Friday, Jan 17 and Saturday, Jan 18: Trumpeter and vocalist extraordinaire Byron Stripling and internationally acclaimed vocal jazz phenomenon Carmen Bradford light up the stage with hits made famous by New Orleans favorites Louis Armstrong, Fats Domino, Al Hirt, Mahalia Jackson, and Jazz Age icons Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, and Billie Holiday. Featuring classics from The Great American Songbook, they recreate some of the most memorable moments in musical history while entertaining and capturing everyone’s heart along the way.

September 16, 1963. When Nina Simone heard that four Black girls had been killed in the bombing of the 16th Avenue Church in Birmingham, Alabama, her first impulse was to try and build a zip gun; instead she channeled her rage into “Mississippi Goddamn,” the song that marked the emergence of Nina Simone, the Civil Rights activist. Infused with traditional hymns along with songs including “Four Women,” “I Loves You, Porgy,” and “Young, Gifted and Black,” Nina Simone: Four Women looks at an artist and the women around her as their journey leads them down a path of discovery and healing.