St. Louis Public Radio to host ‘The Arts Hour on Tour' from the BBC World Service

The Arts Hour is the BBC World Service's flagship arts and culture program. Each month the Arts Hour goes on tour to curate a show recorded live in the world's culture centers in front of a local audience.

The BBC visit puts St. Louis among a coveted list of the world's culture centers. The live stage show gives local creatives a spot on the global stage.

St. Louis Public Radio will host The BBC Arts Hour on Tour in St. Louis to showcase local artists for an international broadcast recorded live at UMSL's Touhill Performing Arts Center, Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m.

Host Nikki Bedi will be joined on stage by creatives from across the St. Louis region, with live music performances from Dylan Triplett and Tonina Saputo, stand-up comedy from Tina Dybal and conversations with artists Damon Davis and Dail Chambers.

The show will be broadcast on STLPR on Monday, Sept. 30, at 2 p.m.

STLPR has also invited British journalist and radio broadcaster James Menendez to host his BBC World Service show The Newshour live from St. Louis the Monday before, on Oct. 9 at 2 p.m. CT. Typically hosted from London each day, Menendez will bring the St. Louis region's headlines and compelling stories to the BBC's world audience.

St. Louis in the Global Spotlight

Several times each year, The Arts Hour on Tour heads to one of the world's culture centers to record a one-of-a-kind show, meeting compelling local talent and exploring the burning issues in culture. The stage event provides an introduction to the city, features live music and comedy, and presents a rich panel conversation in front of a live audience. Recent editions have included Miami, São Paulo, Sarajevo and Accra.

The St. Louis Lineup

The St. Louis program will feature live performances and guest interviews with leading St. Louis creatives who will join the show's curator, BBC presenter Nikki Bedi, on stage.

St. Louis blues prodigy Dylan Triplett and his band, and acclaimed singer-songwriter, poet and bassist Tonina Saputo will perform music,while St. Louis comedian Tina Dybal will provide a stand-up comedy routine.

Nikki Bedi will also talk to Damon Davis, a "post-disciplinary" artist whose work embraces a wide range of mediums, to explore ideas about power, myth and identity. Founder of the "FarFetched" record label, Davis has exhibited photographs and sculpture at the Saint Louis Art Museum and co-directed the documentary film, "Whose Streets," about the Ferguson Uprising. His "Darker Gods" project is an epic mythology of multiple Black gods, whose stories are presented in a sensory world of visual imagery and soundscapes, and his opera "Ligeia Mare" brings science fiction to the African American story.

Bedi will also welcome Dail Chambers to the stage. Chambers' work combines fine art with social art practices focusing on healing, the environment and memory. Her Coahoma Orchards micro farms in north St Louis are bringing together plants and trees from both African and Native American traditions. Her interviews with the people of St. Louis bring tales of heritage and migration to listening and story-telling events.

The entire performance will be recorded in front of a local audience for broadcast in English all over the globe for the BBC World Service radio.

How to participate:

Everyone is invited to sign up for free tickets to be part of the audience for the recording, which will take place Tuesday, Sept. 10.

The Touhill Performing Arts Center - E. Desmond & Mary Ann Lee Theater
At the University of Missouri-St. Louis
1 Touhill Circle, St. Louis, MO 63121.
Arrival is at 7 p.m. for a 7.30 p.m. start.

How to listen:

• The Arts Hour on Tour in St. Louis will be broadcast on STLPR and around the globe on Monday, Sept. 30 at 2 p.m. CT
• The Newshour in St. Louis will be broadcast live from St. Louis at STLPR on Monday, Sept. 9th at 2 p.m. CT

About 'The Arts Hour on Tour':

The Arts Hour is the BBC World Service's flagship arts and culture program. Each month the Arts Hour goes on tour to curate a show recorded live in the world's culture centers in front of a local audience.

To date, The Arts Hour on Tour has been live on stage in: Paris, Jerusalem, Jaipur, New Orleans, Berlin, Venice, Reykjavik, Seoul, Edinburgh, St. Petersburg, Mexico City, Mumbai, Copenhagen, Addis Ababa, San Francisco, Amsterdam, Montreal, Brussels, Johannesburg, Tunis, Milan, Bogota, London, Warsaw, Accra, Nashville, Tbilisi, Sarajevo, São Paulo, Miami, Lisbon, New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, Helsinki, Jakarta, Tirana, Nairobi, Budapest, Athens, Taipei, Buenos Aires, Madrid and Istanbul.

The program has also recorded 'virtual' shows in Rome, Stockholm and Sydney during Covid 19 lockdowns. You can listen to all these programs on the BBC Arts Hour website.

The Arts Hour airs regularly on St. Louis Public Radio during the BBC World Service overnight programming at 2 a.m. on Tuesdays and 4 a.m. on Sundays.