To know the dark with a light is to know the light.
To know the dark, go dark.

—Wendell Berry

The Longest Night is a multidisciplinary, multicultural celebration of the Winter Solstice incorporating original music, spoken word, traditional songs and carols, storytelling, and modern dance. It brings together some of Nashville’s most acclaimed artists for a night of wonder and magic. Join us as we explore the richness of the dark around us and celebrate as we call the light back together.

Featured artists:

Portara Ensemble, directed by Jason Shelton
Multi-instrumentalist Jeff Coffin
Poet Ciona Rouse
Epiphany Dance Partners
Bassist Victor Wooten
Sound Healer Ryoko Suzuki
Rabbi Rami Shapiro
Marimbist Colleen Phelps
Drummers from the Global Education Center

And more!

Shelton, formerly a Franciscan brother, has long been recognized for his unique collaborative endeavors. He received an MDiv from Vanderbilt Divinity School in 2003 and was ordained to the Unitarian Universalist ministry in 2004. In addition to his work with artistic director of Portara, he is the associate minister for music at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville, where he has served since 1998. He has worked with choirs across the nation. Shelton hopes The Longest Night will become an annual event, with variations depending on the particular artists involved each year.

Three-time Grammy Award-winner Coffin performed as a member of Bela Fleck & the Flecktones from 1997 until 2010. He also began touring with Dave Matthews Band, officially joining the group in 2009, and fronts his own group, Jeff Coffin & the Mu’tet.

Rouse, who took part in the 2017 Nashville International Women’s Day event at OZ Arts, released VANTABLACK, a collection of poems, with Third Man Books and was a featured poet in the Frist presentation of Nick Cave: FEAT presented at Schermerhorn Symphony Center in April, 2018.