At 333 Valley St. in West Hills, even the chickens love music. On Tuesday afternoon, when Ward 30 Alder Honda Smith brought me to see the nine-strong flock in the backyard of intergenerational community center The Shack, the birds were getting their daily fix of 94.3 WYBC FM.
As hens Helen, Aunt Shirley, and Chic Parm clucked around to the music, people inside swayed to their own beat: a stripped-down rendition of Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come.” Singer Ricky Alan Draughn spun his voice like a golden thread through The Shack as Jay Rowe leaned into the sparkle of his keys.
The performance was part of a leadup to the third annual tribute concert from organization Still in the Ville honoring Rohn Lawrence, a New Haven jazz, R&B, and pop guitar legend who passed away in 2021.
Lawrence’s tribute will be a return to one of his favorite venues, on Sept. 14 at Toad’s Place. Still in the Ville, run by Lawrence’s wife Jacqueline Buster, is digging deeper into its musical and community roots for this year’s show by announcing its new partnership with The Shack.
“Oh my god, this is the fit that we need,” Buster remembered thinking when she first considered The Shack as a partner. It’s a community resource that is “holistically taking care of people,” she said, as well as putting music at the forefront every step of the way. This year, the annual concert will become a fundraiser for The Shack as they build their new recording studio and continue developing their youth and senior programs.
Buster brought me through the different rooms of the building, showing me the construction site of the new studio as well as a theater area and a spot for podcast production.
The Shack is an ongoing dream for Alder Smith (the 2022 New Havener of the Year). She remembers waiting for the opportunity to launch it and “revitalize it the way that I choose,” which she did five years ago. What used to live in the neighborhood’s memory as a center for early youth decades ago was reimagined in Smith’s hands as a music-focused community center for seniors and teens.
And for those in between, there are moments like Draughn and Rowe’s music magic.
“This is early for me,” Draughn said of his time at the mic. He said he’s used to singing later in the evenings, “everywhere, everywhere” in the city and beyond. As one of Lawrence’s close friends, Draughn will be part of the tribute show on Sept. 14.
There was no set lineup for the afternoon; instead, the preview show had more of the feel of a jam. People egged each other on to perform, even nudging Buster to stop running the show and get on the mic.
I might have guessed from the way they closed their eyes to feel the music, but a couple audience members sitting near the front were from that same musical inner circle: in fact, they were from Lawrence’s band.
Andre Danford played percussion and background vocals for four years with Lawrence. Trever Somerville, the “baby of the bunch,” was only around 18 or 19 when he joined the band as Lawrence’s drummer over two decades ago.
When I asked if Somerville’s bandmates treated him like the baby, he said, “They couldn’t, because I’m an old soul.”
As I chatted with Buster about the partnership between Still in the Ville and The Shack, a red shirt caught my eye. In between the words “In Loving Memory” and “Rohn Lawrence” was a large print of Lawrence himself. The wearer was Lawrence’s longtime DJ and mentee, David Chambers.
Chambers, along with Danford and Somerville, will all be at the Toad’s Place tribute show on the 14th. Hosting the concert will be producer and radio personality Veronica Douglas-Givan, also in attendance at Tuesday’s gathering. In an all polka-dot suit, she clapped along as the performers showed their chops.
“I think it’s awesome, the talent that we have both local and national,” Douglas-Givan said. She hopes the tribute will “send a message to the city that Rohn Lawrence’s music will live forever,” and that it will let the next generation know that “anything is possible.”
