On Friday, April 29th, The Knockturnal had the privilege of attending The Concert for the Human Family at the historic Trinity Church, Wall Street.
The concert was by Kory Caudill and Wordsmith and also featured a special guest appearance by Country music star Pam Tillis. Kory is a performer, producer, and industry executive who was born and raised in rural Kentucky. He plays piano. His roots are in the tradition of Appellation folk music. Anthony Parker, known as Wordsmith, is a Hip Hop artist, poet, and music label owner from Baltimore. The performance blended Hip Hop and Country music. Wordsmith shared that the concert’s mission was “love, unity and reconciliation.”
Pam Tillis performed a cover of “Fly Like an Eagle” and a song called “My Kind of Medicine” from her latest album, Looking For a Feeling.
A highlight of the evening was when Kory Caudill and Wordsmith performed “Anti,” a song about not making assumptions about people based on their appearance.
The duo also performed “Anthony’s Song,” an original song about the murder of Anthony Walker, a black British student of Jamaican descent, who was killed in 2005 due to his race. Kaudill and Wordsmith tackled issues of social justice, faith, and more.
Kaudill’s father, who also performed, brought a battered cymbal, a family heirloom, and recounted how a Pentecostal preacher he is descended from would get a lot of music out of the little instrument by banging on it and preaching rhythmically in a style almost reminiscent of Hip Hop.
The evening closed with a powerful performance by Kaudill of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow,” which he played with such passion that a couple keys flew off the piano!
Catch Kaudill and Wordsmith on tour and hear their music for yourself.
