(upbeat music) - Coming up next on "Curate."

(upbeat music continues) - [Allen] I feel deeply connected to the city that I'm from.

I love being from Portsmouth and being known as a Portsmouthian.

I'm still here and I love being here.

(upbeat music continues) - [Choir Member] It was amazing being on stage.

All the hard work did pay off.

- [Sage] That's what documentary filmmaking is to me.

Like, I see you and I want to help other people see how special you are.

(upbeat music continues) - Welcome to another episode of "Curate."

I'm Jason Kypros.

- And I'm Heather Mazzoni.

- Allen Hudson is a passionate musician and proud Portsmouth native whose journey from junior hockey player to heartfelt rocker is as inspiring as it is unique.

- As the host and curator of Acoustic Carnival, a local concert series celebrating singers and songwriters, Allen has created a space where music thrives and connections flourish.

(traffic rumbling) (coffee machine clicks) (coffee beans clattering) (steam hissing) (coffee machine clicks) (cord clicks) (door lock clicks) (door squeaking) (bell jingling) - Honestly, this job's made me a much better musician.

Interacting with people, and you're interacting with regulars every single day, but everyone's having a different day.

So you have to play off that, and it's different energies coming in.

And then interacting with people you've never met in your entire life.

You need to have conversations, talk about their lives, talk about music.

It's really, really cool to be able to go back and forth between those two things.

I love working here, I love our regulars, and I love our new faces that we see here all the time.

(gentle music) I feel deeply connected to the city that I'm from.

I love being from Portsmouth and being known as a Portsmouthian.

I'm still here and I love being here.

And I love being in this community and being a part of this community.

And I try to be a champion for it 'cause it has a lot to offer.

From a young age all the way to 21, I played hockey pretty seriously and competitively.

As with all highly competitive sports, your kind of threshold to leaving the sport happens very quickly.

And right around 21, which was a decade ago, when I was aging out, I decided, "You know what?

I'm gonna take all this effort and energy and I'm gonna learn to play guitar."

And that was very arrogant of me.

♪ Champagne and chamomile ♪ ♪ I heard you say my name ♪ ♪ Standing on the corner of the boulevard and main ♪ (upbeat music) Right when I realized, "I'm not that great of a hockey player.

Let me switch over and do something different and something that I can still focus and dedicate time to."

I was so used to waking up every day and working towards something.

Another cool thing 'cause music can't really be mastered.

You can only just get better at it.

♪ When we were young ♪ I think the big draw from music that took me away from hockey, honestly, was that I've been a huge music fan my entire life.

I've always been obsessive about it, even before I played music.

My father and I would ride down the road, and he would do "The College of Rock and Roll Knowledge" and he'd be asking me, "Who's the drummer on this?

And what band is this?"

And all that type of stuff.

And my mom was the same way.

My mom was a singing waitress on the Spirit of Norfolk.

So my entire life, I was totally surrounded by music, and I just assumed that was everyone's life.

♪ Standing on the corner of the boulevard and main ♪ In 2022, I brought the idea of Acoustic Carnival to The Coffee Shoppe, and we were able to, very quickly with heavy interest from our local singer-songwriters, put together our first season.

We did February through October, and it was a success.

And our first night, I wanna say in here we had close to 75, 80 people.

♪ I wouldn't change ♪ I would love to say it wasn't shocking, but I was a little bit shocked at first with how much the community came out supported us.

And they continue to do that every show, and I love it.

♪ I'm finding ways ♪ So many new faces just come through these doors in here.

And I get to talk to them and chat them up.

And honestly, it's hard for me to meet a stranger that I don't wanna talk to.

Everyone's interesting.

Everyone has a story.

And then with having Carnival here, it's so easy to say, "Hey, do you like live music?"

And 10 times out of 10, the person's answer is, "Yeah, of course."

And you say, "Hey, all you have to do is come back to the spot you're already at one Thursday per month and we're gonna take all these tables and chairs outta here.

We're gonna put cocktail tables in.

We're gonna have a party."

Most people like music and most people like partying, so.

♪ I think we got it all ♪ ♪ They're part of dreaming of me ♪ ♪ Just go with disregard ♪ ♪ Let's go on honeymoon now ♪ ♪ I'll go, I'm ready ♪ - So Acoustic Carnival is a concert series at The Coffee Shoppe that I host and curate that celebrates singer-songwriters from the area because we have such a great local music scene.

Typically, a musician with an acoustic guitar or maybe a piano, and they're in a more stripped-down, intimate setting, and you really get to see the raw talent in the small things that they do that set them aside and make them so great.

I want you to be just feet away from some of Virginia's best songwriters.

And I want them to be able to play off the energy of this room.

It's amazing 'cause it went so long without having live music here.

And then as soon as we started doing this, it has this really cool energy, this magical energy.

People get in here and kinda cut up, cut loose, and I love it.

We've been really fortunate in The Coffee Shoppe, Tiffany and Lamar, our owners, to where we've been able to have every single show be a free show.

We want you to come in and feel comfortable, and be able to grab a coffee or grab a beer and enjoy yourselves.

Every single Acoustic Carnival is free and every single Acoustic Carnival is all ages.

As long as I'm involved with the project, any project I'm doing, every show is all ages 'cause I've been a 16-year-old who wanted to go see a show at some point in time.

And if that kid doesn't get to go see how doable it is to grab a guitar and write a song and play for people, then you don't have your next generation of musicians, and then you've really done a disservice to your community.

(soft rock music) I think music is a universal language.

I think that it's a language that we all speak.

It all resonates with every person.

I've always just been attached to music.

It's been the most important thing in my life.

And I think for a lot of people, it is.

And it's been great to see how interested and how involved our community is with not just Acoustic Carnival, but just music in general.

I think we got a really cool musical community here in Hampton Roads.

Especially tied into the fact that I'm very rooted here.

I don't wanna go tour the world.

I have a great wife and kids and a great family around here and a great community around me.

(soft rock music continues) I want to provide an opportunity for my peers, who I admire so much, and the next generation of musician.

I want it to be easier for them than it was for me.

And people did the same thing for me.

All my heroes locally that I've met have exceeded expectations, and I feel obligated to do that for the next generation.

(soft rock music continues) - [Announcer] Wondering what happened to the song you used to love so much but never hear anymore?

Well, there's a good chance it got lost in the shuffle.

Join Jeff The Sandman Sandner Friday night at 10 on WHRV and Saturday afternoon at four on WFOS.

(paintbrush scratching) - For almost a decade, the Norfolk Street Choir has given a voice to one of our most vulnerable populations.

- Founder Bob Shoup and his small team have worked tirelessly to give these homeless singers the opportunities to perform.

That and other resources provided offer the members of the choir hope, purpose, and dignity.

- Recently, the Street Choir teamed up with the City of Norfolk to put on a concert at the historic Attucks Theatre.

(paintbrush scratching) (bright music) - [Stephanie] From the very beginning, we knew we had something really special.

♪ This is the sound of one voice ♪ - Honestly, most of it has just come naturally over the years.

I mean, we've been in operation for eight years now.

♪ Someone who makes a choice ♪ - And our goal has always been to continually expand, not only in the arts opportunities that we're able to provide, but also in services and resources.

And that only happens when we're able to get our name out in the community, the broader community.

♪ This is the sound of voices two ♪ ♪ The sound of me singing with you ♪ - Part of the reason we do public events is to advocate to the public for what's going on with homelessness.

There's a circle that knows about us and we have really great supporters.

Unfortunately, the breadth of misunderstanding and misperception and presumptions about people experiencing homelessness is way wider than what our current circle of fans and supporters are.

♪ Singing with love and the will to trust ♪ ♪ Leave the rest behind, it will turn to dust ♪ ♪ This is the sound of all of us ♪ ♪ This is the sound of all of us ♪ - We are so grateful that you're here today and thankful to the Norfolk Arts Commission for making it possible for us to be in this beautiful historic theater.

We are, yeah, absolutely.

(audience applauds) - We have developed this relationship with the Norfolk Arts Commission over the years, and it's been great.

They had this opportunity for small nonprofits to be able to use the Attucks Theatre.

I mean, the Attucks Theatre is so rich in history and history that our community really appreciates, a history that they can connect to, and a place that they're not normally welcomed into.

♪ We all have pain ♪ ♪ We all have sorrow ♪ ♪ But if we are wise ♪ ♪ We know that there's ♪ - We got an increase in funding for the arts.

We were hearing from our organizations that they wanted to connect more with each other and that many of them really wanted to get into the Attucks Theatre but couldn't afford to.

And our bosses and people in the city and city council and the mayor were saying, "Let's get the Attucks more activated."

So it was almost a no-brainer saying, "We have some money for equity, we have groups who wanna be in the Attucks, and we have city council saying to us, 'The Attucks isn't all that we hope it can be.'"

♪ Tomorrow ♪ - So we worked out an arrangement and said, "Okay, we will cover the cost of renting the Attucks and we'll give you some extra money for marketing, things like that, for you to do a performance as long as it is free and open to the public."

♪ Somebody to lean on ♪ - I think the event at the Attucks provided opportunity to be around a professional environment that they'd not been around, and that happened in a lot of ways.

One of them was being in a professional theater with a professional theater crew, with an audio tech and lighting tech and all of that.

That was a whole new experience for all of our singers.

The other one was that the grant really provided specifically for community groups to perform with professionals they would not normally get to perform with.

So while we have a small band that plays with us all the time, I was able to bring on a cellist, an additional percussionist, a bass player we hadn't worked with before, and that provided a kind of energy.

And then I had eight professional singers.

The point of that was not in any way to offer singing support to the street choir.

It was to make visible on stage this idea that we are community with each other and all worthy.

That's sort of a setup that we normally wouldn't have the opportunity to do.

♪ Load you have to bear ♪ - Being able to perform at the Attucks Theatre, really awesome.

As someone who's a born and bred Hampton Roads native, especially here in Norfolk, it was my first time ever going inside of that theater.

- It was my dream come true, singing with the Street Choir.

- It was amazing being on stage.

All the hard work did pay off.

- These are our neighbors.

They have a right to art and to music and to beautiful things as well.

- This is a part of our community and they have a voice and they deserve to be seen and heard and appreciated and it's a great way to show that off.

♪ On ♪ (audience cheers and applauds) - For more from the Norfolk Street choir, stream WHRO's Emmy Award-winning documentary, "City Voices: Homelessness to Hopefulness," at whro.org/cityvoices.

(paintbrush scratching) - Welcome to "Curate Presents."

I am Kayda Plus and I am here with Sage Thomas.

How are you, Sage?

- I'm doing well.

Very happy to be here.

- "Who Do You Say that I Am?"

- Yeah.

- What's that?

- (chuckles) Well, it is the title of the latest music video, an original piece, of the Norfolk Street Choir Project, a local organization that's dedicated to partnering with the homeless and bringing creative arts resources to them as well as basic services on a weekly basis.

- So how exactly did you come across this choir?

- It was a process of getting to the point of making the film.

Like, yes, I'm a student, film student interested in doing this documentary, but Bob's like, "We care about who we're letting in this space."

And so it became like a couple weeks and months of me meeting with Bob one-on-one, sharing my heart, and then going just to attend the sessions, going to breakfast with them, going to the arts classes and just sitting in, singing with the choir.

Before I brought any equipment, I just spent a couple weeks just being there and getting a sense of the environment and getting to know the people.

And then from there, once they were cool with me, they were like, "Yeah, you can bring a camera in here."

So then after that, I was able to start making the film, which was done in the process of two days where they did the arts on one day and the choir on the second day.

- Awesome.

What was the grade that you got in the class?

- Oh, I got an A (chuckles).

- Okay, awesome.

So that project led to the newest one.

- Yes, they had this original piece that they were in the process of diving into when I was first making "An Explosion of Everyday Life."

And it was a piece that was written by the choir just talking about the reality of what it's like to experience homelessness on a day-to-day basis and the societal perceptions that come with that.

And so they wrote and came up with the words to that piece.

It's like a spoken word piece with music accompaniment.

They're not singing in this piece exactly.

So it's a really interesting combination of these emotional lines and elements that they spent months working on writing.

And so they did pieces in tandem with the arts class where they made these masks and they wrote words that they've been called and they pull down the mask and you show it's just a human face, you know, behind that mask, you know?

So people don't really know who they are when you see them on the side of the street.

And so they wanted to share this piece with the world and I was happy to partner with them.

- So all this time working with the Norfolk Street Choir, what does it mean to you?

- I can never fully understand the reality that these people face on a day-to-day basis, but it gave me an opportunity to have a face-to-face, personal interaction with so many of them and just see them and let them know that, "Hey, I value you as a person.

I recognize your dignity and your worth.

And, like, I want to be able to highlight that to the world."

That's what documentary filmmaking is to me.

- Okay, well, thank you so much for stopping by.

- Absolutely.

Thank you.

- Definitely.

And she got us all so excited to see it, so here it is, "Who Do You Say that I Am?"

(paintbrush scratching) (traffic whirring) (traffic whirring continues) (traffic whirring continues) (traffic whirring continues) (bright music) - Who do you say that I am?

- Who do you say that I am?

- Who do you say that I am?

- Who do you say that I am?

- Who do you say that I am?

- [All] Who do you say that we are?

Who do you say that I am?

Who do you think that I am?

Who do you say that we are?

Who, or what, do you think?

What, or who, do you say?

- I know the answer because I hear the names.

- You call me when you turn the other way.

- You think I don't hear you.

- Or maybe you don't care.

- [All] Because, honestly, I'm just a problem that's there, and you wish I would vanish into thin air.

But wait, maybe I'm not being fair.

- Maybe that's not what you think.

- Maybe that's not what you say.

- Maybe that's not what you think.

- [All] But listen to what we hear every discouraging day.

- [Speaker 1] You are just gross.

(gentle music) - [Speaker 2] Ugh, you stink.

- [Speaker 1] You're a creep.

- [Speaker 3] I'm calling the cops.

(gentle music continues) - [Speaker 2] You are crazy.

- [Speaker 3] You are nothing but a loser.

- [Speaker 4] You're so dirty.

- [Speaker 2] Why don't you clean yourself up?

(gentle music continues) - [Speaker 3] You're completely hopeless.

- [Speaker 1] Get away from me.

(gentle music continues) - [All] Labels, ugly labels.

They have nothing to do with my story or history.

Nothing do with my life, my identity.

Nothing to do with my gifts or my skills.

Nothing to do with the things that I love, the people I love.

Nothing to do with the person I am.

(traffic whirring) (bright music) - I play cards.

- I am a peer advocate.

- I play basketball.

- I'm a teacher.

- I am a reader.

- [Both] I am a mother.

- I am a healthcare provider.

- I'm a steward of humanity.

(choir vocalizing) - Is that thought when you saw me today?

- Is that why you turned and walked quickly away?

- Do you ever consider that I might not be.

- All the terrible things that you think you can see?

- I'm hoping you might consider was true.

- I promise that I will consider that too.

- Maybe we can see things better and new.

- [All] Because this is what I need to say to you.

- My life is blessed.

♪ Yes, it is ♪ - My life is a meaningful masterpiece.

♪ Yes, it is ♪ - My life is worthy.

♪ Yes, it is ♪ - My life is wonderful.

♪ Yes, it is ♪ - My life is precious.

♪ Yes, it is ♪ - My life is improving.

♪ Yes, it is ♪ - My life is beautiful.

♪ Yes, it is ♪ - My life is a painting.

♪ Yes, it is ♪ - My life is peaceful.

- My life is lovable.

♪ Yes, it is ♪ (bright music continues) (choir vocalizes) - [All] I'm hoping that you might consider what's true.

And I promise that I will consider that too.

So that you can see me and that I can see you.

So that you can see me and that I can see you.

So that you can see me.

- And that I can see you.

(bright music continues) (choir vocalizing) (paintbrush scratching) - That really makes you think differently about our homeless community.

- Absolutely.

And it also makes me wanna check out a performance by the Norfolk Street Choir.

- If you haven't done so, you really should.

- Yes, yes.

And remember that this episode as well as the original feature on the street choir and all of our "Curate" catalog are available online.

- Earlier in this episode, we saw the story of Portsmouth musician Allen Hudson.

Well, here's his music video for the single "Summer Lover."

- Yeah, and we'll see you next time on "Curate."

(soft rock music) (soft rock music continues) ♪ I wouldn't change a thing ♪ ♪ About those crazy days ♪ ♪ I'm finding ways ♪ ♪ To see the silver in the gray ♪ ♪ And when we're running on the rooftops ♪ ♪ Listening to pirate radio ♪ ♪ And every song ♪ ♪ We'd sing along ♪ ♪ And they went ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ And I wouldn't change a thing ♪ ♪ If we were summer lovers hiding under covers ♪ ♪ Just trying to get by ♪ ♪ And who's gonna stop the rain ♪ ♪ And I don't know why ♪ ♪ It falls from the sky ♪ ♪ And hides these tears that you've been crying ♪ ♪ And when we're running on the rooftops ♪ ♪ Listening to pirate radio ♪ ♪ And don't get me wrong ♪ ♪ Those days were long ♪ ♪ But I'm never gonna let 'em go ♪ ♪ And I wouldn't change a thing ♪ ♪ If we were summer lovers hiding under covers ♪ ♪ Just trying to get by ♪ ♪ And I wouldn't change a thing ♪ ♪ If we were summer lovers hiding under covers ♪ ♪ Just trying to get by ♪ (soft rock music continues) (soft rock music continues) (soft rock music continues) ♪ And I wouldn't change a thing ♪ ♪ If we were summer lovers hiding under covers ♪ ♪ Just trying to get by ♪ ♪ And who's gonna stop the rain ♪ ♪ Stop the rain ♪ ♪ If we were summer lovers hiding under covers ♪ ♪ Just trying to get by ♪ ♪ If we were summer lovers hiding under covers ♪ ♪ Just trying to get by ♪ (bright music) (bright music continues) (bright music continues) (bright music continues)