Juneteenth – Songs of Black Folk 2023

• Darin Atwater, voice
• Soloman Howard, bass
• Jacqueline Echols, soprano
• James Connor, voice
• Crystal Renee Aikin, voice
• Josephine Howell, voice
• The Choir
• Ramón Bryant Braxton, conductor

When a stellar cast of notable African American musical artists from all over the United States convene for Seattle's premier Juneteenth Celebration, you know it's going to be good. The lineup spans multimusical genres, featuring a lineup of Google-able talent performing gospel to opera to jazz, and all points between, backed by a stellar symphony orchestra. Last year's stellar inaugural event at McCaw Hall has now grown and moved to the historic Paramount Theatre.

About Songs of Black Folk

Songs of Black Folk presents a music tradition that began on the African continent and was transported to the Americas, via slave ships, and took root in the daily sufferings of an enslaved Black people who chose to survive and who fought to be free. This Concert will feature the rise of the Negro Spirituals and demonstrate how they have evolved into other Black musical genres including, blues, Gospel, jazz, R&B, Hip-Hop, and even spoken word.

Importantly, the audience will be shown how Black musical culture has functioned as both a tool of resistance and as a powerful source of hope for a Black people who have endured four centuries of white supremacy and its relentless assault on Black lives. Ultimately, the intent of SBF is to use music to connect the African American struggle for freedom, justice, dignity, and happiness with the struggles of other Americans who have had to fight their way from the margins of American society into the mainstream.

About Darin Atwater, voice

Darin Atwater is a critically acclaimed composer, conductor, pianist, record producer, arranger, film composer, vocalist, and arts advocate.

About Soloman Howard, bass

Soloman Howard, one of the most acclaimed opera singers in the world, brings his voice described as "sonorous" by The New York Times, "Superhuman" by the Denver Post, and "a triumph" by The Guardian.

About Jacqueline Echols, soprano

Lyric soprano Jacqueline Echols has been praised for her "dynamic range and vocal acrobatics" (Classical Voice) in theaters across the United States.

About James Connor, voice

James Connor has been a performer at Universal Studios since 2009 and is a Gospel and R&B recording artist, composer, conductor, pianist, dancer, and actor.

About Crystal Renee Aikin, voice

Crystal Renee Aikin is an American gospel singer-songwriter from Tacoma, Washington, and the winner of the first season of Sunday Best.

About Josephine Howell, voice

Josephine Howell is arguably the Pacific Northwest's most popular and beloved African American vocalist on the scene today and flows seamlessly between rhythm & blues, jazz, and gospel music.

About The Choir

The Choir is an intergenerational Choral group of 40 gifted African American singers from the Puget Sound community.

About Ramón Bryant Braxton, conductor

https://abyssinian.org/announcement/ramon-braxton-bryant/