Spoleto Announces Program Updates for December

Spoleto Festival USA General Director Nigel Redden today announced that Grammy Award-winner Angelique Kidjo and popular indie-rock duo Johnnyswim have been added to the recently-released program of the Charleston, South Carolina-based performing arts festival, scheduled for May 24 - June 9, 2013. Tickets to these and all other Festival performances are available now at spoletousa.org or by phone at 843.579.3100.

Known for her dynamic and uplifting music Benin-born Angelique Kidjo is a Grammy Award-winning music recording artist deemed "Africa's premier diva" by Time Magazine. Kidjo's internationally acclaimed repertoire includes collaborations with such prominent artists as Carlos Santana, Peter Gabriel, Alicia Keys, Josh Groban, Branford Marsalis, Joss Stone, and many more. Fluent in Fon, French, Yorùbá and English, she sings in all four languages and often utilizes Benin's traditional Zilin vocal technique and jazz vocalese. Kidjo will perform in the TD Arena at the College of Charleston on Thursday, May 30.

Described as "a mix of Lauryn Hill and John Mayer" by The Tennessean, Johnnyswim is a Los Angeles-based duo comprised of AbneR Ramirez and his wife, Amanda Sudano. The pair will perform their distinctive blend of R&B and rock-rooted melodic pop on Friday, May 31, in the College of Charleston Cistern Yard.

Kidjo and Johnnyswim replace Abigail Washburn and Béla Fleck, who have withdrawn from the Spoleto program for family reasons. Washburn and Fleck, who are married, had each been slated for one-night appearances during the Festival, with Fleck scheduled to perform with Malian singer Oumou Sangaré.