NYC singer Amy León offers a unique and powerful blend of spoken word and soul, through a delivery that fuses singing and poetry. She tackles social inequality and celebrates blackness in her most poignant track, “Burning in Birmingham,” which starts as a soul ballad and turns to spoken word: “Didn’t I die for them? / Didn’t we do this already? / Who let Jim back in the White House?” Her voice is soothing, her lyrics stop-you-in-your-tracks striking, and her music builds to a point where it sounds as if it might burst. The way she reaches a chaotic, bustling climax in both “Burning in Birmingham” and “Child of the Sun” seems to express some sort of catharsis for León, a form of healing through art. Don’t miss the chance to see her unique style on June 5th at Baby’s All Right. -Lily Crandall

Poet/educator Amy Leon is born artistically of the Nuyorican Slam scene. As such, anthems about love and strength are fueled by undercurrents of social justice and feminism; soul and gospel vibrate from every fiber. Look for a solo debut this summer and in the interim check out her latest music video for "Burning in Birningham" (Streaming below) and catch ebullient live show, which includes often politically charged improvised spoken-word, on August 5 at Joe's Pub. - Jason Grimste

Monday October 26th marks the last appointment with the Deli Sponsored, collaborative series The Hum at Greeinpoint's Manhattan Inn, featuring several talented female NYC musicians, collaborating with each other on new material.

Monday will see a heck of a lot of talent, starting with amazing, mesmerizing guitarist Kaki King, accompanied on drums by Kiran Gandhi of Madame Gandhi. Following up, a three way collaboration between experimental violinist Jeanann Dara, singer Katie Von Schleicher of mellow rootsy quintet Wilder Maker and out of control noise rock DIY artist Rose Blanshei of Prima - this one promises sparkles. The night will end with three more women on stage: soulful singer Alisha Roney of Feathers+Eyes, classic soul singer Amy Leon and Bridget Kearney from wonderful folk rock band Lake Street Dive.

This is going to be a great night of music, see you there, there will be a lot of Deli mags for you to read in between performances!

The Deli's Folks (in the picture, by David Andrako; Lorna Dune and Emily Wells at last week's installment of The Hum).