We Were Fridays is an interdisciplinary music project led by cellist Jeffrey Zeigler - a deeply personal exploration of cultural memory and diaspora. It will follow a story that began in the Griot tradition of West Africa, travel to South Carolina by way of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, then north by way of the Great Migration, and beyond. We Were Fridays explores the music of the Gullah people of the Low Country of South Carolina, a community which to this day has preserved more of their West African linguistic and cultural heritage than any other African American community in the United States. Gullah music has influenced spirituals, gospel, ragtime, rhythm and blues, soul, hip hop and jazz. We Were Fridays will extend this reach into the world of instrumental cello music. Told through cello, electronics, and dance, We Were Fridays will explore forbidden love, fractured lines, and complex legacies.
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The work is centered around new compositions from Etienne Charles, Tamar-kali, Hannah Ishizaki and Jeffrey Zeigler; and features choreography/dance from Flexn pioneer Reggie “Regg Roc” Gray, and a bespoke interactive book design from sister sylvester. The project is deeply rooted in an ethos of community and intergenerational learning – partnering with the Penn Center on St. Helena Island, South Carolina and the University of Georgia Culture & Community program to devise community engagement and education platforms. This work brings together community members and elders from local Gullah communities, along with students and teachers from HBCUs across the country - to engage in dialogue, conversation and creative exchange around the project’s themes of memory and diaspora. The album and touring performance work will premiere in 2026 and tour across the US and internationally.
// This is a seated performance. If you require accessibility accommodations, please email boxoffice@nationalsawdust.org.
// This performance is recommended for ages 12 and up.
// This performance is made possible thanks to the generous support of William Abrams and Julie Salamon, Helen Little and William Little, Lostland Foundation, Julie Mehretu, Cav. Simon Mordant AO and Catriona Mordant AM, Catharine and Jeffrey Soros.