Local Artist Celebrates Summer Solstice with Psychedelic Music Video Funded by ‘Creativity’ Grant

Local Artist Celebrates Summer Solstice with Psychedelic Music Video Funded by ‘Creativity’ Grant

THERE ARE MANY ways to celebrate the summer solstice, when the North Pole is at its maximum tilt, and the Northern Hemisphere enjoys sunlight at the most direct angle of the year — from the ancient ritual of welcoming the sunrise as seen through the rocks of Stonehenge, to leaving sweets and wine for fairies (yes, leaving treats for fairies is a thing).


For Houston soprano, filmmaker and recording artist Misha Penton, music, movement, and poetry is the ideal combination for celebrating the longest day of the year. Her new three-song digital EP and accompanying music video Solstice Songs: Last Cicada drops today on all streaming platforms.

Filmed during wildflower season at Memorial Park Conservatory, Penton’s video is a trippy, psychedelic montage of Houston’s towering powerlines and the park’s sun dappled flora as well as Misha herself, looking like a goth flower child in her black tunic and blue jean ensemble as she performs a kind of slow-motion, Dionysian dance, channeling both Isadora Duncan and a teenaged, Wuthering Heights-era Kate Bush.

The music is a multi-layered composition of voices that build, break down, and build up again to create an unpredictable, yet beautiful secession of harmonies, with mysterious, almost arcane lyrics comprised of Penton’s original poetry. Visitors to Memorial Park can access the music with QR codes and engage in their own interpretive movement — maybe at sunrise or sunset, when the temperatures aren’t so hellish.

Funding for the video was awarded through Let Creativity Happen, a competitive grant program administered by Houston Arts Alliance and funded by a portion of the Houston’s Hotel Occupancy Tax. The program is open to applicants four times a year, and offers grants for arts and cultural experiences using technology to “connect audiences beyond the physical boundaries of space,” something Penton certainly accomplishes as a composer and filmmaker. Other Let Creativity Happen grantees include poet Deniz Lopez, cellist and composer Jaylin Vinson, sculptor Lotus Bermudez, and contemporary dance company NobleMotion Dance.

Art + Entertainment
As Escape Spa Expands in 2025, Owner Has Advice on Personal Growth: ‘Focus on Intention Setting’

CHANGE IS A good thing, and with the start of a new year, I always like to reflect on how far I've come and start fresh by setting self-care goals for the coming months. Personal growth is a passion for me, and also something I enjoy. Guiding a business through growth and change is also one of my passions, so I am very pleased to announce that Escape Spa is going to be expanding in 2025! We’re honored that we’ve built such a loyal following since opening in Cypress in July of 2022, and we’re thrilled to be in a position to grow our wellness and recovery sanctuary just outside of Houston.

Keep ReadingShow less

Chairs Brady and Zane Carruth, Brittany and Adam Clark

IT ALREADY FEELS like spring in Houston and the spring social season is here with it! 375 guests donned in white-tie flocked to The Post Oak Hotel for the annual Houston Symphony Ball, one of the city’s most anticipated and A-list galas.

Keep ReadingShow less
Parties

Salted Coconut Latik Ice Cream Sandwich at Lil' Koffeteria

THERE'S SOME INTERESTING news coming out of The Quad at Britmoore, the adaptive, mixed-use development fashioned of repurposed industrial warehouses in Spring Branch near Memorial.

Keep ReadingShow less