Blind Boys of Alabama, plus The Bird Street Players

Friday Apr 23 8:00PM Add to Calendar
Skipper's Smokehouse [map]

Bird Street Players ~ 8pm - 8:35pm

Blind Boys ~ 9pm - 10:30pm

Bird Street Players ~ 10:50pm - end

Advanced tickets are no longer available, as of 4:30pm TODAY...

There are plenty left for the door ~ $25

One of America's most legendary and celebrated music ensembles is coming to Tampa Friday, April 23. The Blind Boys of Alabama are recognized worldwide as living legends of gospel music. Celebrated by both the Grammys and The National Endowment for the Arts with Lifetime Achievement Awards, inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, and winners of five Grammy® Awards, they have attained the highest levels of recognition in a career that spans over 60 years and shows no signs of diminishing. Longevity and major awards aside, The Blind Boys have earned praise for their remarkable interpretations of everything from traditional gospel favorites to contemporary spiritual material by acclaimed songwriters such as Curtis Mayfield, Prince and Tom Waits.

As The Blind Boys of Alabama celebrate their many years of continuous harmonizing, it’s a fitting time to ponder their amazing resilience. What has kept them going for so long, and still sounding so great? Rock-solid religious faith certainly helps account for their vibrant longevity. So does their unshakeable conviction that they were put here for the express purpose of singing. But an equally important factor, not always shared by their peers, is the Blind Boys’ open-mindedness. Old-time Gospel music circles are often marked by rigid conservatism and the dismissal of popular music as a worldly temptation of the Devil. The Blind Boys, by contrast, shun worldliness yet eagerly embrace the world, bringing spiritual music to secular audiences in order to spread their message.

As a result, the group has formed fast friendships with an impressive array of musicians -- venerable colleagues and youthful protégés alike— who span several generations and a wealth of genres. Many of these major artists have asked the Blind Boys to guest on their projects, and “Duets” documents the twenty-year history of this rich, eclectic and cohesive interaction. The Blind Boys are sought for their general wisdom, specific input, and intangibly special presence, and it’s important to note that The Blind Boys don’t accept every such invitation. The lyrical content has to be right – not necessarily religious, per se, but spiritual nonetheless. They also have to feel the song and believe that they can put their own stamp on it. Once those criteria are met, the Blind Boys of Alabama are in with enthusiasm, expertise, and soulful commitment Winners of 5 GRAMMY Awards (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009)

Honored with the GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award (2009)

Gospel Music Hall of Fame Inductees (2003)

Winners of 4 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards (2003, 2006, 2 Awards in 2009)

3 U.S. Presidential Administrations have invited The Blind Boys to the White House: President Clinton in 1994, President Bush in 2002 and President Obama in 2010.

Featured performance on the 2005 GRAMMY telecast with Mavis Staples, Kanye West and John Legend. Other on stage and recording collaborations include work with Prince, Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel, Tom Waits, Bonnie Raitt, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Allen Toussaint, Ben Harper and many more.

Featured appearances on 60 Minutes, Late Night with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Today Show, CBS Saturday Morning and Austin City Limits.

In February 2010, President and Mrs. Obama hosted In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement, featuring The Blind Boys of Alabama, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, The Freedom Singers, John Mellencamp, Smokey Robinson, Natalie Cole, Jennifer Hudson, Yolanda Adams and the Howard University Choir. It was broadcast on PBS and NPR. "The Blind Boys of Alabama gave one of the night's most fiery performances on the old spiritual I'm Free at Last." - USA Today

In January 2010, The Blind Boys appeared on Late Night with David Letterman, accompanied by Lou Reed. They performed the Velvet Underground classic "Jesus," a collaboration that is also featured on The Blind Boys' 2009 CD, Duets and which they previously sang together at the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York.

In May 2005, Dan Rather presented The Blind Boys of Alabama with The American Foundation for the Blind's distinguished Helen Keller Personal Achievement Award, presented to individuals and organizations that have improved the quality of life for people who are blind, visually impaired or disabled. Past recipients include Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, and Jose Feliciano.

May 2005 also found Her Majesty, Queen Noor of Jordan presenting the Blind Boys the First Niarchos Prize for Survivorship. The Landmine Survivors Network awards the prize to an artist whose life work promotes resiliency and recovery.

Festival Appearances include: Festival de Fès (Morocco); New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival; 2010 Tour of China; London Jazz Festival; Salzburger Jazz-Herbst (Austria); Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland); Pohoda Festival (Slovakia); Stockholm International Jazz Festival (Sweden); Festival de Jazz de Vitoria-Gasteiz (Spain); Copenhagen Jazz Festival (Denmark); Essence Music Festival (New Orleans); Voodoo Fest (New Orleans); Dysart Festival (Ireland); Narcao Blues Festival (Italy); Festival D'Ete International De Quebec (Canada); Festival International de Jazz de Montreal (Canada); Monterey Bay Blues Festival (CA); Cité de la musique Concert Hall (Paris, France); WOMAD (UK); BBC Radio 2 Cambridge Folk Festival (UK); Stimmen Festival (Germany); Nice Jazz Festival (France); Rome Blues Festival (Italy); Hong Kong Arts Festival; Austin City Limits Festival (TX); Fuji Rock Festival (Japan); Byblos Festival (Lebanon); The Helsinki Festival (Finland); Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl (LA, CA); Bonnaroo Music Festival (TN); Boogiewood Festival (Belgium); Glasgow International Jazz Festival (Scotland); International Istanbul Jazz Festival (Turkey); The Kennedy Center American Music Fest (Washington, DC); Bumbershoot (Seattle, WA); San Diego Street Scene (CA) and many more.