Page 13 - Florida Sentinel 3-19-21

FLORIDA SENTINEL FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021 B
Tampa Bay Black Heritage Festival To Host 2-Day Music Fest Easter Weekend
The In-Person and Virtual 2-Day Music Fest Incorpo- rates Gospel, R&B Funk, Jazz, and R&B Pop at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park in Down- town Tampa
The 21ST Annual Tampa Bay Black Heritage Festival (TBBHF) is set to host a dy- namic 2-Day Hybrid Music Fest Easter Weekend, Satur- day and Sunday, April 3rd & 4th, 2021, at Curtis Hixon Wa- terfront Park (600 N. Ashley Dr., Tampa, Florida), from 1 p. m.-9 p. m., with gates opening at 11:30 a. m.
On Saturday, national R&B/Funk group, The Bar- Kays and Smooth Jazz group G-Force (Tim Brown, Nils, and Steve Oliver) will per- form.
On Easter Sunday, national Gospel artist Jonathan McReynolds will set the stage, and Legendary
THE BAR-KAYS ...Saturday performers
Sheila E.
...To close out the weekend
2539.
In addition to these dy-
namic international perform- ances, local and regional musical artists will showcase their talents on the small
stage. Local and regional Food and merchant vendors will be present on-site with select vendors available online for virtual purchasing. By popular demand, Uncle Nearest Pre- mium Whiskey will return to host the Uncle Nearest Experi- ence (UNE). All Events will take place at Curtis Hixon Wa- terfront Park in downtown Tampa.
As the Festival continues to observe COVID-19 protocol, temperature checks will be conducted, and masks are re- quired to enter the Music Fest.
“This year’s Music Fest will have a different feel, but the energy and great lineup of en- tertainment, food and vendors will still be present,” says TBBHF Co-Chairs Ruby Jackson and William Sanders, “Safety is our prior- ity and guidelines will be en- forced.”
Grammy
R&B/Pop artist, Sheila E. will close out the weekend.
General Admission Virtual and In-Person tickets, Pre- ferred Seating, Cabana Seat-
ing, and VIP tickets are all available for purchase online. Seating is limited. For more information and to purchase tickets visit www.tampablack- heritage.org, or call 813-325-
nominated,
Fisk Jubilee Singers Win First Grammy In 150-Year Career
150 years after the original group was founded — and subsequently brought African- American music to the world — Nashville's Fisk Jubilee Singers have just won their first-ever Grammy Award.
At Sunday's pre-telecast "Premiere Ceremony," the vocal group's "Celebrating Fisk! (The 150th Anniversary Album)" was named Best Roots Gospel Album, earning them their first Grammy since forming in 1871.
"Hallelujah," said Dr. Paul Kwami, who has served as the group’s musical director since 1994.
"I just want to thank God. I thank Shannon Sanders and our wonderful team of en- gineers. I thank our wonderful guest artists. I thank Curb Records... I'm very grateful to Butch Spyridon and his staff. I thank the Fisk Univer- sity family. I thank the Ryman Auditorium staff for their won- derful help, and all the fans around the world. Thank you
The nine original members formed the singing group in 1871 and kept Fisk University from closing and brought lasting respect to the Black spiritual. (George Walker, IV/The Tennessean)
concerts at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium in recent years, featuring guest artists Ruby Amanfu, Keb’ Mo’, Lee Ann Womack, The Fair- field Four, Rod McGaha, Derek Minor, Shannon Sanders, Rodney Atkins, Jimmy Hall and CeCe Winans.
After receiving the award, Kwami said he wanted to "honor those original" stu- dents who founded the group in 1871.
The Fisk Jubilee Singers were nominated previously for a Grammy, in 2009. The group is now part of the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and the Music City Walk of Fame.
The group has a full "Year of Jubilee" planned to celebrate its 150th anniversary — which is officially on October 6 — in- cluding lectures, virtual re- unions and concerts.
To learn more and see the full schedule, visit theyearofju- bilee.org.
so much, hallelujah."
When Fisk University treas-
urer George Leonard White assembled the group in 1871 and booked a tour to raise money for the struggling school, it introduced the world to “slave songs” or “Negro spir- ituals” — music Black Ameri- cans made for themselves. Among the songs they helped
popularize were "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and "Steal Away to Jesus."
In its first four years as a group, the singers toured the U. S. and Europe and per- formed for Queen Victoria, Mark Twain and President Ulysses S. Grant.
And to be fair to the Record- ing Academy, The Grammys
have only existed for 63 of those 150 years. The group even predates the advent of commercial recordings.
Their 1909 recording of "Swing Low" is the earliest known recording of the song, and is now in the Library of Congress.
The winning album draws its recordings from several