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POP CONFERENCE 2025

Baby, It’s a Look!
Popular Music, Style, and Fashion at the Edge

March 13 - 15, 2025

Los Angeles, California

Presented by USC Thornton School of Music

With the  International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM-US) and Critical Minded


Over three exciting days of panels, roundtables, keynotes, and special events, the 23rd annual Pop Conference will explore the deep and complex relationship between popular music, style, and fashion. This year’s theme, “Baby, It’s a Look: Popular Music, Style, and Fashion at the Edge,” draws its inspiration from a 2017 Leikeli47 lyric and marks the first joint gathering of PopCon and IASPM-US since 2012.

Fashion and music are inextricably linked, from Josephine Baker’s banana skirt, Cab Calloway’s zoot suits, Billie Holiday’s signature gardenia, to The Beatles’ mop-top haircuts. Today, the connection between pop music and fashion remains stronger than ever. Visualizers thrive on streaming platforms; fashion runways in Paris, Rio de Janeiro, and Johannesburg deploy pop music to bring designers’ visions to life; and musicians themselves blaze new trails designing streetwear collections and serving as creative directors for major fashion houses. 

But style has always been much more than just commerce or escapism—it has long been a space for critique, refusal, defiance, and radical expression. At its most powerful, style challenges norms, blurs boundaries, and pushes artistic and cultural frontiers, moving us right to the edge. 

This year’s conference returns to USC’s Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles just months after January 2025’s catastrophic Eaton and Palisades wildfires, and during a time of profound global upheaval and turmoil. The 2025 “Baby, It’s a Look: Popular Music, Style, and Fashion at the Edge” conference presents a remix, an opportunity to reconsider how fashion and music shape the world we live in, reflecting our realities, struggles, and aspirations while leading us toward the very edge of what feels possible.

Open to the public and free admission with conference registration on Eventbrite. Some events may require separate registration.
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Black Radical Blues: Dance and Dialogue with Oakland Blues’ Fashion Icons (Performance and Panel Discussion)
Saturday March 15, 2025 2:15pm - 4:00pm PDT
USC Carson Television Center
Overview:
This proposed performance and panel discussion offers an immersive experience that bridges the music, fashion, and political identities of three of Oakland’s most iconic blues musicians: "The Cowboy" William McCallister, "The Pimp" Fillmore Slim, “Lady” Earnestine Barze, and Ronnie Stewart. These legendary figures will headline a live blues jam session, followed by a panel discussion where they will explore the intersection of their music, fashion, and political expression.

The Performance:
The jam session will feature a four-piece blues band led by McCallister, Slim, and Barze, whose distinctive styles—characterized by the deep roots of traditional blues, mixed with the rich cultural history of Oakland—offer a powerful sonic and visual experience. Audiences will be immersed in an authentic blues jam, showcasing the raw emotion and spontaneity of the genre.

The Panel Discussion:
After the performance, Dr. Victoria Xaka will lead a panel discussion centered on the ways in which these musicians iconic fashion choices—ranging from McCallister’s cowboy hats and boots to Slim’s nostalgic street-inspired wardrobe, to Barze’s bold aesthetic—reflect both their individual identities and their political stances. The panel will be moderated by Dr. Victoria Xaka, a Black feminist music theorist, who will guide the conversation through topics of cultural appropriation, political resistance, and the role of fashion in articulating the cultural significance of blues music in the context of Oakland’s Black Radical history. The panel will provide attendees with an insightful look into how fashion is used as a tool for political and personal expression within the intergenerational community supported by Oakland’s local blues scene.

Conclusion:
This performance and panel discussion will offer a unique lens into the intersection of music, fashion, and politics, celebrating Oakland’s rich cultural heritage while fostering important dialogue about identity, resistance, and artistic expression.
Moderators
VX

Victoria Xaka

Cornell University
Victoria Netanus Xaka is a black feminist sound theorist and abolitionist educator. She is also an Assistant Professor of Music and Sound Studies at Cornell University. Her academic and creative work center the Black Radical Tradition and black feminist dreamspace. She is deeply invested... Read More →
Speakers
WM
FS
EB
RS
Saturday March 15, 2025 2:15pm - 4:00pm PDT
USC Carson Television Center 3450 Watt Way, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
  Session

Attendees (4)


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