@ayanacontreras
Ayana Contreras is a cultural historian, writer + DJ from Chicago.
DJ Ayana Contreras at Three Top Lounge
DJ Ayana Contreras at Three Top Lounge
Find tickets for Ayana Contreras showing at the Three Top Lounge - Chicago, US Friday May 1, 5:30PM Tickets starting at $0.00
Best way to see Black Chicago (and beyond) through a fresh lens - Chicago Reader
Best way to see Black Chicago (and beyond) through a fresh lens - Chicago Reader
The Black Film Club Collective creates an experience that assumes a poetic faith all its own: a lens through which we can communally immerse ourselves into stories that center Black lives.
About Me
About Me
(What I'm Digging Now)
BOOK | Energy Never Dies | Ayana Contreras | University of Illinois Press
BOOK | Energy Never Dies | Ayana Contreras | University of Illinois Press
Merch
Merch
Shop Ayana Contreras Vintage by SenoraAfrobohemia located in Chicago, Illinois.
Big Ears Festival Podcast: 1 January 2026
Big Ears Festival Podcast: 1 January 2026
Listen to from wherever you get your podcasts!
A Love Supreme: Music and Spiritual Expression - Big Ears
A Love Supreme: Music and Spiritual Expression - Big Ears
2026 marks the 100th anniversary of John Coltrane’s birth. In this conversation, author, DJ and archivist Ayana Contreras sits down with Laaraji, Isaiah Collier and Sara Ranganathan to discuss the role of spirituality in Coltrane’s work and in their own creative process. They’ll also discuss how music can open doors to deeper spiritual connection, builds community and sparks meaningful […]
NPR's Best Songs of 2025 : NPR
NPR's Best Songs of 2025 : NPR
From the breakout Brooklyn band Geese to the Puerto Rican star and soon-to-be Super Bowl halftime performer Bad Bunny and dozens in between, NPR Music shares its picks for the best songs of 2025.
BOOK | Mothership Connected: The Women of Parliament-Funkadelic
BOOK | Mothership Connected: The Women of Parliament-Funkadelic
An oral history with the women of Parliament-Funkadelic, from forming the band to landing the mothership. Parliament-Funkadelic is perhaps the greatest funk...
NYE '26 w/ Kenneth Whalum & Ayana Contreras Tickets | @ Dorians, Chicago | DICE
NYE '26 w/ Kenneth Whalum & Ayana Contreras Tickets | @ Dorians, Chicago | DICE
Dorians Presents NYE '25 Kenneth Whalum Sounds by Ayana Contreras **TICKETS INCLUDE:** \- Performance from Kenneth Whalum \- Dj Sets from Ayana Contrer...
Mothership Connected: Book Signing and Conversation | DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center
Mothership Connected: Book Signing and Conversation | DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center
Author Seth Neblett and Marcus Chapman of TV One’s Unsung explore the legacy of the
Amaro Freitas’ Sonic Homage to Nature and Ancestry
Amaro Freitas’ Sonic Homage to Nature and Ancestry
NPR All Things Considered: Miguel returns with 'CAOS'
NPR All Things Considered: Miguel returns with 'CAOS'
On his first album in nearly a decade, global superstar Miguel pulls inspiration from his personal life and Mexican heritage.
10/24 All Songs Considered : NPR Music Podcast
10/24 All Songs Considered : NPR Music Podcast
Brandi Carlile. Miguel. Tortoise. Host Stephen Thompson chats with Ayana Contreras from KUVO in Denver about their favorite albums out Friday, Oct. 24.The Starting 5:- Brandi Carlile, 'Returning To Myself'- Miguel, 'Caos'- Tortoise, 'Touch'- Daniel Caesar, 'Son Of Spergy'- Yazmin Lacey, 'Teal DreamsThe Lightning Round:- iLe, 'Como Las Canto Yo'- Natural Information Society, 'Perseverance Flow'- Hannah Jadagu, 'Describe'- Hether, 'Holy Water'- Joyer, 'On the Other End of the Line'See the long list of albums out Oct. 24 and sample dozens of them via our New Music Friday playlist on NPR.org.Credits:Host: Stephen ThompsonGuest: Ayana Contreras, KUVOAudio Producer: Noah CaldwellDigital Producer: Elle MannionEditor: Otis HartExecutive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Chance The Rapper Talks Growth and Legacy - THE DROP
Chance The Rapper Talks Growth and Legacy - THE DROP
Newport Jazz Fest 2025 - Lakecia Benjamin in Conversation with Ayana Contreras | KUVO Jazz
Newport Jazz Fest 2025 - Lakecia Benjamin in Conversation with Ayana Contreras | KUVO Jazz
Boogie, Skating & Benson - DownBeat Magazine
Boogie, Skating & Benson - DownBeat Magazine
By 1976, the initial incarnation of Stax Records was gone from the musical landscape, but the dreams of superstardom it had inspired thrived among Black Memphians. Stone Crush: Memphis Modern Soul 1977–1987 represents some of those…
Newport Jazz Fest 2025 - Christian McBride in conversation with Ayana Contreras | KUVO Jazz
Newport Jazz Fest 2025 - Christian McBride in conversation with Ayana Contreras | KUVO Jazz
Listening to spinning records, and Red Line Extension opinions, at 95th Street Station - Streetsblog Chicago
Listening to spinning records, and Red Line Extension opinions, at 95th Street Station - Streetsblog Chicago
On a recent Friday, I stopped by the CTA’s 95th/Dan Ryan terminal to check out a couple of things: the system’s only in-station DJ booth, and riders’ viewpoints on the upcoming $5.7 billion Red Line Extension to 130th Street. The DJ booth project, called “An Extended Song of Our People (AESOP)” is a public art…
DownBeat Magazine Critics Capsules
DownBeat Magazine Critics Capsules
We asked our participating critics to elaborate on several of this year’s honorees in the 73rd Annual DownBeat Critics Poll. They had plenty of high praise for the following artists and expressed insightful personal connections to their…
Lucía: From Mexico with Jazz
Lucía: From Mexico with Jazz
AESOP 95th Street Station DJ Booth
AESOP 95th Street Station DJ Booth
CTA and Local DJs Are Coming Back to Provide Commuters with Music and Good Sounds at the 95th/Dan Ryan Terminal
CTA and Local DJs Are Coming Back to Provide Commuters with Music and Good Sounds at the 95th/Dan Ryan Terminal
Fred Wesley & the New J.B.’s bring the funk to Pritzker Pavilion - Chicago Reader
Fred Wesley & the New J.B.’s bring the funk to Pritzker Pavilion - Chicago Reader
Tank and the Bangas Talk Tiny Desk Origins & Creating Without Limits | JAS June Experience
Tank and the Bangas Talk Tiny Desk Origins & Creating Without Limits | JAS June Experience
Sacred Grounds, Gospel Sounds
Sacred Grounds, Gospel Sounds
New York Times: Baltimore’s Brandon Woody Channels His Hometown on ‘For the Love of It All’
New York Times: Baltimore’s Brandon Woody Channels His Hometown on ‘For the Love of It All’
NPR New Music Friday: The best new albums out April 25
NPR New Music Friday: The best new albums out April 25
Tiny Desk Contest Top Shelf 2025: Episode 4 with Ayana Contreras
Tiny Desk Contest Top Shelf 2025: Episode 4 with Ayana Contreras
We Just Got To Do This: Adrian Younge talks uplifting legends with Jazz Is Dead - THE DROP
We Just Got To Do This: Adrian Younge talks uplifting legends with Jazz Is Dead - THE DROP
Roberta Flack on WJPC in Chicago discussing Japan's Love of Black Music (1978)
Roberta Flack on WJPC in Chicago discussing Japan's Love of Black Music (1978)
Mellow Dreamin': The Times of Drummer Isaac "Redd" Holt
Mellow Dreamin': The Times of Drummer Isaac "Redd" Holt
Soulful Strut (my current radio show) | Saturday 2pm-4pm (Mountain Time) - KUVO
Soulful Strut (my current radio show) | Saturday 2pm-4pm (Mountain Time) - KUVO
Energy Never Dies: Afro-Optimism and Creativity in Chicago (my book)
Energy Never Dies: Afro-Optimism and Creativity in Chicago (my book)
TV/Doc Work
The War on Disco | American Experience | PBS (2023)
The War on Disco | American Experience | PBS (2023)
"Women Who Rock" Truth (TV Episode 2022) - IMDb
"Women Who Rock" Truth (TV Episode 2022) - IMDb
"Women Who Rock" Defiance (TV Episode 2022) - IMDb
"Women Who Rock" Defiance (TV Episode 2022) - IMDb
Legacy: From Horns to House (2020) - IMDb
Legacy: From Horns to House (2020) - IMDb
Recent Press
WGN Radio OTL #934: Chicago Style celebrates local fashion history
WGN Radio OTL #934: Chicago Style celebrates local fashion history
Vocalo Radio Gave Some Of Chicago’s Biggest Stars Their Start. It Will Go Off The Air Next Month
Vocalo Radio Gave Some Of Chicago’s Biggest Stars Their Start. It Will Go Off The Air Next Month
‘The War on Disco’: How high-energy music made some want to dance, and others want to demolish
‘The War on Disco’: How high-energy music made some want to dance, and others want to demolish
A meditation on the flow of being - Chicago Reader
A meditation on the flow of being - Chicago Reader
Other Work/Events
Jazz as a Salve For Our Times | KUVO Jazz
Jazz as a Salve For Our Times | KUVO Jazz
Jazz Talks 2025 — Winter Jazzfest
Jazz Talks 2025 — Winter Jazzfest
NPR Music 124 Best Songs of 2024
NPR Music 124 Best Songs of 2024
Save the Children - Cinema Chicago
Save the Children - Cinema Chicago
5 Minutes That Will Make You Love the Vibraphone
5 Minutes That Will Make You Love the Vibraphone
Theaster Gates and Ayana Contreras: The Sound of Johnson Publishing Company
Theaster Gates and Ayana Contreras: The Sound of Johnson Publishing Company
Chicago Style Film & Fashion Show
Chicago Style Film & Fashion Show
GuestBook Playlist (classic Parkway Ballroom-inspired sounds)
GuestBook Playlist (classic Parkway Ballroom-inspired sounds)
it wasn't love, by Ayana Contreras
it wasn't love, by Ayana Contreras
Carlos Niño & Friends - More Energy Fields, Current — International Anthem | A Chicago-Born Recording Company That Produces And Promotes Progressive Media
Carlos Niño & Friends - More Energy Fields, Current — International Anthem | A Chicago-Born Recording Company That Produces And Promotes Progressive Media
NPR New Music Friday: Nov 03 : All Songs Considered
NPR New Music Friday: Nov 03 : All Songs Considered
Blue Note Jazz Festival Napa 2023 Highlights Jazz's many "Angles"
Blue Note Jazz Festival Napa 2023 Highlights Jazz's many "Angles"
Yussef Dayes’s ‘Black Classical Music’ Shows “The Relation Between All These Different Stars”
Yussef Dayes’s ‘Black Classical Music’ Shows “The Relation Between All These Different Stars”
"Rare Jewel" Color Footage Of 1948 Bud Billiken Parade Rediscovered
"Rare Jewel" Color Footage Of 1948 Bud Billiken Parade Rediscovered
Chance the Rapper relives the ‘Acid Rap’ era with emotional United Center blowout
Chance the Rapper relives the ‘Acid Rap’ era with emotional United Center blowout
Gary Simmons: Public Enemy at MCA Chicago
Gary Simmons: Public Enemy at MCA Chicago
Meshell Ndegeocello: A Virgo's Dreams Past, Present & Future
Meshell Ndegeocello: A Virgo's Dreams Past, Present & Future
Kassa Overall on The Shifting of The Cool
Kassa Overall on The Shifting of The Cool
Emily King's New Album Is Out: That's A Special Occasion
Emily King's New Album Is Out: That's A Special Occasion
Chance the Rapper’s ‘Acid Rap’ mixtape is turning 10 | WBEZ Chicago
Chance the Rapper’s ‘Acid Rap’ mixtape is turning 10 | WBEZ Chicago
Indie Soul Icon Teedra Moses Sits Down With Ayana Contreras
Indie Soul Icon Teedra Moses Sits Down With Ayana Contreras
Eddie Kendricks’ ‘People’ Was No Accident
Eddie Kendricks’ ‘People’ Was No Accident
DJ Ayana Contreras Logo T-shirt - Etsy
DJ Ayana Contreras Logo T-shirt - Etsy
More Written/Audio Work
My Written Work for Vocalo Radio 91.1FM
My Written Work for Vocalo Radio 91.1FM
My Work for NPR Music
My Work for NPR Music
DownBeat Magazine Author Archive
DownBeat Magazine Author Archive
Finding Phoenix: Lakecia Benjamin Enters Her Next Phase (DownBeat Cover Story Feb '23)
Finding Phoenix: Lakecia Benjamin Enters Her Next Phase (DownBeat Cover Story Feb '23)
2023 Best New Artist Grammy Awardee Samara Joy In Conversation With Ayana Contreras
2023 Best New Artist Grammy Awardee Samara Joy In Conversation With Ayana Contreras
(New York Times) Terri Lyne Carrington's New Standards Feature
(New York Times) Terri Lyne Carrington's New Standards Feature
Five Minutes That Will Make You Love 21st-Century Jazz (NYT)
Five Minutes That Will Make You Love 21st-Century Jazz (NYT)
Here are 5 Chicago soul records you should know : World Cafe Words and Music Podcast
Here are 5 Chicago soul records you should know : World Cafe Words and Music Podcast
Left of Black | Afro-Optimism and Black Chicago with Ayana Contreras
Left of Black | Afro-Optimism and Black Chicago with Ayana Contreras
Chicago Is a Nexus of ’60s–’70s Black Music (guesting on Slate's Hit Parade Podcast)
Chicago Is a Nexus of ’60s–’70s Black Music (guesting on Slate's Hit Parade Podcast)
Charles Stepney built lasting cathedrals inside Black music - Chicago Reader
Charles Stepney built lasting cathedrals inside Black music - Chicago Reader
Vocalo Radio 91.1FM interview - Keyon Harrold: Shaman Of Sound
Vocalo Radio 91.1FM interview - Keyon Harrold: Shaman Of Sound
My DownBeat Blue Note Jazz Fest Napa Recap
My DownBeat Blue Note Jazz Fest Napa Recap
Charles Stepney: Out of the Shadows w/ Black Monument Ensemble at Millennium Park
Charles Stepney: Out of the Shadows w/ Black Monument Ensemble at Millennium Park
Chance The Rapper At Vocalo: “You Can’t Thrive Without Community” – Vocalo Radio 91.1FM
Chance The Rapper At Vocalo: “You Can’t Thrive Without Community” – Vocalo Radio 91.1FM
The International Anthem Podcast
The International Anthem Podcast
Reclaimed Soul (Vocalo/WBEZ Radio)
Reclaimed Soul (Vocalo/WBEZ Radio)
Other Written Work
Other Written Work
Archived Talks
Conversation: Kwame Brathwaite—Things Well Worth Waiting For | The Art Institute of Chicago
Conversation: Kwame Brathwaite—Things Well Worth Waiting For | The Art Institute of Chicago
MCA - Music Talk: Nona Hendryx and Jamila Woods with Ayana Contreras
MCA - Music Talk: Nona Hendryx and Jamila Woods with Ayana Contreras
Ayana Contreras Q&A + Book Signing at The Silver Room [recording]
Ayana Contreras Q&A + Book Signing at The Silver Room [recording]
Imagining Chicago’s Future: A Film Screening & Conversation
Imagining Chicago’s Future: A Film Screening & Conversation
Energy Never Dies Press
Stax Museum Celebrates Chi-Town Soul
Stax Museum Celebrates Chi-Town Soul
WTTW / ‘Energy Never Dies’ Reflects on Chicago’s Black History, Culture
WTTW / ‘Energy Never Dies’ Reflects on Chicago’s Black History, Culture
Chicago Tribune / What We’re Reading: With ‘Energy Never Dies,’ Ayana Contreras has written the cultural biography of Black Chicago
Chicago Tribune / What We’re Reading: With ‘Energy Never Dies,’ Ayana Contreras has written the cultural biography of Black Chicago
WBEZ / Ayana Contreras’ new book is a love letter to the creativity, optimism of Black Chicago
WBEZ / Ayana Contreras’ new book is a love letter to the creativity, optimism of Black Chicago
Ayana Contreras and the Fight to Keep Black Chicago Alive | Chicago Defender
Ayana Contreras and the Fight to Keep Black Chicago Alive | Chicago Defender
Chicago magazine / Ayana Contreras Spotlights the Power of Black Excellence
Chicago magazine / Ayana Contreras Spotlights the Power of Black Excellence
Weaving together memoir, music and history, Ayana Contreras’s 'Energy Never Dies' is her altar of dreams • The TRiiBE
Weaving together memoir, music and history, Ayana Contreras’s 'Energy Never Dies' is her altar of dreams • The TRiiBE
Unapologetic Boldness: Exploring Intergenerational Connections in Ayana Contreras’ Energy Never Dies | Newcity Lit
Unapologetic Boldness: Exploring Intergenerational Connections in Ayana Contreras’ Energy Never Dies | Newcity Lit
Energy Never Dies Excerpts
Book Excerpt / To Write a Revolution on the Sky: On the Radical Legacy of Curtis Mayfield
Book Excerpt / To Write a Revolution on the Sky: On the Radical Legacy of Curtis Mayfield
Book Excerpt / On Stony Island Avenue: Boulevard of Black Culture
Book Excerpt / On Stony Island Avenue: Boulevard of Black Culture
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