Duane Powell

DUANE POWELL created the interactive lecture series Rear View Mirror Sessions, in which he shares his vast knowledge about the history of music legends at UChicago Arts, Stanford University, Detroit Institute of Arts, and Chicago Public Library. With his knowledge of the music industry, Powell became a fixture on the global music scene and began speaking about his knowledge of the business on panels and workshops, including The International Soul Summit (ATL), Urban Organic (Detroit), I Got Soul Conference (Dallas), Chicago Artist Resource, and the Chicago Cultural Center.

His love for conducting music led him to the world of DJing. Having attended Columbia College with radio as his major, Powell has had popular internet radio programs and podcasts on Swank Society, Silver Room Digital, Lumpen Radio, and Vocalo. In 2022, he was chosen to represent Chicago as a featured DJ for the hugely global Boiler Room TV. He also recorded DJ sets for the globally popular Elevator Music and LOT Radio. Locally, he has spun at, and has residencies at, many of the most popular venues and galleries around the city, including the House of Blues, Virgin Hotel, Museum of Contemporary Art, and Navy Pier. In addition, he has opened for many heavyweights in music, including Frankie Beverly & Maze at The Taste of Chicago, and has shared the bill with many legendary DJs and Grammy-winning producers in the dance music world, including Joe Claussell, Lil Louis, DJ Spinna, Steve “Silk” Hurley, Maurice Joshua, Josh Milan, Timmy Regisford, and Ron Trent. In 2019, he was named Chicago’s best House Music DJ by the Chicago Reader. Globally, he has become a resident for the AfroSoul Festival, headlining their festivals in Ghana, Curaçao and Cartagena. He’s also played national festivals including AfroDisco Miami, House in the Park ATL, Capitol House Festival D.C., Phoenix House Festival, Venice Rebel Jazz Festival, Movement Weekender Detroit, and Detroit African Heritage Festival.

As a program partner for the Rebuild Foundation and a board member of the Frankie Knuckles Foundation, Powell combined his love of house music, his love for conducting, and the power to move people through music to curate Sunday Service, a bi-weekly event in which he spins music from gospel, to house, to inspirational, and tribal, aimed at connecting with his following (referred to as his “congregation”) on a deeper level. A spiritual level. In 2022, with his Sunday Service, he opened the stage at the Chicago Gospel Fest. Also in 2022, he was invited to bring Sunday Service to the National Mall in D.C. as a part of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.