Paine the Poet Brings MONSTER to Madhura Studios
Performances run February 22 - March 8.
By: Stephi Wild Feb. 20, 2025
Paine the Poet will bring MONSTER to Madhura Studios, a production that blends spoken word and live music, marking his debut as bandleader of The PAINE Band. Featuring a lineup of musicians including ArinMaya, Denny Jackson, Edson Sean, and PrinceMaestro, the performance explores themes of personal transformation, social justice, and resilience. MONSTER will run at Madhura Studios from February 22 to March 8, 2025.
Kristofer Sykes, professionally known as Paine the Poet, is a spoken word artist, actor, activist, educator, and public speaker from Columbus, Ohio. His work addresses mass incarceration, prison reform, and disenfranchisement, drawing from his own experiences, including an eight-year incarceration. He began performing poetry at open mic events in Washington, D.C., using it as a tool for personal healing. His performances led to acting roles, most notably as Jalal Mahad in American Skin (2021). He has served as a teaching artist with organizations such as Split This Rock and has headlined events at venues including the National Gallery of Art, where he presented a piece on mass incarceration before an audience that included members of Congress. His work has been featured at JusticeAid's Voices to Protect the Vote concert series and broadcast on C-SPAN. As an artist and advocate, he uses storytelling to engage communities, hosting workshops and discussions on prison reform, education, and social justice.
ArinMaya is a singer, songwriter, and sound healer whose work spans jazz, soul, folk, and gospel. She has performed on The Late Show with Jimmy Fallon and Saturday Night Live and collaborated with artists including Angélique Kidjo and Post Malone. Rooted in storytelling, activism, and healing, her work extends beyond performance into community-based initiatives, leading workshops on vocal expression and sound healing.
Other members of the group include Edson Sean, a multi-instrumentalist, producer, and vocalist, who integrates soul, jazz, and hip-hop, balancing live instrumentation with electronic elements to create textured arrangements that enhance both structured performance and improvisation. As a session musician and arranger, he has contributed to projects across multiple genres, while his solo work explores identity and resilience, often collaborating with spoken word artists to merge music with poetry. Denny Jackson, a drummer and percussionist with a background in jazz, R&B, and funk, emphasizes groove, dynamic interaction, and emotional depth, adapting his playing to both live and studio settings. His work bridges technical precision with expressive storytelling. PrinceMaestro, a producer and pianist, shapes the sound of MONSTER with a blend of classical and contemporary influences, incorporating orchestral textures and modern production techniques to support both spoken word and live instrumentation. With experience spanning theater, film scoring, and live performance, he brings a multi-dimensional approach to the project.
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