Meshell Ndegeocello: No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin

“The world needs more musicians like her; creatively restless and ambitious.” —NPR Music

The virtuosic Meshell Ndegeocello returns to Bard with a celebration of the prolific writer, orator, and activist James Baldwin. Winner of the 2025 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Jazz Album, No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin sees Ndegeocello embark on a prophetic musical odyssey that transcends boundaries and genres, delving headfirst into race, sexuality, religion, and other recurring themes explored in the celebrated writer’s canon. The multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and producer renders an immersive and palpable document that is as sagacious, unabashed, and introspective as Baldwin was in life.

Nearly a decade in the making, No More Water began in 2016 as Can I Get a Witness? at The Harlem Stage Gatehouse’s annual showcase honoring James Baldwin. Inspired by his seminal work The Fire Next Time, Ndegeocello deepened her exploration of Baldwin’s legacy in 2020 with Chapter & Verse, a multidisciplinary project commissioned by Fisher Center LAB.