Los Angeles College of Music Partners With Black in Mayberry for Juneteenth Celebration

The Los Angeles College of Music (LACM) in Pasadena has announced a partnership with Black in Mayberry for its third annual Juneteenth celebration. The festival, scheduled for Saturday, June 15, from 12 to 6 p.m. at El Segundo Recreation Park, will feature performances by three of the college’s students and emerging R&B artists: Lendryx, Gray, and Kennedy Ray. 

This year marks the second year that Black in Mayberry will be hosting a Juneteenth festival in the park.

Juneteenth, observed on June 19th and also known as Freedom Day, commemorates the emancipation of the last remaining enslaved African Americans in the United States. Black in Mayberry, a nonprofit organization founded by El Segundo resident Tanya Taylor, producer of the 2021 “Black in Mayberry” documentary, dedicates itself to combating racism through the arts and aims to honor this significant day by providing a platform for celebration and reflection for the entire community.

“After an astonishingly successful Juneteenth Festival in the Park in 2023, we are excited to once again host our 3rd annual Juneteenth celebration in El Segundo Recreation Park this year,” Taylor said. “This event is a celebration of freedom, unity, resilience, struggles and triumphs and we invite everyone regardless of ethnicity to join the African American community in celebrating our freedom from enslavement and the ideal of freedom and equality for all.” 

The festival will offer live music, captivating performances, interactive arts activities, an art exhibit, a kid’s zone, black-owned business vendors, food trucks, and more. The event promises to cater to all attendees, with activities and attractions celebrating African American culture, history, and contributions to America.

“We are honored to collaborate with Black in Mayberry for this significant celebration,” said Erin Workman, Executive Vice President and Head of the Songwriting and Music Business Departments at LACM. “This partnership aligns with LACM’s mission to foster creativity, diversity and community engagement.”

Lendryx, an independent R&B artist from Alabama now based in Los Angeles, has garnered over 1 million global streams, three top 10 iTunes R&B singles, and a top 15 iTunes R&B/Soul album titled “purification.” 

Kennedy Ray, a singer-songwriter from Memphis, Tennessee, brings a modern-day Motown sound infused with R&B and pop influences. She was one of only twenty students in the first-ever Stax Music Academy Songwriting Lab, sponsored by a collaboration between Levi Strauss & Co. and Justin Timberlake. Gray, a California native rapper/producer, blends hip hop with elements of jazz, R&B, and alternative music, drawing inspiration from artists such as Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Tyler, the Creator, and Kanye West. He tackles themes of struggle, resilience, and self-discovery in his lyrics.

The Juneteenth Festival is free and open to the public. To RSVP, visit https://blackinmayberry.org/event/black-in-mayberrys-2024-juneteenth-festival/. For more information about Black in Mayberry and the Juneteenth Festival, visit www.blackinmayberry.org or follow @blackinmayberry on social media.

LACM prepares students to be leaders in music and offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs across Music Performance, Music Production, Music Composition, and Music Industry. The college has become home to music students from around the world who desire the professional edge that can only be attained by living and studying in the heart of the music industry.

To learn more about LACM, visit https://lacm.edu/.