nature gurl: summer solstice sound gathering at Ulises – Philadelphia, PA

Join us on Saturday, June 20th from 7–9pm for the vinyl release celebration of nature gurl, the new poetry and jazz album from Philly-based band Yolanda Wisher & The Afroeaters. The evening will feature live performances by Wisher with Afroeaters Paul Giess and Mark Palacio as well as The Song Poet, alongside refreshments and limited-edition stickers, while supplies last. Admission is free, and albums will be available for sale. Come gather in sound, word, and vibration to welcome the summer season and honor the release of nature gurl.

About the Album: 

nature gurl, the second album from Yolanda Wisher and The Afroeaters, is a playful, spiritual journey through the wilderness of the poet’s memory and imagination. Produced with Afroeaters Paul Giess and Mark Palacio, the album draws inspiration from encounters with animals in the Catskills, the Wissahickon Valley, and Wisher’s Germantown backyard. Revolving around recorded words from Wisher’s mother, whose deep connection with animals shapes the album’s spirit—nature gurl explores the shared frequencies of humans and animals while honoring the wild creature within us all.

About Yolanda Wisher: 

A poet, musician, educator, and curator, Yolanda Wisher is the author of Monk Eats an Afro. She served as inaugural Poet Laureate of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, and as the third Poet Laureate of Philadelphia. A Pew and Cave Canem Fellow, she received the Leeway Foundation’s Transformation Award for her commitment to art for social change and was named a Philadelphia Cultural Treasures Artist Fellow. Wisher performs a blend of poetry and song with her band, Yolanda Wisher & The Afroeaters, and works as Senior Curator at Monument Lab. 

About Yolanda Wisher & The Afroeaters: 

Yolanda Wisher & The Afroeaters is a Philadelphia-based music collective. Their albums Doublehanded Suite (2022) and nature gurl (2026) bring the group’s blend of jazz, soul, and spoken word into recorded form. The band has performed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Barnes Foundation, the Kimmel Cultural Campus, and WRTI’s Live Sessions studio, creating immersive soundscapes that traverse the continuum of poetry and song.