Art of Cool co-founder and Missy Lane's co-owner Cicely Mitchell will produce a new festival in downtown Durham this October.
"You know how in life there are times when you want a do over? Well, this is the do over," a teary-eyed Mitchell told a packed room at Missy Lane's Assembly Room on Monday.
Mitchell announced Missy Lane's Block Party, a new one-day festival on east Main Street. The festival will be produced by Mitchell and her partner Chief Adjuah, the GRAMMY-nominated New Orleans-raised artist formerly known as Christian Scott.
Produced by Mitchell and local musician Al Strong, the original Art of Cool festival was founded in 2013 and held its first event in 2014. Through the years, Art of Cool brought legends of jazz, hip hop, and R&B like Roy Ayers and Maceo Parker to Durham. It also highlighted local artists ranging from Rapsody to NC Central University's Vocal Jazz Ensemble and also brought future heavyweights like Anderson .Paak and Thundercat to some of the smaller rooms in the area.
In 2018 the Art of Cool festival was sold to the promotion company the DOME Group, and after its 2019 installment, the festival has not returned. Since then, Mitchell has gone on to open Missy Lane's Assembly Room and was a co-producer on this year's Biscuits & Banjos festival.
Chief Adjuah was one of the many performers at the first Art of Cool, and after reconnecting with Mitchell at last year's Newport Jazz Festival, he immediately asked, "When are you relaunching Art of Cool?" and though the name might be different, the mission will be the same.
Missy Lane's Block Party takes place on October 4 on the 300 block of East Main Street in downtown Durham. Event organizers said more information will come available soon.
