The Kelly-Strayhorn Theater would like to express our gratitude to all the artists, volunteers, patrons, sponsors and community supporters of the first annual SUNSTAR Women in Music Festival. We are so proud to have successfully presented 3 days of workshops, panel discussions and concerts featuring over 30 talented musicians from diverse genres and to have the opportunity to work with such amazing artists.
Most importantly thank you for coming out to listen to all of the wonderful Pittsburgh artists, your show of support is greatly appreciated and will continue to make more opportunities available for local and national artists at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater and in the region.
roberta flack, patsy cline, nina simone, sade, chaka khan, alison hinds, angie stone, aretha franklin, sarah vaughn, etta james, dinah washington…lauryn hill, erykah badu, ethel cee, astrud gilberto, musinah…mary j. blige, angie stone…so so many beautiful songs…these artists and many more are the inspiration for the SUNSTAR Festival.
the first time i saw toshi reagon perform was at the Black Lily Festival in Philadelphia and fell in love with her music. she’s an incredible musician with a beautiful voice.
so i’m super excited about opening our sunstar festival with a night dedicated to women in hop…it’s an homage to the days of female mc’s on the video waves (Yo MTV Raps or Rap City). i asked my nine year old stepson if he listened to female MCs and he said, “yes” with lots of confidence. so i asked him to name one, just one. his response, “Beyonce.” i’ve got a lot of work to do.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq2L2RRByuE]
The Kelly-Strayhorn Theater would like to express our gratitude to all the artists, volunteers, patrons, sponsors and community supporters of the first annual SUNSTAR Women in Music Festival. We are so proud to have successfully presented 3 days of workshops, panel discussions and concerts featuring over 30 talented musicians from diverse genres and to have the opportunity to work with such amazing artists.