When I first moved to Los Angeles in 1981, I lived in an apartment that was near LaBrea and Washington. Although in many respects it was considered the “hood,” it had a rich history- including The Parisian Club, where many iconic artists performed, including Etta James. Also in the area was The Ebony Showcase Theater and many other Black businesses, that at the time, were thriving.

The Mid-City Arts and Music Festival, which took place Saturday June 28, 2025 was not far from where I used to live. And I have to say that I was surprised, quite pleasantly surprised to see the amount of diversity, in a community that had been traditionally known as a Black and Brown community, seeing so many races gathered in musical harmony. “You have to follow passion not profit,” said Nick Spano, who spearheaded the festival. “If the only thing that matters that if you’re making money, then you’ll never make anything great enough that inspires people and creates magic. It’s hard in our world, because our world is so designed for us to be programmed to always pursue the money. Trust me, it’s a labor of love, this has been three months of insane, hard work- it’s been a lot of work, but it’s for the love of the neighborhood and for the community.” Nick Spano is the owner of the re/creation café, located near Washington and Crenshaw Blvd. Visit the website at www.recreation.cafe.

 

There were several stages at the Festival, and each stage featured different kinds of music. There was the Sole Folks stage, the Artronika stage, FYI Aquí Estamos, The Creative Birdbath, Zula Den, Fernando Pullum Center, The C Spot and one of my personal favorites, Sleven’s Summer Solstice.

 

I arrived at the event just in time to see Don Sleven, who was running Sleven’s Summer Solstice, and I had to pull up a chair. Although there were several interesting groups, which I will get to later, Don Sleven and his band was masterful.

Slaven’s group captivated my attention. He is a very talented musician and singer and I love his music. For those of you over 50, you may remember Gino Vannelli. While Don Sleven’s voice is completely original, the music had a progressive feel to it, reminiscent of Gino’s amazing music. Don Sleven is a super talented individual, with a bright future ahead of him. He is a star in the making.

Nimitz Box, was another of my favorites at the Festival. I caught a little of her set and it was just her and a microphone, and she was killing it. She had a big crowd around her and she deserved every bit of her enthusiastic audience. She combined beat box vocals with singing and to hear all that sound coming from the pretty and petite artist was simply spectacular.

I also was impressed by Kopona Otosi, a tremendous vocalist, who had tremendous range. Luckily, I was very close to him and could hear his vocal mastery, as the PA guys did not have him loud enough, so the audience could not get a sense of his pure vocal prowess. He is a tremendous singer and vocalist.

I decided to stop by and visit the LAPD’s booth and spoke with one of the officers, Hector Marquez, the senior lead officer for the Washington corridor. “This is a great venue,” said Marquez. “This is the first one I’ve been at, and just the turnout alone-if you look down from Vineyard until West, there’s a lot of people here. It’s great.” When asked how the LAPD is reaching out to the community, Hector, had a passionate response. “As community officers, we do a lot of engagement,” he said. “We let them know that we also have other resources besides doing enforcement. We do have a kid’s program at the station, each division does, and that gets the youth involved. Not so much to prepare them to become an officer, but to give them structure.”

 

I adore artists that push the envelope and do things out of the norm. I was able to catch Sakshi Chopraa, who was not only visually appealing, her music was completely original. “I mix Indian traditional elements with Western pop and R&B, and my goal is to make you shake ass,” laughed Sakshi Chopraa. When asked what the festival means to her, she had a candid response. “It’s a chance to connect with the community, to come out there and to get really close and personal and perform right in their faces- to share my spirit with everyone and take in the good energy. It’s a really good vibe.” She will be performing at the Troubadour August 12^th.

I was also captivated by Keenar, a very interesting group that featured a sitar player. Their combination of Indian music and progressive jazz made for an amazing performance. Closing the show was The Neighborhood Orchestra with Annie Gonzalez.

I must admit, from 1981 to 2025, the area I used to live has changed considerably. The community, which was known as a black and brown community, has now become more diverse, with several ethnicities that have purchased homes in the area. The only thing great about change is change itself, and Nick Spano and the Mid City Arts and Music Festival are hoping to make a change in the community. Let us support the community and make it better for all ethnicities. If you want to know more about The Mid-City Arts and Music Festival, visit https://www.midcityfestival.com.

 

Tags: Arts, Community. Community events, Diversity, Don Sleven., Entertainment, Entertainment Trends, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Mid City Arts and Music Festival, Music, Nick Spano, Stages