Celebrating Over 40 years in Music and Entertainment, GRAMMY®-Nominated and Multiple Award-Winning A Cappella Group SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK RELEASES NEW ALBUM #LoveInEvolution January 22nd, 2016

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Group’s New Single, “IDK, But I’m LOL!” Available on iTunes and Amazon and New Lyric Video Available on YouTube

         
(Washington, DC – December 16, 2015) – Celebrating over 40 years in music and entertainment, GRAMMY^®-nominated and multiple award-winning a cappella group, Sweet Honey In The Rock will release their 24^th album, #LoveInEvolution on January 22, 2016 on SHE-ROCKS 5, Inc./Appleseed Recordings.

#LoveInEvolution features 14 songs and is produced by group member, Nitanju Bolade Casel. Staying true to the Sweet Honey In The Rock tradition of soul, jazz, blues, spirituals, gospel and African chants, the album is the group’s first studio release in nine years. #LoveInEvolution is an eclectic mix of new original songs and covers of a few popular classics.

The new single, “IDK, But I’m LOL” offers a jubilant message of encouragement to continue to live in the realm of possibility. The single is available on iTunes and Amazon. The lyric video for the single is also available (see all links below).

iTunes:
(https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/idk-but-im-lol! single/id1059873683?ls=1?&app=itunes).

Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/IDK-But-Sweet-Honey Rock/dp/B0185J3WVQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1448030465&sr=8-2&keywords=IDK%2C+Sweet+Honey

“IDK, But I’m LOL” Lyric Video:
http://bit.ly/IDKBUTIMLOLLYRIC

Sweet Honey In The Rock will close out their 2015 performance season with a series of their traditional holiday concerts titled, SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK: CELEBRATING THE HOLYDAYS at the University Congregational United Church of Christ in Seattle, WA (Saturday, December 5); Newmark Theater in Portland, OR (Sunday, December 6); Lied Center of Kansas in Lawrence, KS (Friday, December 11); Annenberg Center-Zellerbach Theatre in Philadelphia (Saturday, December 12); and Strathmore Hall in Bethesda, MD (Sunday, December 13).

Embarking on a new chapter in their musical journey, Sweet Honey In The Rock now includes four core vocalists—Louise Robinson, Carol Maillard (both founding members) Nitanju Bolade Casel, and Aisha Kahlil—plus Shirley Childress (an American Sign Language Interpreter who has been performing live with the group since 1981). For the year-end seasonal holiday concerts, bassist Romeir Mendez will be featured as a special guest musician.


www.AppleseedMusic.com
www.sweethoney.com

WORLD-RENOWNED VOCAL ENSEMBLE SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK ADDS SOMETHING DIFFERENT – A JAZZ TRIO! – ON NEW 2-CD LIVE SET AND UPCOMING SPECIAL SHOWS CELEBRATING MUSICAL INFLUENCES

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For Immediate Release                                                                          February 26, 2013

February 26^th Release on Appleseed Recordings, “A Tribute – Live! Jazz at Lincoln Center,” and Tour Dates Spotlight Quintet’s Inspirations and Versatility

Nearing its fourth decade, the internationally acclaimed, award-winning female African-American a cappella group Sweet Honey In The Rock was ready to follow its adventurous spirit and undertake a new challenge – to honor some of the seminal songs that first inspired its unique blend of folk, blues, jazz, gospel and ethnic music in a concert presentation utilizing an instrumental backing trio for the first time. Upping the ante, the singers decided to perform this special program at New York’s prestigious Jazz at Lincoln Center venue and to record their two-night appearance there in front of surprised and delighted audiences. Talk about working without a net!

In the opening moments of Sweet Honey In The Rock’s new 2-CD set, “A Tribute – Live! Jazz at Lincoln Center,” well-timed for February 26^th release – concluding Black History Month and preceding Women’s History Month in March – group member Ysaye Barnwell recites a roll-call of some of the great female African-American vocalists whose songs helped shape the group and comprise much of “Tribute’s” repertoire, including Abbey Lincoln, Odetta, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Miriam Makeba, Carmen McRae, Bessie Smith, and Sarah Vaughan.

The songs on this recording are drawn from those two shows at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall in April 2011. They were subsequently performed on several additional dates, and will be featured in at least five upcoming “Tribute” shows in February and March 2013. Adorned with new arrangements by Sweet Honey’s members, there are jazz standards such as “Love Me or Leave Me,” “Wild is the Wind,” and “Tell Me More and More and Then Some,” gospel/civil rights anthems melded into a “Freedom Suite,” Afro-centric songs (the Sixties hit song “Pata Pata,” “Sabumoya,” “Shuku Shuku,” and the closing “N'diarabi/Africa is Where My Heart Lies”), show tunes, blues, and a salsa-flavored original, “Let There Be Peace.”  

Sweet Honey In The Rock’s distinctive swirl of a cappella vocals, encompassing waves of imaginative ensemble harmonies and occasional solo showcases, is heard unaccompanied, aside from the quintet’s hand percussion, on about half of the songs. Interwoven throughout the presentation are the understated instrumental contributions of the trio nicknamed “the Honey Men” – Stacey Wade (musical director/piano/keyboards), Parker McAllister (bass), Jovol Bell (drums, percussion) – who augment Sweet Honey’s exhilarating, soulful voices and confident, genre-crossing dexterity.

Founded in 1973 by Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon at the (Washington) D.C. Black Repertory Theater Company, Sweet Honey In The Rock’s line-up currently includes returning original members Carol Maillard and Louise Robinson (Dr. Reagon retired from the group in 2004) and “long-timers” Ysaye Barnwell, Nitanju Bolade Casel, and Aisha Kahlil, as well as on-stage sign language interpreter Shirley Childress. The group has toured from Australia to Zimbabwe, performed in the White House at the request of President and First Lady Obama, accrued numerous honors (including a Grammy  and several Grammy nominations , most recently for its first CD on Appleseed, 2007’s “Experience…101”), and established itself as an inspiring, empowering musical force worldwide.

Sweet Honey’s involvement in various social justice projects makes the group an ideal member of the independent Appleseed Recordings roster, which includes significant artist/activists Pete Seeger, Buffy Sainte-Marie, and South Africa’s Johnny Clegg, among others.

Upcoming “Tribute” tour dates:

3/5/13 B.B. King’s, New York City

3/7/13 Howard Theatre, Washington, D.C.

Upcoming Non-“Tribute” tour dates:

3/8/13 Murphy Fine Arts Center, Baltimore, MD

3/9/13 Williamsburg Lodge, Williamsburg, VA

3/21/13 Kraakhuis, Gent, BE

3/23/13 Barbican Centre, London, UK

3/26/13 Royal Opera House Muscat, Muscat, OM

3/30/13 Bluesfest, Bryon Bay, AU

3/31/13 Bluesfest Bryon Bay, AU

4/1/13   Enmore Theatre, Newtown, AU

4/3/13   Hamer Hall, Melbourne, AU

5/11/13 Smothers Theatre, Malibu, CA

5/19/13 Brooklyn Academy of Music Opera House, Brooklyn, NY

7/17/13 Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, FL

8/3/13   Berkshire Choral Festival, Sheffield, MA

SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK WILL BID FAREWELL TO LONG TIME BAND MEMBER DR. YSAYE M. BARNWELL IN 2013

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February 4, 2013  ( New York, NY)   SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK, the venerable and Grammy Award-nominated a cappella ensemble that is currently celebrating its’ 39^th performance season will bid farewell to one of its’ most tenured and revered member’s Dr. Ysaye M. Barnwell, when she officially exits the group the at end of May this year to pursue several of her own career endeavors.

Barnwell’s inimitable and distinctive bass tones were added to the DC based a cappella quartet in 1979 after being scouted and invited by the ensemble’s founder/ creator Dr. Bernice Reagon.  Reagon (who retired in 2004) formed the group in 1973 along with Louise Robinson, Carol Maillard and Mie, while teaching a vocal workshop at the legendary D.C. Black Repertory Theatre Company.  Both Maillard and Robinson took a sabbatical from the group in 1976, returning in1992 and 2004, respectively. The current line-up comprises Maillard, Barnwell, Robinson, Aisha Kahlil (who joined in 1981), Nitanju Bolade Casel (who joined in 1985) and Shirley Childress Saxton, an American Sign Language interpreter who has been performing ASL with the group since 1981.

SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK’S sterling legacy as songwriters, activists, inspirational performers, and musical innovators has endured and weathered  twenty-three personnel changes since its’ inception.  In the light of the various configurations,  their patented and unique five-part harmonized fusion of African chants, blues, jazz, soul, gospel, and rhythm & blues has built a worldwide following and generated 23 original and revered recordings.

"We are very sad to see Ysaye go," says Carol Maillard, "but we know she's embarking on a wonderful world of projects and accomplishments that she'll undoubtedly achieve. She will always be a part of us and who knows when we might see her on the Sweet Honey stage again!"

 “I have loved and deeply appreciated being a part of and contributing to the ensemble and legacy of Sweet Honey over the past 34 years,” stated Barnwell.

“The women of Sweet Honey will be my sisters forever, but I’ve felt a sense of calling to devote more of my personal and professional time to other projects that I’m very passionate about and have been nurturing for some time.”

SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK has revealed plans to eventually add a new member, and will be holding auditions over the next several months in preparation for their,

SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK 40^th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION: FORTY AND FIERCE, which will be launched and presented from late October 2013 – October 2014.  The group is currently developing an entirely new theatrical production and show to commemorate their four decades of history- making music.

Barnwell will continue to be an integral part of all the ensemble’s live performances thru mid-May, 2013, including a series of international performances in Gent, Belgium, London, England, Muscat, Oman, and several cities in Australia in late March and early April.

Barnwell’s last recording with SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK will be released by Appleseed Recordings on February 26, 2012. The album entitled, SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK: A TRIBUTE, LIVE! JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER pays homage to the songs of several legendary jazz icons including Abbey Lincoln, Miriam Makeba, Odetta and Nina Simone. The double-CD is a live recording of their sold out performances at JALC’s Rose Theatre in April 2011 which also featured a contemporary jazz trio. They will perform several of songs from their new CD in all their forthcoming dates, and will reprise the full live Tribute show at the Kimmel Theater  in Philadelphia, February 28; the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, March 1; NJPAC in Newark, March 2; BB Kings in New  York. March 5; and the Howard Theater in Washington, DC, March 7.

Upon her departure from Sweet Honey, Dr. Barnwell plans to devote more of her time to her other career interests which include presenting vocal community workshops, conducting, composing, and further developing several major projects. Among them, THE FORTUNE’S BONES project that was commissioned and presented by the University of Maryland at the Clarice Smith Center in February 2012.

Artist Official Website:   www.sweethoneyintherock.org

SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK AND BILL BANFIELD PRESENT “SYMPHONY 10: AFFIRMATIONS FOR A NEW WORLD”

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NEW ORCHESTRAL COLLABORATION SET FOR HARRIS THEATER IN CHICAGO, OCTOBER 4, 2012

September 24, 2012 (New York, NY)  Iconic and Grammy Award-nominated a cappella ensemble SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK will present their first ever orchestral collaboration, “Symphony 10:  Affirmations for a New World,” with music composed by William C. Banfield and lyrics written by the ensemble members:  Ysaye M. Barnwell, Carol Maillard, Nitanju Bolade Casel, Aisha Kahlil, and Louise Robinson.  The performance will be conducted by Banfield, in collaboration with the Sphinx Virtuosi (America’s most celebrated and influential African-American and Latino youth orchestra ensemble), and The Chicago Children’s Choir (directed by Josephine Lee), at the prestigious Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Millennium Park, Chicago, IL, on Thursday, October 4, 2012 at 7:30 PM.

In addition, to “Symphony 10: Affirmations for a New World, the Harris Theater engagement will also feature individual performance sets by SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK and the Sphinx Virtuosi.

“Symphony 10: Affirmations for a New World,” was co-commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra (Christoph Eschenbach, Music Director), and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC; the Minnesota Orchestra, (Osmo Vänskä, Music Director), Minneapolis, MN; and the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Chicago, IL.  The work premiered with the National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Thomas Wilkins and the Morgan State Choir, (directed by Eric Conway), at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. The Minnesota Orchestra presented the work at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, which was conducted by Mark Russell Smith with the Vocal Essence Choir (directed by Philip Brunelle).  Both were presented in late April 2012.

SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK and Banfield began collaborating on “Symphony 10:  Affirmations for a New World,” five years ago. The final thirty minute work comprises five movements including:  “A Higher Note” by Aisha Kahlil, ”Dreams,” by Carol Maillard, “The Day the World Awoke,” by Nitanju Bolade Casel, “Discourse of Change,” by Ysaye M. Barnwell and “Yes,” by Louise Robinson. 

“Symphony 10:  Affirmations for a New World”, is a labor of love and one of the most challenging and adventurous projects we've undertaken as a group," stated Ysaye Barnwell.  "It has been a dream to one day blend our unique sound, artistry, and lyrics with a symphony orchestra, and we're very fortunate to have fulfilled it by partnering with such a gifted and talented composer as Bill Banfield,” she added.  “We thank the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, the National Symphony Orchestra and the Minnesota Orchestra, for co-commissioning, “Symphony 10:  Affirmations for a New World”, and we are delighted to be performing it in Chicago.”

Banfield cited some of the musical inspiration and concept for the score by offering, "Symphony 10:  Affirmations for a New World," affirms every human power we have:  love, imagination, fear and courage, will to change, dreaming, to ask the question and to touch someone else's soul.  It is stepping out as the text asks for ‘a higher note,’ to redefine the traditions in our art that need new fueling.”

For more information regarding tickets, visit: www.harristheaterchicago.org or call 312.334.7777

SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK

www.sweethoneyintherock.org