About Us
The SONGS OF BLACK FOLK returns for a second year after a truly magical debut one year ago before a mesmerized audience of more than 1,800. Songs of Black Folk will take the stage of Seattle's Iconic Paramount Theatre on Sunday evening June 18th, at 7:00 pm.
SONGS OF BLACK FOLK 2023 will once again present a music tradition that began on the African continent and was transported to the Americas, via slave ships, and took root in the daily sufferings of an enslaved Black people who chose to survive and who fought to be free. This Concert will feature the rise of the Negro Spirituals and demonstrate how they have evolved into other Black musical genres including, blues, Gospel, jazz, R&B, Hip-Hop, and even spoken word.
Importantly, the audience will be shown how Black musical culture has functioned as both a tool of resistance and as a powerful source of hope for a Black people who have endured four centuries of white supremacy and its relentless assault on Black lives. Ultimately, the intent of SBF is to use music to connect the African American struggle for freedom, justice, dignity, and happiness with the struggles of other Americans who have had to fight their way from the margins of American society into the mainstream.
OUR MISSION
The mission of SONGS OF BLACK FOLK is to utilize the Juneteenth holiday weekend as a compelling backdrop for a world-class fine arts production that features elite African American artists, both local and national. This provides the Northwest audience with a Black Cultural Arts experience that rivals the most elite productions presented anywhere in the U.S. In essence, SBF is the Northwest audience’s opportunity to annually experience the best of Black folk.