Del Harrison performing in Dave Lester & Simeon Goodson's Black Friday Experience in Brooklyn, NY. Photo: Jordan Carter

Del Harrison

Comedy, music, poetry and storytelling

Greater Los Angeles Los Angeles County African/African-American Folklife/Other Music Oral Traditions/Language African American 2023

About the Artist

Del Harrison produces a family-friendly variety show, Del’s Juke Joint, which mixes clean comedy, live music, poetry, storytelling, and Black cultural history for a live audience. Historically, the juke joint spans back to Ghana and was made popular in the United States during the 1800s and 1900s, when enslaved and free Black people would meet at secret locations to hear live music and storytelling, to dance, and to connect as a community. In recognition that Black communities in Los Angeles continue to encounter oppressive laws and system structures, Del’s Juke Joint offers Black Angelinos a space to meet, release, and connect. Conducted in areas of the city that are largely populated by Black Americans, at small, Black-owned venues, Del’s Juke Joint, provides fair wages to artists underserved communities, trains apprentices and helps them obtain on-the-job experience, engages youth, and helps build community.

Living Cultures Grant

2023

Del’s Juke Joint

In 2023, Del Harrison, supported by ACTA’s Living Cultures Grant Program, will host Del’s Juke Joint, an organized jam session which allows talent to flow in a spontaneous format (a mix of clean comedy, live music, poetry, storytelling, and Black cultural history) and makes room for live audience participation.