Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall Citywide: Tia Fuller

Multi-instrumentalist, composer, and bandleader Tia Fuller is one of the leading performers on the jazz scene, as well as a member of Beyoncé’s touring band. An instrumental triple threat—she plays alto and soprano saxophone, and flute—she is a much sought-after performer who has played with such jazz luminaries as Wycliffe Gordon, Don Byron, Jon Faddis, and Nancy Wilson. Not only a stellar performer, Fuller is also a dedicated educator and full-time professor at the Berklee College of Music.

Carnegie Hall Citywide: Joe Bataan

It’s a rare artist who can be credited with defining a genre, but singer-keyboardist Joe Bataan is the standard-bearer for boogaloo—the fiery fusion of Latin rhythms and gritty New York–centric soul music that exploded onto the scene in the late 1960s. Bataan is still pumping out these sizzling beats, singing doo-wop–tinged, Latin-laced favorites like the funky “Subway Joe” and smooth and soulful “Ordinary Guy,” lifting audiences out of their seats and getting their feet moving.

Carnegie Hall Citywide: Jayme Stone's Folklife

Jayme Stone bridges folk, jazz, and chamber music as he celebrates the banjo’s historic role in music around the world. Stone is an eclectic musician who has performed with such diverse artists as Malian kora master Mansa Sissoko (a recorded collaboration that earned Canada’s JUNO Award), former Carolina Chocolate Drop Dom Flemons, and other performers from a wide range of genres. Jayme Stone’s Folklife—featuring his band of vocals, accordion, fiddle, and bass—shines new light on traditional songs from the Georgia Sea Islands, Creole calypsos, Appalachian dance tunes, and more.

Carnegie Hall Citywide: Birds of Chicago

Birds of Chicago—husband-and-wife team JT Nero and Allison Russell—has been making soulful, heartfelt music since 2012. In Nero’s words, the duo’s self-described “secular gospel” songs open up “channels of love.” Birds of Chicago’s voices—Nero’s gritty and Russell’s smooth—blend beautifully and recall country blues, doo-wop, and classic soul. The pair’s newest album, Love in Wartime, is balm for the nation’s troubled times, offering messages of trust and understanding that are also danceable.