Austin music this week: Body Rock celebrates 13 years of ecstatic dance
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Working in partnership with DJ Chorizo Funk, Ghislaine “Qi Dada” Jean and Jonathan “Chaka” Mahone, the husband/wife team behind the hip-hop act Riders Against the Storm, have built Body Rock into an Austin institution.
“Body Rock has been at four different venues in 13 years, and all around the city for special one-offs,” Mahone says.
At its heart, Body Rock is a dance party, but along the way, the event has grown into much more. It’s a community gathering space for Black and brown Austin creatives. The regular happenings provide a much-needed ritual of release. It’s a place where LGBTQ people are welcome, women are “able to be openly sexual because they feel safe” and where, one night, a mother was “able to finally cry after (her) child had been shot,” Jean says.
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The Body Rock crew has hosted special guests like the beloved Oakland DJ Pam the Funkstress, who joined the crew for a Prince tribute before she died. They’ve used their platform to advocate for political prisoners. When Jean performed pregnant, hundreds of people cheered “for our son's success in utero,” she says.
Jean and Mahone keep the positive vibes high and, with love in the air, many couples have met their spouses on the dance floor. Sometimes lovers use the event as an occasion to seal the deal.
“Jackie O'Brien of the Bright Light Social Hour proposed to his wife (a huge Body Rock fan) onstage at Empire,” Mahone says.
Some couples return to Body Rock for wedding receptions. “It has been a steady place of comfort for the myriad of life changes in the community,” Jean says.
“The Body Rock family kept us alive in so many ways as we built our foundation in Austin. We couldn't have done it without many from this community,” Mahone says.
For the event’s 13th-anniversary celebration, the party returns to the Sahara Lounge, a hideaway dive in East Austin that was one of its early locations. The party kicks off at 9 p.m. Tickets are $12-$15. More info: facebook.com/bodyrockatx.
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More concerts in Austin this week
Feb. 2: Sir Woman, Moody Banks, Lunar Rae at Continental Club. This powerful triple bill of soulful female artists is anchored by the R&B project from Kelsey Wilson (Wild Child). This is Night 2 of Sir Woman's monthlong residency at the classic music haunt. $22 in advance. continentalclub.com.
Feb 3: Margo Price at the Scoot Inn. Celebrating the release of her critically acclaimed album "Strays," country star Margo Price brings her "'Til The Wheels Fall Off Tour" to Austin. $27.50. c3concerts.com.
Feb. 3: The Drop with Jackie Venson at Waterloo Records. Austin's rising guitar ace joins us for the next installment of our live music series, in collaboration with KUTX 98.9 FM. The all-ages, free show starts at 5 p.m.
Feb. 4: Kool & the Gang at ACL Live. Founding members Robert "Kool" Bell and George "Funky" Brown bring their crew of funkateers for a "Celebration" packed with singalongs and hits. $59.50 and up. acllive.com.
Feb. 4: TokiMonsta at Concourse Project. A classically trained pianist, electronic music producer TokiMonsta was the first woman to sign to Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder label in 2010. Now, with collaborations with the likes of Anderson.Paak and Jessie Ware under her belt, she helps shape the L.A. electronic music with her own Young Art label. $25 and up. concourseproject.com.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin live music this week: Body Rock, Margo Price, Kool and the Gang
