Mourning [A] BLKstar

The Cleveland-based Afrofuturist collective Mourning [A] BLKstar spans generations, gender, and genre, synthesizing soul, blues, gospel, jazz, hip-hop, and avant-electronics. Mixing live and often improvised instrumentation with programmed sounds, they feature a trio of vocalists who swap lead and background roles. Since forming in 2015, they've issued numerous recordings varying in size scope, and intent, including The Cycle (2020), Ancient//Future (2024), and the gratitude-filled Flowers for the Living (2025). The first of those three put them on the cover of Wire magazine. In addition to their own performances, they've toured internationally as the backing band for artist Lonnie Holley.