Journey to Journey Arts: a conversation with Talie Cerin
As the newest staff member at Journey Arts, I always find myself drawn to tracing the individual threads that come together behind the scenes. The fabric of a work is often a woven tapestry of relationships, admiration, experiences, and the subsequent inspiration that grows the seed of an idea to a production on stage bearing fruit!
Opening the 2025-26 Season at Journey Arts, MIWA is coming November 6-8 to Icebox Project Space. An exploration of rituals of care passed through generations, the immersive work blends film and music from Haitian-American sisters Lunise Cerin and Talie Cerin. Journey Arts audiences have been well-acquainted with the sparkling voice of the latter of this creative duo.
An alumnus of the Table Sessions, Talie’s work draws from Haitian folk music and American soul. MIWA’s debut will showcase the latest evolution of her explorations in sound!
In this season of charting paths, I caught up with the artist in conversation seeking to map her Journey Arts origin story. Outlining her course, “Start Here” is marked by Solomon Temple’s curation of the 2022-23 Season Table Session presentation of his long-standing event series, “Songs for the Soul”.
Solomon’s own intro to Journey Arts was via invitation from Philly poetess and icon Ursula Rucker as she curated Journey Arts’ second season of Close Ups – but those are stories for another time!
For now, read on for a conversation around Talie’s memories of “Songs for the Soul” and the long pathway to the work yet to emerge.
Sweet Corey-Bey
We'll do it the right way! It’s Sweet Corey-bey here with–say who you are!
Talie Cerin
Hi, I'm Talie. I'm a person who does music sometimes.
Sweet Corey-Bey
You're not doing music at this moment when you're talking to me, but you do do music at times. That's not this time
Talie Cerin
*Laughs* I be singing sometimes.
Sweet Corey-Bey
Period! Well I brought you here today to ask you about “Songs for the Soul”, Solomon Temple, and your journey to Journey Arts.
Talie Cerin
Yes. So “Songs for the Soul” was this monthly show Solomon used to do in Philly in like, 2017, 2018 and it was every first or last Sunday– I don't remember. And it was at this place called L’Etage which was on 6th and Bainbridge in the upstairs of the restaurant. It was just a pretty intimate space far in the back, a little stage area. Everyone would sit around it. And it was cabaret style. Solomon opened the show with a small, short set. There'd be three guests who would sing two songs, one or two songs– two songs, if Solomon was feeling it, and said, stay up there and do another one *Laughing*. And then Solomon would close with one last song. So it was not longer than 45 minutes.
I know for me, when I found it was at a time in my music career where I was like ‘I'm gonna be a Philly artist’. I was already a Haitian artist, but I wasn't a Philly artist yet, and I always felt like those things had to be separate. And I was like, ‘Well, I can't really do the Philly things because I sing in Kreyòl’. And I was like, ‘I can just show up to the Philly things and sing in Kreyòl’– It took me a long time to give myself permission to do that
Solomon heard me sing somewhere, and loved me, and we followed each other on social media. And he was like, come out [to Songs for the Soul]. And yeah,
Sweet Corey-Bey
So you were a 'two song-er'.
Talie Cerin
*Laughing* I was a ‘two song-er’. At that time, when I moved here, I moved to this house on 49th and Warrington. It was one of those really big West Philly houses with eight bedrooms where I rented the attic. And the other people in the house were artists as well and we hosted house shows. And so my roommate hosted a house show and was like, ‘Oh, I've been going around and meeting some exciting people this month– so I figured I'm gonna host a house show and just invite y'all all to sing’. But I had just moved in. He had heard me– He could hear me singing and playing from his room! He was like, ‘Do you want to be one of the people?’ So that was like two weeks into me living in that place, and that night of the show, oh, man,there's this guy named Ty Lamar. Oh, where is that person! Ty came with all his friends. Ty was this guy from Ohio, this like six foot four, dark skinned ballerina -- who sang his ass off, okay! And we became very quick friends. And he came, Mollie was there, Vincina, all these people who I like very quickly realized, ‘Oh, I just entered a scene!’ And they were all folks that you could find at “Songs for the Soul”.
Sweet Corey-Bey
They were ‘the scene’.
Talie Cerin
Yes! They were ‘the scene’. And so what was happening at “Songs for the Soul” was like, there were people who did low key R&B, experimental R&B, and Alt music– and they would sing a song, then Solomon would sing a song, and then we'd go home, and you'd feel real good. And then [Solomon] decided to move it. And there was this place on 13th--it was on Sansom somewhere. It was called Maison. It became something called Cockatoo in the last year. Have you ever been there?
Sweet Corey-Bey
No *chuckles*
Talie Cerin
It’s in the gayborhood! It's closed now– but this place was called Maison208, which was originally opened by this Haitian-American chef and his investors. He was on a Top Chef season, Chef Sylva [Senat]. He made it to the top five! And he opened Maison in like 2015, or '16 in the gayborhood, but very quickly left it. And so it was no longer Haitian, but it still had that French name. And so Maison was kind of dead. It was on its last leg. And Solomon brought 'Songs for the Soul' there and brought this place to life. That’s when a lot of people discovered "Songs for the Soul' and it became real poppin'. And-- I think at that point it became a little too poppin' for me, because Solomon really loved me, like me and Ty, we had to make a decision, like, ‘Yo, we are singing way too much at Songs for the Soul’. It's like, 'Hey, I gotta sit out a few Sundays', especially when it gets to Maison! It no longer was this very mellow thing. It became much, much bigger excitement!
Sweet Corey-Bey
I love following along with your entry into the world that Solomon really created and harnessed with “Songs for the Soul”, even as it went through different shifts
Talie Cerin
Yeah– Solomon is incredible. Like, Solomon, What a voice! Like, every time Solomon opens his mouth, I'm like, yo. Who's out singing Solomon in this city right now, who?
Sweet Corey-Bey
And I can't tell you!
Talie Cerin
So imagine, once a month you were promised a Solomon show, and it's his show. I remember there were days where I was sad, and I was like, ‘Oh, thank god. It's a Songs for the Soul night’.
Sweet Corey-Bey
So take me to where Journey Arts, Songs for the Soul– and ultimately you cross paths with our org at Solomon’s Table Sessions
Talie Cerin
Well– different presenters have presented Songs for the Soul, including Journey Arts. Songs for the Soul is actually perfect for Table Sessions--because Table Sessions is like, ‘Do you have a concept?’ And Solomon already had a well built concept. So when he did "Songs for the Soul" at MAAS, and it was me, and Jonill, and Cassie– me and, Jonill, and Cassie were like, for real, for real, Songs for the Soul folks,
Sweet Corey-Bey
like, back in the day, the bricks are being built. The OG people sitting on the floor, like no tables, no food, two songs in and out.
Talie Cerin
Yes, wow, yes. It was us. We were the people you would find. Because you know Solomon has faves and oh, you know there was supposed to be another one with an additional person at that "Songs for the Soul" at Journey Arts…but she left Philly, Hannah. Hannah was actually really good. There were these two white girls who always sang background for Solomon. They were insane --,
Sweet Corey-Bey
period. *Laughing*
Talie Cerin
They sang down, it was crazy!
Sweet Corey-Bey
You gotta be singing if you’re with Solomon! 'If you can't sing down' *gestures shrugging*
Talie Cerin
You know, I just Googled Ty Lamar for the first time in a long time. I'm just gonna play like, a small clip of things-- of something real quick, like there was one particular "Songs for the Soul" evening. Okay? It was November 10, 20.
Sweet Corey-Bey
That’s near your birthday, right?
Talie Cerin
It was the weekend before my birthday-- Yes, yes. I remember this because the following weekend I recorded my first EP– a live EP, okay, that I recorded in my living room a week before I did "Songs for the Soul". It was Ty Lamar, Hannah Lorimer, and me. It was this guy named. What's that guy's name? I don't remember his name. Solomon came out, and he opened up the night with "Erykah Badu - Green Eyes" and then Ty did "Sinner Man" and this song he wrote called “Spiritual Things” about his battle with addiction.
Sweet Corey-Bey
Wow.
Talie Cerin
And *breathlessly* oh my god. And I don't know, I did my thing. I did like "Ne Me Quitte Pas" and one of my folk songs, and that other R&B guy, oh, what's his name? I can't remember his name, but he had, he used to do this really pretty, slowed down, cover of "Hey Ya!" Oh my God! So-- he would just be with his guitars. *sings in emulation* "Heyyyyy Ya" what was his name?! *clapping* I *don't *remember *that young man's name! I don't remember his name. But that night, I had a friend in town from Boston at the show, and he was like,*gestures emphasizing* ‘What is this, Talie!”
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This conversation has been conducted, edited, and condensed for clarity by Sweet Corey-Bey
Interested in hearing the world of Songs for the Soul as told by Talie? Check out this playlist featuring songs and artists mentioned in the piece.