News Release

Note: For artist contact information and photos, see end of release.

Black spiritual ensemble to perform
in Carolina Performing Arts series

CHAPEL HILL - Carolina Performing Arts will present Grammy award-winning a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock on Oct. 29 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The performance at 2 p.m. in Memorial Hall's Beasley-Curtis Auditorium will feature music drawn from the rich textures of African-American traditions for three decades, since the seven-member group was formed in 1973.

The concert is sold out, but a waiting list for tickets is being maintained. To be added to the list, call or visit the Memorial Hall Box Office at (919) 843-3333 on Cameron Avenue, open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Tickets for other performances in the 2006-07 season are on sale.

With deep roots in the sacred music of the black church, Sweet Honey in the Rock chronicles modern life and its struggles and victories with songs of justice, African chants, blues, jazz, spirituals and ancient lullabies.

"Sweet Honey in the Rock has a kind of honesty you can't find just anywhere," said Emil Kang, executive director for the arts at UNC. "The words of these amazing women are at once soft, sharp and sweet, yet they speak volumes on the pain and pride that lie just beneath the surface of our modern consumer culture."

Featured in the PBS documentary "Sweet Honey in the Rock: Raise Your Voice" (2005), the group has been a vital and innovative presence in Washington, D.C., and in communities of conscience around the world. The Washington Post called the ensemble "…soulful, spirited and stirring…."

Sweet Honey in the Rock draws its name from Psalms 81:16: "But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you." The metaphor touches on themes in the women's music, which reflect church, calls of the civil rights movement and struggles for justice everywhere.

For more information, visit www.carolinaperformingarts.org.

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Notes: For artist media kits and downloadable photos, visit www.carolinaperformingarts.org/media.
To request interviews or other coverage information, contact Don Smith, (919) 843-3119, donsmith@email.unc.edu, or Jennifer Warner, (919) 966-3834, jenniferwarner@unc.edu.

News Services contact: LJ Toler, (919) 962-8589