Indie Event Details

Jeffrey Zeigler's We Were Fridays (MATINEE)

When

Saturday, September 19, 2026 at 2:00 PM EDT

Where

National Sawdust
Brooklyn, Williamsburg

Address

80 N 6th St, Brooklyn, NY 11249

Listing checked

Aug 28, 2026

We Were Fridays is an interdisciplinary music project led by cellist Jeffrey Zeigler - a deeply personal exploration of cultural memory and diaspora. It will follow a story that began in the Griot tradition of West Africa, travel to South Carolina by way of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, then north by way of the Great Migration, and beyond. We Were Fridays explores the music of the Gullah people of the Low Country of South Carolina, a community which to this day has preserved more of their West African linguistic and cultural heritage than any other African American community in the United States. Gullah music has influenced spirituals, gospel, ragtime, rhythm and blues, soul, hip hop and jazz. We Were Fridays will extend this reach into the world of instrumental cello music. Told through cello, electronics, and dance, We Were Fridays will explore forbidden love, fractured lines, and complex legacies. The work is centered around new compositions from Etienne Charles, Tamar-kali, Hannah Ishizaki and Jeffrey Zeigler; and features choreography/dance from Flexn pioneer Reggie “Regg Roc” Gray, and a bespoke interactive book design from sister sylvester. The project is deeply rooted in an ethos of community and intergenerational learning – partnering with the Penn Center on St. Helena Island, South Carolina and the University of Georgia Culture & Community program to devise community engagement and education platforms. This work brings together community members and elders from local Gullah communities, along with students and teachers from HBCUs across the country - to engage in dialogue, conversation and creative exchange around the project’s themes of memory and diaspora. The album and touring performance work will premiere in 2026 and tour across the US and internationally. Commissioned by VisionIntoArt, National Sawdust, and The Wexner Center for the Arts Developed by VisionIntoArt and National Sawdust, with support from Penn Center, PS21 Center for Contemporary Performance, and Weeksville Heritage Center Produced by VisionIntoArt, with support by Jill and Bill Steinberg, National Sawdust, the MAP Fund, and Mellon Foundation. Created by Jeffrey Zeigler Music by Tamar-kali, Etienne Charles, Hannah Ishizaki, and Jeffrey Zeigler Director & Creative Producer Ras Dia Choreography by Reggie “Regg Roc” Gray Projection and Book Design by sister sylvester Lighting design by Itohan Edoloyi Sound design by Garth MacAleavey and Zo McGlynn Wardrobe design by Fulani Hart of Javelin Nyc VisionIntoArt Impact Lab Fellow Tendaji Bailey Choreography Assistant Quamaine Daniels Impact Producer and Film Documentation by Daniel Oxenhandler // This is a seated performance. If you require accessibility accommodations, please email boxoffice@nationalsawdust.org. // This performance is recommended for ages 12 and up. // This performance is made possible thanks to the generous support of William Abrams and Julie Salamon, Ted Cornwell & Pedro Carroll, The Endeavor Foundation, Jeanne Giordano, Helen Little and William Little, Lostland Foundation, Julie Mehretu, Cav. Simon Mordant AO and Catriona Mordant AM, Catharine and Jeffrey Soros.