Billie Holiday News

A new work by groundbreaking composer and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic will be premiered on Tuesday, March 8, 2022.  

The first lyrics Amayo wrote & sung from the GRAMMY nominated “Fu Chronicles” Antibalas album for the song “Fist of Flowers” (Best Global Music Album of the Year 2020) begin with 'the end is a new beginning.' That is true with his 23-year run as the Lead Singer and Face of the band Antibalas. He conceptualized, composed, performed on, and illustrated the latest Antibalas album “Fu Chronicles” earning the band its first GRAMMY nomination.

Patrece Bloomfield will bring her striking vocals to a new solo cabaret Jazzy Skies With Broadway Showers: A little bit of Billie, Natalie and Broadway! in The Winter Park Playhouse Spotlight Cabaret Series, March 23 and 24, 2022.

Today, the Los Angeles-based, Wisconsin-raised performer shares a breathtaking new live version of “Go Easy Kid” featuring James Blake, along with a video of the recording. Monica Martin shared her hauntingly gorgeous “Go Easy Kid” last fall which was praised by The New York Times, among others. Watch the new performance now!

Festival de la Voix returns with live concerts and workshops. Vox Aeterna will celebrate the ninth annual Festival de la Voix, promoting live music, Canadian composers and musicians, and professional and emerging artists in seven eclectic concerts and four exceptional workshops, as well as special presentations for high school music students.

In a tribute honoring the musical legacies paved by Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday and Nina Simone, Bessie, Billie, and Nina: Pioneering Women in Jazz fills Popejoy Hall with the soundtrack of a social movement on Sunday, March 28 at 3 pm.

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and Cincinnati Pops Orchestra have unveiled details of the 2022-2023 season, featuring an extensive line-up of programs and events and marking a full return to pre-pandemic activity.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts has already welcomed some jazz greats to its stage this season, and there’s still more to come this spring, including a special presentation from Jazz at Lincoln Center on Sunday, March 6.

SISTAS THE MUSICAL has announced its return on April 2 at Off-Broadway's The Actors Temple Theatre for an open-ended run. This live musical production is written by Fulbright Scholar and Columbia University professor Dr. Dorothy Marcic, based on interviews with Black women over several years

Metropolis Performing Arts Centre is presenting Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill through March 12, 2022.

A total of $90,000 in grants is being awarded to 46 Black creatives in the greater Philadelphia area by the Black Music City project, it was announced today.

To celebrate Black History Month, Towne Street Theatre will present Black Annie and the Pastor for one night only on Sunday February 27, 2022 at 4:00 pm.

Laguna Playhouse has announced its third production of its 100th anniversary season, Artists Lounge Live presents FIRST LADY OF SONG: ALEXIS J ROSTON SINGS ELLA FITZGERALD, written by Angela Ingersoll (End of the Rainbow), musical direction by William Kurk, and starring Alexis J Roston.  

Live, professional theatre bursts from inside the Players beloved barn stage with the 2022 Summer Season! An exciting lineup of shows full of attention, transformation, beauty, and joy. The season is the perfect combination of a return of some long-missed Players' traditions, coupled with the continued excitement of newness, change, and exploration. All with the utmost focus on the ongoing comfort and safety of all at the Players.

Combining their distinct talents, the group will sing their way through four decades of music, beginning with the early blues and jazz of the 1920s and ending in the early 1950s. Iconic singers to be explored include Ma Rainey, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland. Check out the full list of tour dates now!

Under their newly created audio production banner SBH Productions, the two superstar talents will bring five new projects to Audible listeners in 2022, all of which supports the overall vision of the development deal to give rise to Black creatives and create content that speaks to the culture. Nicole Shelton is head of production for the company.

The Motor City is coming to Broadway! Special guests from Detroit and New York City will come together for an extraordinary evening to celebrate the people, the culture, and the city of Detroit with Skeleton Crew, the Broadway premiere by Tony Award nominee Dominique Morisseau, at the 8PM performance on Friday, February 4.

This February, in honor of Black History Month, The Disney Bundle will continue its promise of amplifying Black stories across Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ all year long with new and shared content in each service's always-on Black Stories collection. Check out the lineup of content now!

Billie! Backstage with Lady Day, written and performed by Synthia L. Hardy, directed by Bryan Rasmussen, and produced by Gary Lamb, will open at the Sierra Madre Playhouse February 25-27, 2022. Fri. & Sat. at 8:00, Sun. at 2:30.

PEAK Performances at Montclair State University will present Strange Fruit, from Tony-nominated and Bessie-winning choreographer Donald Byrd and his Seattle-based company Spectrum Dance Theater, February 10-13 at the Alexander Kasser Theater.