STEVIE WONDER TRIBUTE

Celisse is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, performer and spoken word artist. Her deep and varied career has seen her in concert, at venues ranging from the Beacon Theater, supporting Mariah Carey, Town Hall supporting Graham Nash, Madison Square Garden supporting Kesha at the 60th annual Grammy Awards, The Greek Theater in Trey Anastasio’s Ghosts of the Forest, and the Apollo Theater with Melissa Etheridge; as well starring in the recent revival of Godspell at Circle in the Square Theater, singing in Bridget Everett’s Rock Bottom at Joe’s Pub at The Public; and appearing on television in 30 Rock, The Electric Company, Rescue Me, The Big C, the LATE SHOW with Stephen Colbert as a special guest of Jon Batiste and Stay Human and most recently playing lead guitar with LIZZO on SNL. But it’s her prodigious talents as a singer-songwriter and musician that have defined Celisse the most as an artist. Her original music, powered by her soulful voice, is hard-rocking and blues-tinged with infectious hooks that stay with you. @CelisseMusic

Ruby Amanfu is a Ghana-born, Nashville-based recording artist, producer, and Grammy, Soul Train and BET Award nominated songwriter. Her accolades include co-writing Grammy-nominated Songs of the Year, Hard Place” for the artist, H.E.R., and “A Beautiful Noise” for artists Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile. Having written and recorded music since her teens, Amanfu has released 9 critically acclaimed solo studio albums. Her songs and vocals have appeared on ABC, CBS, Fox, CMT, MTV, Netflix, Hulu, The Food Network, and in shows such as “Station 19,” “Little Fires Everywhere,” “Tiny Beautiful Things,” “Community,” Nashville, Pretty Little Liars, and in films such as The Secret Life of Bees, “Anthem,” and “The Photograph.” As a songwriter and producer for the ABC series, “QUEENS”, Amanfu penned songs such as “Hear Me” and “Until My Final Breath” for the artist, Brandy, and “Love Still Finds Us” for Naturi Naughton. Amanfu’s vocals also appear on Beyoncé's track, “Don’t Hurt Yourself” on the Grammy-winning album, Lemonade, and alongside Jack White on the White Stripes singer-guitarist's 2012 and 2014 solo LPs, Blunderbuss and Lazaretto, highlighted by a performance of their collaboration, Love Interruption, at the 55th Grammy Awards. nOutside of her vast musical career, Amanfu is an avid cook, activist, wife, and stepmother.

Joy Oladokun documents her life in songs. For as much as she examines her place in the world as the first-generation daughter of Nigerian immigrants and a proud queer Black person, she also celebrates the little details and the simple pleasures of being alive. Of course, the narrator's humble demeanor belies the gravity of her extraordinary accomplishments thus far -- from captivating audiences on sold out tours and late-night television to finding herself with a guitar in hand on the White House lawn in celebration of equality. After grinding it out for years, she reached critical mass with her 2021 major label debut, in defense of my own happiness. It graced countless year-end lists and led Vanity Fair to declare, Her name is both prescient and redundant. She oozes energy that shifts a room's center of gravity and makes you happy for it. It is charisma and she has it in spades. It's the way she approaches her craft too. Along the way, she's delivered unforgettable performances on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, PBS's Austin City Limits and NPR Music's Tiny Desk (Home) Concert and more and captivated festivalgoers at Bonnaroo, Hangout, Lollapalooza, Newport Folk Festival and Ohana Festival. Not to mention, she's also appeared on HULU's Your Attention Please: The Concert and landed prominent syncs on CSI: Vegas, This Is Us, Grey's Anatomy, And Just Like That and Station 19, to name a few. Plus, she has joined forces with the likes of Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Lucie Silvas, Noah Kahan and Jason Isbell for collaborations. Now, she takes stock of the trip so far on her highly anticipated forthcoming full-length album, Proof of Life [Amigo Records/Verve Forecast/Republic Records].

Sam Ashworth is considered to be one of the most compelling voices in music today. Born in Sacramento but raised in Nashville, 3x Grammy nominee Ashworth grew up in the studio thanks to his father, Grammy-winning singer/songwriter/producer Charlie Peacock. Sam’s unique ability and passion for the craft of songwriting has given him a 20+ year career in music across a multitude of genres. In addition to winning the 2021 Critics Choice Award for the song, “Speak Now” by Leslie Odom Jr. from the film, ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI, he also became a Golden Globe Award and Academy Award nominee in the same year. Sam is most known for playing a key role in the H.E.R. album I Used to Know Her, which he co-wrote nine songs that garnered him an Album of the Year nomination and Song of the Year nomination for “Hard Place” at the 2020 Grammy Awards.

American soul singer Danielle Ponder is both empowering and a powerhouse. In 2020, NPR described her music as anthemic while compassionate; soulful, while bold and strong. She reverberates with a goosebump-inducing passion,. Danielle attended Northeastern University where she received her Juris Doctorate. For 5 years, Danielle worked as a public defender where she provided criminal defense to the indigent community. While working as a public defender, Danielle also toured Europe and scored an opening spot with George Clinton. In 2018, after five years as a public defender, she made the gutsy decision to pursue her No.1 passion -- music. In 2021, Danielle performed at the Newport Jazz Festival where her performance was hailed as one of the stand out performances of the event. 2022 has been a banner year for Danielle with appearances on Late Night with Seth Meyers, CBS This Morning, tours with Marcus Mumford, Amos Lee, St. Paul and the Broken Bones and Leon Bridges. Danielle's debut album, Some of Us Are Brave, is out September 16th on Future Classic. Danielle continues to advocate for criminal justice reform and has been an influential leader in the Black Lives Matter movement in Rochester, NY.

Brittney Spencer is paving her own path in the music industry and making major waves in the process. A PEOPLE Magazine “Hollywood One to Watch, the Baltimore native is known for her free spirit and standout ability to mold life, truth and wild imagination into songs. She’s performed her recent single “Sober & Skinny” on NBC’s TODAY Show and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s #LateShowMeMusic (CBS). The song has garnered praise from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and more, as well as an in-depth interview with CBS Mornings’ Anthony Mason. Spencer has grown a robust fan base on the road. She recently headlined BottleRock as a member of The Highwomen, has performed with Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit and Reba McEntire, and she’s opening for Willie Nelson, Megan Thee Stallion, Maren Morris, Brandi Carlile and more in 2022.

Devon Gillfillian is a Philadelphia born, Nashville based singer-songwriter who regularly commands club, theater, and festival stages around the world. With his new album, on Love You Anyway, Gilfillian conjures the raw, sexy emotions of his predecessors and the next-level grooves of his contemporaries, taking soul music into an exciting and restorative new future.

Brad Walker is one of the most active and sought-after performers in the city of New Orleans. Perhaps best known for his “soaring” (Rolling Stone), “energetic” (NPR), and “tasteful” (Relix) solos on Saturday Night Live, the Grammys, and the Tonight Show with Nashville mega-star Sturgill Simpson, Brad Walker is an active and compelling artist in his own right, with five full-length releases under his own name and a decade of music making in the Crescent City under his belt. His 2014 debut, ‘Quintet’, received a 4-**** review in DownBeat magazine, and his playing has received praise in Variety, OffBeat Magazine, Gambit Weekly, Dig!, and many others.nSince 2009 Walker has performed or recorded with such luminaries as Bernard Purdie, Peter Erskine, John Riley, George Porter, Jr., Zigaboo Modeliste, Anders Osborne, Marcia Ball, Rickie Lee Jones, Valerie June, Better than Ezra, and countless others, and has led the horn sections for Grammy-winner Sturgille Simpson, Blues Award-winner Ana Popovic and OffBeat Award winners Eric Lindell, Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes, Honey Island Swamp Band, and Colin Lake. In 2019/2020, Walker was nominated for two ‘Best of the Beat’ Awards (OffBeat Magazine), in the ‘Contemporary Jazz’ category as ‘Best Artist’ and for ‘Best Record’, alongside such international stars as Nicholas Payton, Jon Batiste, Herlin Riley, Christian Scott, and Terence Blanchard. He was also nominated by the ‘Big Easy Awards’ (Gambit Magazine) for ‘Best Contemporary Jazz Artist’. These two award ceremonies are considered among the highest achievements in the New Orleans music community. Brad holds a Bachelor of Music degree in classical saxophone performance (2006) and a Master of Music degree in jazz studies (2011), both from Louisiana State University.

Paul Janeway is a founding member of St. Paul & The Broken Bones, established in 2011 in Birmingham, AL. His dynamic voice and unconventional stage prowess has captivated the hearts of audiences since the band burst into the world with their 2014 debut Half the City. During this time, Paul established a sound that quickly became a calling card and landed the band a slew of major festivals including Lollapalooza, Coachella and Glastonbury. Critical praise from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, SPIN and NPR followed, leading to shared stages with some of the world’s biggest artists—Elton John and The Rolling Stones among them—and launching an impressive run of headlining tours behind what Esquire touted as a potent live show that knocks audiences on their ass.” Paul and the group have continued to expand their sound with every record, branching out well beyond old-school soul into sleek summertime funk and classic disco on albums like 2018's Young Sick Camellia. Their recently released LP, Angels In Science Fiction, stretches their limbs even further afield.