Music

Nina Simone: legendary singer, songwriter and civil rights activist

February 26, 2021 by San Quentin News

Born Nina Simone Catherine Waymon, Nina was a singer, songwriter and a civil rights activist. She recorded more than 40 albums between 1947 and … [Read more...]

Geto Boys in a league of their own in the hip hop genre

February 26, 2021 by Marcus Henderson

“This year Halloween fell on a weekend / Me and Geto Boys are trick-or-treating,” sang the rap group Geto Boys on their hit single “Mind Playing … [Read more...]

Holiday songs for the cells: another COVID-19 victim

January 31, 2021 by Vincent O'Bannon

“We Wish You a Merry Christmas” is one of many songs the incarcerated population at San Quentin will not hear carolers singing this year due to the … [Read more...]

N.W.A helped set the stage for modern hip hop music

February 13, 2020 by Marcus Henderson

N.W.A – Rap Group (1987-95) The N.W.A rap group was at first criticized as a misogynistic hip hop crew that glorified drugs and crime. But the … [Read more...]

Showcasing their talent the Soulbillies shake San Quentin

October 23, 2019 by David Ditto

A Bay Area band stirred the souls of a hundred San Quentin prisoners with a high-energy Sunday night concert on Aug. 25. Fliers posted in the cell … [Read more...]

World class musician returns to SQ after long hiatus

October 23, 2019 by Kevin Sawyer

Blues harmonica player Mark Hummel, 63, returned to San Quentin State Prison in August to discuss his music and to play a few tunes for the men in the … [Read more...]

The sounds of Woodstock filled the Catholic Chapel

August 14, 2019 by Joe Garcia

Kurt Huget’s guitar workshop for San Quentin inmates did it again—this time bringing the music of Woodstock to the SQ Cath- olic Chapel for a … [Read more...]

Two Marin professional classic musicians join Zuill Bailey to perform at San Quentin

June 25, 2019 by Kevin.Sawyer

Grammy Award winning cellist, Zuill Bailey, returned to San Quentin State Prison’s Protestant Chapel for a third time to perform for an audience of … [Read more...]

Kim Kardashian helps formerly incarcerated obtain jobs

April 30, 2019 by lloyd payne

Kim Kardashian is working to help formerly incarcerated people obtain jobs as part of her involvement with criminal justice reform. Kardashian … [Read more...]

Curb Service shares truth, harmony and love

March 24, 2019 by Joe Garcia

From an Oakland street corner to San Francisco’s “Tenderloin” district to San Quentin State Prison, the music of freestyle collective Curb Service … [Read more...]