Poly Styrene was the first woman of color in the UK to front a successful rock band. She introduced the world to a new sound of rebellion, using her unconventional voice to sing about identity, consumerism, postmodernism, and everything she saw unfolding in late 1970s Britain, with a rare prescience. As the frontwoman of X-Ray Spex, the Anglo-Somali punk musician was also a key inspiration for the riot grrrl and Afropunk movements.
But the late punk maverick didn’t just leave behind an immense cultural footprint. She was survived by a daughter, Celeste Bell, who became the unwitting guardian of her mother’s legacy and her mother’s demons. Misogyny, racism, and mental illness plagued Poly’s life, while their lasting trauma scarred Celeste’s childhood and the pair’s relationship.
Featuring unseen archive material and rare diary entries narrated by Oscar-nominee Ruth Negga, this documentary follows Celeste as she examines her mother's unopened artistic archive and traverses three continents to better understand Poly the icon and Poly the mother. (Celeste Bell & Paul Sng, UK, 2021, 89 min.)
Time | Venue | Age | |
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SOUND TYPE Seminar: Che Chen & Geeta Dayal | 4:00pm - 5:30pm | Asian Arts Initiative | All Ages |
WKDU Supports: Couple Ghouls Fest 2024 (featuring Poison Ruin / Vacation / Destructos / Waste Man / Driltusk / ABBATIA / Diuretic / Menu / Share / cry9c) | 4:00pm | Ukie Club | All Ages |
Craig Bickhardt Family and Friends(Tom Hampton & Michael G. Ronstadt) | 7:00pm | Trinity Presbyterian Church | All Ages |
ABACABA / I Think Like Midnight / Icky Bits / Dilks & Peterson | 8:00pm | The Pottery Gym | All Ages |
A Great Big Pile of Leaves | 8:30pm | Underground Arts | 21+ |
WKDU Supports: A Great Big Pile of Leaves | 8:30pm | Underground Arts | 21+ |
Time | Venue | Age | |
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Overload 2024 - Penn Relays After Party with Massive B | DJ Ablaze | Mister Groove | DJ Ten Speed | Roger Culture | 9:00pm - 4:00am | Calabash | 21+ |
Time | Venue | Age | |
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Downtown Boys / Paper Bee | 7:00pm | PhilaMOCA | All Ages |
Ty Segall / Sharpie Smile | 8:00pm | Union Transfer | All Ages |
Time | Venue | Age | |
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Bill Orcutt Guitar Quartet | 8:00pm | Solar Myth | 21+ |
Time | Venue | Age | |
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Stiff Little Fingers | 8:00pm | Brooklyn Bowl Philadelphia | All Ages |
Time | Venue | Age | |
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Chicago Underground Duo | 8:00pm | Solar Myth | 21+ |
Time | Venue | Age | |
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Social Distortion / Bad Religion | 7:00pm | The Fillmore Philadelphia | All Ages |
Kamasi Washington | 8:00pm | Union Transfer | All Ages |
Time | Venue | Age | |
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La Perla / DJVspice | 8:00pm | The Maas Building | All Ages |