Artist Statement

Mausiki Scales and Common Ground will welcome the Atlanta community to join a ¼ mile procession, beginning at Ralph McGill Blvd. NE on the Eastside Trail and heading south to the Historic Fourth Ward Skate Park. Once at the performance area, the band will take the audience through an interactive musical journey that will “transform” the park into a World Music platform; exploring the intersections of West African musical expressions, Blues, Classic Soul and Caribbean “riddims”.

 

View full performance details:

September 29

 

Artist Bio

The Common Ground Collective is a 15 piece Afrobeat-Soul Orchestra that explores musical styles from West Africa, including Afrobeat and Funk. Common Ground seeks to explore the musical thread that links the music of the African World, including the African Diaspora. Common Ground’s Musical Director is Mausiki Scales, who also serves as keyboardist for the group. Common Ground is based in Atlanta, Georgia and recently performed in Ghana West, Africa. Scales is an adjunct instructor in the African American Studies Department at Georgia State University and has taught history and African World Studies for more than 15 years in Atlanta area colleges and universities including Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University, Morris Brown College and Georgia Perimeter College. He a multitude of interests which include Nile Valley Civilizations, West African history & culture, the Jim Crow era, and studying various musical genres, including Afrobeat, Blues and Jazz.