“We’re going to keep playing and having some fun up here,” keyboardist Kayla Childs of the band Omar’s Hat assured everyone. “And we hope you’re having a good time.”
The audience seated on the sidewalk in front of the Paul Robeson House & Museum in Philadelphia heard her, clapping and smiling and absorbing the beats on a hot Saturday afternoon in June. They were hanging out here to help celebrate Porchfest 2022, the annual event that invites people to drop by spots in West Philadelphia to enjoy music on porches.
It’s an event that we at the Robeson House savor. It’s our way of sharing the musical heritage of Philadelphia (and by extension, Paul Robeson) with the community that nurtures and nourishes us.
African drummer Zumbi Soweto and the Tye’Himba Drum and Dance Ensemble set the tone for our participation in this year’s event. They were followed by Omar’s Hat, represented by five members of a band whose founding was by happenstance.
Back in 2016, drummers Isaac Silber and Alejandro Utria were walking with their instruments near 45th and Locust Streets in West Philadelphia when they were accosted by a neighborhood man named Omar (an eccentric fellow who was both beloved and un-loved in the community, according to newspaper reports). “You gotta play at this bar,” founding member Max Hoenig says, resurrecting Omar’s words. Omar was referring to a nearby bar.
The musicians did, and the patrons loved them so much that the group started performing every Thursday night. Five musicians formed Omar’s Hat, and now there are nine regulars (give or take). They’ve played throughout the city, among the most recent was a series at World Café Live. Omar Lahyane died in 2017.
Hoenig was at the Robeson House on Saturday jamming with the band on keyboards. He learned about Robeson the singer from his father, Lawrence, a singer and choral conductor, he says. Hoenig performed at the house last year in a live performance with another group.
Trumpeter Eric Sherman joined the band in 2019 and loves the camaraderie. “You can’t take musical chemistry for granted,” he says. “Sometimes you meet a group of individuals who you kinda have a sixth sense with. You all think about music in a similar way and yet we’re all different, coming from a lot of different backgrounds. To me that’s a super important and valuable musical recipe that I really care about. Also, the music we make, I love it.”
Performing at the house is “awesome,” says Sherman. It’s “an honor,” says Hoenig. (Photos by volunteer Sherry L. Howard)
