I’ve had the pleasure of attending a few of Dedry Jones ‘The Experience’ events. They have all been very good; however, the most recent one with India Arie is my favorite, thus far.
Grammy award winner, singer and songwriter India Arie visited The Kroc Center on the south side of Chicago recently to take part in ‘The Experience’. ‘The Experience’ gives fans a personal view of their favorite artists. It’s unique in that you receive up close and personal insight of your favorite artist directly from them. Dedry’s interviewing style makes it feel like two people are having a conversation as if no one else is in the room.
India was extremely open and candid. She mentioned how she wasn’t exactly excited about her time in Atlanta and how it ultimately led to her pursuing her dream of being an artist. Early on in her career, India’s album Acoustic Soul was nominated for seven Grammys and she did not win one. She explained how hurt she was after that and mentioned it thrust her into a different type of spotlight that she may not have had if she had won one or two awards. She also mentioned having a conversation with L.A Reid about this and he explained this is the reason the Urban Alternative category was formed so that artists similar to India would have a space to be recognized.
India spent the night sharing how she created many of her most popular songs and towards the end of the evening performed some selections. She opened with “The Christmas Song” from her most recent release with the late Joe Sample “Christmas with Friends.” It was a moving rendition of a holiday classic.
This was a great Experience; we are looking forward to the next one.
Take a look at a few of the pics in the gallery below.
