Turn in Grand Center hosts music-inspired special event on February 1

David Kirkland has a bit of a music problem, to which he readily confesses. The chef-owner of Turn has DJed on a semi-pro level at local clubs, and the primary visual element at his midtown restaurant on the ground floor of the .ZACK building is a floor-to-ceiling wall of album covers, which has gone through occasional (ahem) turns in stock. 

On February 1, from 5–11 p.m., the restaurant will freshen up the wall again—but with a curated twist.

Dubbed Soulful Turn, the special event will include soul-food classics, a record spin and pop-up shop, and the first chance to see the restaurant’s new rotation of album covers, curated by Quinn Cunningham, owner of Funk Trunk Records. Cunningham will fill the 72-record wall with sounds from the '60s, '70s, '80s, and '90s.

Specializing in soul, funk disco, jazz, and "other popular music within the black diaspora," Cunningham’s Chicago-based online record store and pop-up shop aims to "educate the public and bridge the generation gap between his older and younger music customers."

“The albums he’s picked out for the wall are amazing,” says Kirkland. “The range of soul and spoken word albums from the ‘60s to the ‘80s will give a good experience of what he’s picked up. It’ll interest people young and old.”

It was album covers that first brought Kirkland and Cunningham together, after the chef noticed Cunningham's Instagram page. "We started following each other, and he started coming to the restaurant," recalls Kirkland. "My wife and I asked if he wanted to come out and curate the wall, reaching out around Thanksgiving.”

Eventually, they decided that February 1 would be a perfect time to not only update the album-inspired art but also to introduce the monthly emphasis on soul food and some equally inspired cocktails. With a small laugh, Kirkland says his kitchen offerings in February will be “as healthy as possible,” though it sounds as if it’s a comfort food dream menu, with his take on "catfish and greens, sides like creamed spinach and new looks at the classics.”

Kirkland will then offer the soul food-inspired menu during dinner service on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights throughout February. The wall will also remain in place throughout the month, if not longer.

While Kirkland is enthusiastic about the event’s food component, he's most excited about the music: “I need more records in my life.”