Take Two: Elliott Skinner x Songs in the Key of Life

Pique-nique, Boom Collective, and the Center for the Study of Social Difference (CSSD) present a concert celebrating the 50th anniversary of Stevie Wonder's “Songs in the Key of Life,” reinterpreted by singer, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Elliott Skinner. Part of Pique-nique’s Take Two deep-listening series, the evening begins with a playback of the original record, followed by a live reimagining from Skinner. Elliott Skinner has spent years working alongside acclaimed artists including Chaka Khan, Jon Batiste, Leon Bridges, and Samora Pinderhughes. Now he's stepping out on his own, having recently signed to Ninja Tune. With an ethereal approach to folk and soul music that carries the spirit of Black artists of the 70s like Bill Withers and Marvin Gaye, Skinner uses music as a way to both comfort and hold listeners accountable. That same tradition runs through Stevie Wonder's iconic “Songs in the Key of Life,” making Skinner a fitting voice to reinterpret the album for its 50th anniversary. The concert follows a day-long symposium, organized by CSSD at The People's Forum, on Wonder's genre-breaking album and its incisive insights into Black life and living in the wake of civil rights and decolonial movements across the African world. Together, the symposium and concert launch a yearlong event series by CSSD for 2026–2027 under the theme “Renaissance." Responding to the U.S. semiquincentennial, the series offers a counternarrative to officially sanctioned accounts of the past by focusing on works with alternative anniversaries that illuminate the conditions and experiences of minoritized communities. Released in 1976, “Songs in the Key of Life” is itself one such work; an album that confronted racism, inequality, and injustice even as the country celebrated its bicentennial, making it a natural touchstone for the series' first gathering. Learn more about the symposium at https://bit.ly/3SYpJxl . Stevie Wonder is not performing at or otherwise affiliated with this event.