Bayou City Music Series Starting Fall Season Performances at Houston Venues
CONCERTS TO BE HELD AT BUFFALO BAYOU PARK, DISCOVERY GREEN AND EMANCIPATION PARK
The Bayou City Music Series resumes this fall with free performances at Discovery Green, Emancipation Park and The Water Works in Buffalo Bayou Park. The concert series, made possible by the Kinder Foundation, honors the great jazz, blues and zydeco musicians of Houston.
The events at Buffalo Bayou Park and Emancipation Park will include a market featuring local vendors with original products. The market will open at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 15 and Saturday, Oct. 13. Admission is free for all performances.
C.J. Chenier; Photo courtesy of the artist
The fall series kicks off with “The Soundtrack of the Gulf” at The Water Works in Buffalo Bayou Park on Saturday, Sept. 15.
The great zydeco accordionist C.J. Chenier—son of the “King of Zydeco” Clifton Chenier—headlines this concert. Opening performances by vocalist Annika Chambers and Archie Bell, former lead singer of Archie Bell & The Drells will be featured.
Jason Moran and The Bandwagon; Photo courtesy of the artist
On Saturday, Oct. 13, the series continues with “Jazz in the Tre” at Emancipation Park with Jason Moran headlining.
Moran grew up in Houston’s Third Ward and is Artistic Director for Jazz at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.
He’s also a 2010 MacArthur Fellow.
Students from the jazz program at Moran’s alma mater, the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA), will open, along with Horace Grigsby, a legendary Houston jazz vocalist.
James Francies; photo courtesy of the artist
The series closes with an ode to “Houston Blues, Jazz and Soul” at Discovery Green on Saturday, Nov. 10 with Houston native, James Francies headlining.
Francies is considered one of the premiere pianists of his generation and has played alongside numerous jazz greats.
He frequently appears with the Roots on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. He will perform music from his in-progress debut album.
Opening for Francies is singer-songwriter, Diunna Greenleaf, an internationally recognized powerhouse vocalist.
The concert is one of Discovery Green’s fall ‘Celebration Events,’ hosted in recognition of the park’s 10th anniversary.
FEATURED PHOTO CREDIT: DISCOVERY GREEN