Shawn William
Acapella
645 West Grand Ave, Oakland
May 15, 2025
Shawn William — no “s” — has “been doing this thing for a lot of years.”
The thing, you ask? Spoken word poetry. Not usually in a dimly lit cocktail lounge though, I’d wager. In a form not always known for its cool factor, his work, “I’m supposed to say Grammy nominated?” has spanned the past three decades, from his hometown of Oakland to three years in New York (too gray), to touring with Jill Scott.
Thursday night was his first performance at Acapella, a recently re-opened-under-new-ownership occupying the former Starline Social Club. It was something of a teaser, a tester, of what’s to come. Monthly? Quarterly? William is still working that out with the bar’s management, so the night’s programming was more of a warm-up for the space than anything, but he plans to bring friends along in future months.
Throughout his three-hour allotment William’s words were sparing, but all the more powerful for it. He often sat still on a stool on stage, listening and watching projections of his friends on a screen behind him, their blown-up faces (or buffered or blue-d out, the tech was not quite there,) and amplified voices filling the very un-full bar. Contemplative and intentional in his movements and moments of performance, he commanded the small crowd fairly effortlessly. Maybe we were all there to see him, but I do not think so.
William maintains easy banter, casually flipping between performance and chatter.
His easy presence made banter with the guests, even when calling some of us out. “I come from a part of Oakland where the gentrifiers are still scared to occupy,” he proudly stated, but also, “If you're a gentrifier, welcome,” each line punctuated by laughs and snaps. But, there were still lines drawn — “I don’t trust you if you say South Oakland.” Fair nuff.
My neighbor for the night, Nikki, who clocked me as a vegetarian when I didn’t ask after her chicken tikka masala (it was good, but spicy for her taste), has known William for many, many years, and came out to support. It was not her first taste of Acapella either—her pro tip is to swap in mezcal for half of the spirit base in the eponymous drink, and I’d say she’s right.
In William’s words, “Silicone titties or Silicon Valley / In Oakland California it's two degrees of separation.” Sitting across the street from a former major encampment swept up by the city last fall, a man “wearing a Malcolm X shirt selling dope [on MLK]” may be a third tent pole supporting this city right now too.
Acapella and William are still working out some kinks of newness in the space, but offer promising future evenings out. I’m thrilled to see the building in use again, and serving reasonably priced (for the Bay) fare and free fun for all who enter. And, keep your eyes out for William — on stage or YouTube or at the next Grammy’s, who knows.
Watch William perform in a better-lit venue below.
