To commemorate the 153rd anniversary of Juneteenth, Airbnb partnered with The.Wav to host bi-coastal Junteenth celebrations in Leimert Park at J3 Collection Studio in Los Angeles and The Long Gallery Harlem in New York, for an evening of rejoicing and reflection through education and entertainment.

The.Wav curated their signature AFROHAUS experience, a group initiative, to provide a platform for artists who are dedicated to celebrating the African Diaspora. The goal of AFROHAUS is to empower diverse voices and create community centered around human expression and acceptance, according to its website.

At the Juneteenth events, AFROHAUS provided guests the opportunity to take a journey through the diaspora with live music, poetry, interpretative dance and art with the help of Airbnb Concerts through Airbnb Experiences, a platform that gives travelers the unique perspective and opportunity to live like a local with the help of resident experts.

Kelly Brett, the founder, designer and promoter of The.Wav, found it really important to host a Juneteenth concert this year to celebrate freedom with food and cool vibes.

“I feel like AFROHAUS has been a part of the community for like nine or ten months now,” Brett told Blavity. “I feel like it's important to celebrate anything that has to do with ‘black’. I'm black, I went to an HBCU, my dad’s from the South, my mom’s from the South and I grew up going to Juneteenth celebrations.”

Juneteenth Event in New York (Photo: Kisha Bari)

Airbnb partnered with The.Wav for the Juneteenth Concert because of its success as a host on the platform. As a whole, Airbnb Concerts is one of the fastest growing categories within Airbnb Experiences. The concerts offer intimate shows and unique spaces for around 100 people, according to Lamar Gary, music market manager at Airbnb.

“Their experience [AFROHAUS] takes you on a musical journey through the African Diaspora, with live music, dance, art, and it's just a fully cultural experience,” Gary said. “Juneteenth celebrates the emancipation from slavery here in the U.S. so it was a perfect fit partnering with The.Wav because of how they elevate the African Diaspora and how they’re curating their show to be inclusive of everyone.”

“It really goes back to our mission of belonging anywhere and our commitment to diversity and inclusion,” he added. “We actually say what we mean, and this is one of our ways of celebrating the culture and the richness that comes from it.”

There are a variety of concerts on the Airbnb Experiences platform today, according to Gary. Concerts take place in unique spaces from wine cellars to steamships, and are hosted by musicians, gathering places and music lovers in the community. Concerts span a range of genres including Afrobeat, jazz, folk and soul and have specific events catered to Latinx, Asian and LGBT communities.

“At Airbnb we believe that people should feel like they can belong anywhere,” Gary said. “With music, what's really exciting is that it’s a really incredibly powerful way of bringing people together and connecting them with those two things in mind. It really helps us accomplish our goal of helping people belong anywhere because we’re getting people from all cultures and all backgrounds in a room to enjoy live music together.”

The Juneteeth celebrations also highlighted The Future Project, a nonprofit organization that directly impacts youth within the community.

Gregory Stutzer, a member of The.Wav, said the Concert Series platform has given them a lot more visibility to a greater network of people who are receptive to their brand and style internationally through Airbnb.

“It really coincides with our vision of being international,” Stutzer said. “With me being from Tanzania and them having roots in different places, it just made a lot of sense. It really allowed us to connect to more of the people who are receptive to this style of music and this movement that we’re starting.”

For anyone interested in learning more about Airbnb Concerts and their mission, head here.

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