The American Jazz Museum is thrilled to announce Grammy Award winner and soul singer Lalah Hathaway as a headliner for the Kansas City Jazz & Heritage Festival, Memorial Day weekend, May 26-28, 2017. Hathaway’s most recent release, Lalah Hathaway Live, earned her two Grammy Awards in 2017 for Best R&B Album and Best Traditional R&B Performance. Together these wins propelled her into Grammy history as the record-holder of two consecutive wins in R&B categories.
Like her father, Donny Hathaway, Lalah possesses the same velvety smooth tone and powerful style. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, she grew up in a musical family. She has been in the music industry for more than three decades, after the release of her 1990 debut album. Throughout the years Lalah has worked with artists such as Take 6, Mary J. Blige, the Winans, Robert Glasper. She has also collaborated with jazz icons including saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr., bass guitarist Marcus Miller, and pianist Joe Sample. Her 2015 album, Lalah Hathaway Live, includes a cover of the Anita Baker 1983 classic, “Angel,” in addition to a tribute to her father with a near perfect rendition of his 1972 hit “Little Ghetto Boy,” for which she received a Grammy Award in 2016. As a philanthropist, Lalah serves as a national ambassador for Circle of Promise educating and empowering African-Americans in the fight against breast cancer with the Susan G. Komen For the Cure Foundation campaign.
Lalah Hathaway will open the Kansas City Jazz and Heritage Festival on May 26th on the Paseo Boulevard Main Stage. The Paseo will be closed from Truman Road to 19th Street for the weekend. Grammy award winners John Scofield and Brandy; MacArthur Fellowship “Genius Grant” awardee Regina Carter; and the hot new sensation, The Hot Sardines, will round out the national headliners for the main stage. The festival also honors Kansas City’s rich heritage in jazz by featuring local musicians and worldwide phenomena Bobby Watson, McFadden Brothers, Kevin Mahogany, and Oleta Adams.
Cheptoo Kositany-Buckner, Executive Director of the American Jazz Museum states, “The citizens of Kansas City are deserving of an international music festival to celebrate their role in jazz, blues, and music in general. The American Jazz Museum encourages Kansas City to come out to make this the cultural event the city so richly deserves.”
Tickets to the Main Stage begin at $25. Community Stage and Made in Kansas City vendor areas are FREE and open to the public. Advance single-day tickets, 4-day weekend passes, and VIP passes are available for purchase online at kcjazzfest.com or by calling (816) 474-8463. Tickets can also be purchased in person at the American Jazz Museum Box Office. Sign up on kcjazzfest.com to receive updates on the latest information and lineup.
Support for the Kansas City Jazz and Heritage Festival includes the National Endowment of the Arts, City of Kansas City, Hall Family Foundation and more.
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