Voices of Freedom ’19 includes Grammy winners
Bravo Niagara! is set to host the fifth annual Voices of Freedom Festival, one of its major events of the year.
The festival will include performances from Grammy award winners and free community events.
The Voices of Freedom Festival is a Niagara-based event that recognizes Black history and contributes to giving a “voice to music that was born out of oppression and highlights the ongoing journey to freedom,” according to a media release.
“Music has the power to bring people of diverse backgrounds together, and we are thrilled to be presenting these incredible musical storytellers,” said executive director Alexis Spieldenner.
The festival will run from Nov. 7 to 9, with the Voices of Freedom concert Nov. 8 in Partridge Hall at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.
Opening the night will be Larnell Lewis and his band, with special guest Bakithi Kumalo. Lewis, a Grammy-winning drummer, was just on tour with Quincy Jones and his band received a Juno nomination for its debut album “In The Moment.”
Kumalo is a South African bassist who has performed with Paul Simon in the past.
The headliner for the night will be legendary jazz pianist Monty Alexander and the Harlem-Kingston Express.
Alexander, from Kingston, Jamaica, merges his native sounds with the classic jazz of New York’s Harlem.
Throughout the weekend, free community events will take place across the region.
On Nov. 7, Kumalo will host a workshop with students from Laura Secord Secondary School.
Lewis will also host a student workshop at the St. Catharines school Nov. 8.
On Nov. 9 at 11 a.m., there will be an Artists As Activists roundtable at the Niagara Historical Museum.
The roundtable will include Kumalo, producer and artist manager Céline Peterson and Stanford Thompson, founder and executive director of the El Sistema-inspired organization Play On, Philly!
The roundtable will be moderated by Garvia Bailey.
To conclude the weekend, on Nov. 9 at 4 p.m. there will be a screening of “Crescendo: The Power of Music,” and Thompson will be a special guest.
The film will be played at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.
For more information about the Voices of Freedom Festival, to register for the free community events and to purchase tickets to the Nov. 8 concert visit bravoniagara.org.