In her elements
Dutch ReBelle fires out for Museum of Science show
Dutch ReBelle spent the past decade becoming one of Boston’s most radical and magnetic musical artists. On March 25, ReBelle teams with another musical giant in the city, the Museum of Science.
Wait, the place with artificial lightning bolts and butterfly greenhouse? Yes!
“The Museum of Science put me on a billboard off 93, so I would say they are a major player,” ReBelle said with a laugh. “I had never been there before (I started working with them) because I didn’t feel I had a reason to go. Now you’re telling me that people I like are getting booked there, and they are doing drag shows, and they are doing super creative performances with a 360-camera that cost more than my life.”
The hip hop champ first worked with the Museum of Science in 2019 for a concert in Charles Hayden Planetarium. Last summer, Dutch and the Museum of Science went virtual, pairing her music with high-tech, bright-and-bold visuals. Because both artist and institution never want to repeat what they’ve done, this tag team will be completely different. The March 25 event puts a spin on cartoon hero Captain Planet with “Captain Dutchy: When Powers Combine!”
“If you know about Captain Planet, it’s when earth, fire, wind, water and heart combine that he can save the universe,” she said. “The Museum of Science was giving me these opportunities to pull in all my superpowers (in my events). Now they want me to present who I think is important to me.”
With the theme set, ReBelle curated the show by thinking of artists that represent each element to her and could combine hip hop, R&B, dance and more with state-of-the-art technology.
“Trend N Motion is a dance crew that does countless different kinds of dance productions and have worked with me before and they represent wind because they move like no other,” she said. “An artist like King Fiya from Cambridge represents earth because the kind of music he makes represents the getting-it-out-of-themud gritty vibe. Miranda Rae, who was Boston Music
Awards’ R&B Artist of the Year, represents water because her voice is like water to me. Frank Vocals from Lowell, who I love, is my heart artist.”
The lineup represents talents that ReBelle loves and ones she thinks need more love from the scene. But she made sure to leave some space for the fire she brings to every song, show and event she touches.
“Fire is going to be me and a little medley set of Caribbean music and Caribbean influences,” said ReBelle, who was born in Haiti. “I’ll have the four artist on my ‘Big Zoe’ remix, that’s Eddy
Fish, Hundred Round Kado, Shellz and Reem Skully, join me for a little thing.”
Everything will roll out virtually (get ready for some wild and trippy green screen tech). ReBelle misses performing live but she’s made the most of the magic offered up by the museum.
“The sky’s the limit and that’s definitely something a place with a planetarium would say,” she said with a laugh.
Find details on Dutch ReBelle at dutchrebelle.com; plus more info about this event and more music at the Museum of Science at os.org/ explore/subspace.