***As per the directive from the College of Charleston and recommendations from DHEC and the CDC related to Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), IN THE MIX: A Conversation with Ranky Tanky will be postponed until further notice. If participants have an Eventbrite ticket already, it will be honored at a future date. The College’s Arts Management Program will be in touch with more information as details are being confirmed. Thank you for your patience and flexibility during this time.***
HAVING A “GOOD TIME”: RANKY TANKY DISCUSSES GRAMMY WIN & MORE AT IN THE MIX
The Spring 2020 installment of IN THE MIX, the College of Charleston Arts Management Program’s music industry speaker series, will be held on Monday, March 23 at 6:30pm in the Recital Hall, Simons Center for the Arts (54 St. Philip St). The event, “IN THE MIX: A CONVERSATION WITH RANKY TANKY” features a discussion with host and drummer Quentin Baxter with the other members of the quintet, Ranky Tanky, about their recent Grammy win, touring and managing, and their original songs inspired by Gullah culture and traditions. A reception hosted by the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture will follow in the Hill Exhibition Gallery in The Marion and Wayland H. Cato Jr. Center for the Arts. IN THE MIX is produced by the Arts Management Program and co-sponsored by the School of the Arts and Avery. Limited free tickets are available to students and the public via this link.
Ranky Tanky is a Grammy-winning Charleston, SC-based quintet that performs timeless and jazz-infused music born of the Gullah culture of the southeastern Sea Islands. Their debut album was featured on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross and the TODAY show. It also soared to the #1 position on the Billboard, Amazon, and iTunes Jazz Charts. Playful game songs, ecstatic shouts, and spirituals can all be found on their latest release Good Time, which won a Grammy for the category of Best Regional Roots Music Album on January 26, 2020. Ranky Tanky’s members include: Quentin Baxter, Drums and Percussion; Kevin Hamilton, Bass; Quiana Parler, Vocalist; Clay Ross, Guitar and Vocals; and Charlton Singleton, Trumpet and Vocals. Read more about the quintet in this article featured on The College Today.
Host Quentin Baxter is the CEO of his own music production company, Baxter Music Enterprises, LLC and an active performing and recording artist. In addition to Ranky Tanky, he currently tours worldwide with Grammy-nominated artist, vocalist and composer René Marie. He received the Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Governor’s Award for the Arts in 2017, South Carolina’s highest award given in the arts, and he taught at the College of Charleston as an adjunct professor of jazz percussion from 1997 to 2019.
Launched in January 2014 with special guests Darius Rucker and Cary Ann Hearst, IN THE MIX is an Arts Management-produced speaker series connecting musicians and students to music industry leaders. IN THE MIX is a formal component of the course Introduction to the Music Industry, taught by Visiting Instructor of Arts Management (Music Industry), Heather McDonald. Recent sessions have examined career journeys for women in the music industry, songwriting compensation, and the music streaming business model, while former guest speakers include Darius Rucker, Cary Ann Hearst, and Shannon Herber of the GRAMMY Awards. A full list of previous sessions can be found here.
The College’s Arts Management major offers students who are musicians or interested in working in the music industry the opportunity to pursue a Music Industry Concentration, with courses like History of the Recording Industry, Music in the Marketplace, Legal Aspects of the Entertainment Industry, and more. For information, visit artsmgmt.cofc.edu or call (843) 953-6301.