Quentin Talley Benefit Marks Return of a Cultural Beacon

Boris “Bluz” Rogers is a three-time national poetry slam champion, a multiple Emmy Award winner and former director of creative engagement for Blumenthal Performing Arts, but when he got a phone call on Feb. 19 he had just one role — a deeply concerned friend.

The caller bore the frightening news that Quentin Talley, the brilliant poet, energetic founder and guiding light of On Q Productions, frontman of Quentin Talley and the Soul Providers, and dynamic driving force behind the Soulful Noel holiday concert series, had just been rushed to Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center.

“It’s not the news you expect to hear about someone you had just talked to,” Bluz remembers. “Q’s such a beacon for our creative community that you just assume he will always be okay.”

After tests were taken, Talley was wheeled into surgery, during which he suffered two strokes. 

“I woke up three weeks later … surrounded by my mom, my sister, some of my cousins and some of my friends,” Talley tells Queen City Nerve. “I thought I had just woken up from the surgery.”

Though he survived the surgery that cleared a clogged artery, he had trouble remembering and enunciating words. The one-time whirlwind of energy found himself tiring easily. When he left the hospital for home on March 19, a long recovery lay ahead.

“It’s been a hell of a journey,” Talley offers.  

Fans will get to see and hear just how well the guiding light of Charlotte’s spoken-word, music and theatre scenes has bounced back from the brink when the Evening Muse hosts a benefit fundraiser hosted by Bluz and featuring a slew of other local artists on Wednesday, Aug. 27.

The program features performances by local creatives who have been touched by Talley’s brilliance, guidance and generosity. The show will include a set by Talley himself, fronting his soulful R&B and spoken-word group the Soul Providers.

Read More: Quentin Talley and the Soul Providers Want You to ‘Fall Thru’ (2022)

Proceeds from the show go toward lessening Talley’s hefty health care bill. Fans who can’t make the gig are encouraged to visit Talley’s GoFundMe, launched to help pay for the medical emergency. Heading into the show, the GoFundMe has raised more than $6,500 toward a $7,500 goal.

Bluz says he booked the show with Talley’s guidance and blessing.

“The majority of the [musicians] are people that Q specifically said he wanted, people he’s worked with [or] is super fond of,” he notes.

“These are the people that I always rock with,” adds Talley, who provided Bluz with a wish list for the show. The bill of Queen City talent includes sought-after saxophonist Adrian Crutchfield; powerhouse vocalist and tunesmith Kenya Templeton; soulful songwriter and producer Curt Keyz; gospel, jazz and R&B pianist Lovell Bradford; and saxophonist, composer and producer Harvey Cummings; plus Smoke Williams and The Mighty DJ DR.

If he had to pick a highlight for the evening, Bluz says he’d choose the guest of honor Talley, who will be sharing spoken word and busting his inimitable dance moves with the Soul Providers.

Quentin Talley’s impact on Charlotte

Bluz first met Talley at a college party in 1995 while Bluz was attending UNC Charlotte and Talley was at Winthrop University. Talley made an inedible impression when he broke out his dance moves. 

The pair’s paths crossed frequently over the next few years and their acquaintanceship solidified into a close friendship when both took part in a poetry event at the now-demolished Swing 1000 club in Plaza Midwood.

Over the years they’ve collaborated on several shows and projects, including productions of Miles and Coltrane: Blue (.), a play written by Bluz and Dasan Ahanu and staged by Talley’s On Q Productions.

Talley’s health emergency forced Bluz to grapple not just with losing his friend himself but the void that such a loss would leave for Charlotte.

“When something like this happens, you take stock of someone’s importance,” Bluz says. “You evaluate all the things that they’ve accomplished.”

Talley has brought people together for countless concerts, including through the launch of Soulful Noel, which has become a Queen City holiday staple. In 2002, Talley launched On Q Performing Arts, at the time the only Black-led theatre company in Charlotte.

Since then, On Q has introduced audiences to Black theatre while employing Black actors, artisans, technicians and musicians.

“There’s so much that he has been the brains behind, he’s been so much the catalyst,” Bluz maintains. “If Q’s not here, a lot of these things that we have gotten to do — they just wouldn’t happen.”

Talley has made such an indelible impact on the Queen City’s cultural scene that many don’t realize that he’s been working a full-time job out of town for the past six years. In the summer of 2019, Talley became program director at Durham’s Hayti Heritage Center, bringing artists, musicians and theatre productions to the city.

During that time, Talley bounced to Charlotte frequently, staging and performing in productions of Miles and Coltrane: Blue (.), annual iterations of Soulful Noel and more. His health emergency has put an end to his time at Hayti.

“I tried to go back and then it just wasn’t working out,” Talley says. “ I had to let that go.” 

That tough decision, made mutually with Hayti, is just one step in Talley’s long ordeal and recovery.

“It felt like I had, like, a bubble in my diaphragm; it didn’t hurt, but it also didn’t feel good,” Talley says, remembering the February night when the crisis erupted. He went to the hospital, and then took some tests including an MRI.

“That’s when all hell broke loose,” Talley recalls. “You can hear [staff] over the intercom while you’re in the MRI, and all I heard was a chorus of, ‘Oh, no. That’s not good.’”

Talley gave his keys to a friend, asked them to call his mother, went into surgery and woke up three weeks later.

Quentin Talley returns with a little help from his friends

Since the surgery, Talley quit smoking, began taking blood pressure medication and started on a low sodium diet. When he got out of the hospital, he could hardly walk, but he’s been gaining strength and stamina. 

He recently took a trip to New York City, where he navigated sidewalks and subway stairways while barely getting winded.

A continuing concern for Talley is how his two strokes have impacted his speech.

“It still frustrates me,” Talley offers. “I get tongue tied very easily, and if I start talking too fast, I just can’t get my words out.” 

Luckily, Talley has his theatre training to turn to. He’s been practicing his annunciation exercises and tongue twisters, working with friend Tiffaney Moore Borgelin, On Q’s resident vocal coach.

Leading up to the upcoming benefit show at Muse, Talley’s taken part in two public performances. He did a short set for the Reuben & Friends Juneteenth celebration at Neighborhood Theatre on June 19, sharing a bill with Reuben Vincent, Cyanca, Lute, Greg Cox and others.

Read more: Tim Scott Jr. Is a Quiet Force in Charlotte’s Music Scene

“That was my first show back,” Talley says. 

The concert was running late, and though Talley was fading fast by the time he got on stage, he says he’s grateful for the chance to get in front of an audience again. Best of all, performing felt good.

On Aug. 9, Talley took part in Outkast on a Quest at Elegance at Event Masterz on Remount Road in Charlotte. It was an ensemble event where local artists performed renditions of tunes by OutKast and A Tribe Called Quest.

“It wasn’t like I was by myself trying to hold down a whole set,” Talley cautions about the successful gig. “The community has been super supportive in holding me up.” 

In a similar vein, he insists on calling the upcoming gig on Aug. 27 “a partial comeback” since he’ll be sharing the stage with a host of friends.

“It’s been overwhelming having this kind of love and support throughout this whole ordeal,” says Talley, who hopes the show’s audience will come away with the feeling of connection, appreciation and love.

“This is the show,” says Bluz, who is confident that Talley will command the stage at Evening Muse with his customary panache. “Q’s going to be focused on capturing all the magic back. He’s still the performer he wants to be in his heart and that’s super important. His confidence isn’t lost and … we’re going to get the best that we can from Q.”

For many who cherish Charlotte’s poetry, music and theatre, the show is important because it marks Talley’s return. Having him here to entertain and enliven an audience is nothing less than a miracle, a win for Talley, his family, his friends and the city.