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City of Oakland, CA
07/17/2012 | Press release
National Recording Artists, Grammy Nominees Round Out Stellar Art & Soul Lineup
distributed by noodls on 07/17/2012 18:12
12TH ANNUAL
ART & SOUL OAKLAND
August 4 & 5, 2012
Downtown
For Immediate Release
July 17, 2012
Bay Area's Best Festival - Art & Soul Oakland - Just Got Better
National Recording Artists, Grammy Nominees Round Out Stellar Lineup
OAKLAND, California (July 17, 2012)-The City of Oakland's
wildly successful flagship festival, Art
& Soul Oakland, ventures into its 12th year by adding a
late-night bash and cutting-edge art show to its long
established reputation as one of the region's top music
festivals. Already boasting a musical cornucopia of rock,
R&B, jazz, soul, folk, E.D.M., punk, honky-tonk, metal,
blues, gospel, world and Latin, the stellar lineup now
includes Meshell Ndegeocello, Oleta Adams, Lyrics Born, Dear
Indugu and a special appearance by Disney Channel™ star,
Oakland's own Zendaya. Named among the top 12 "must-see
summer festivals" in Northern California by the San Francisco
Chronicle, Art & Soul Oakland 2012 - slated for August 4 & 5
in downtown Oakland - goes boldly into the night on Saturday,
with audio-video art installations and multimedia
performances to accompany DJ Dyloot broadcasting from the
rooftop of Oakland City Hall.
Just announced, on Saturday's Main Stage, Duets: Meshell
Ndegeocello and Chris Bruce will see the
10-time Grammy nominee join with the talented bassist and guitarist. Influenced by funk, soul, hip hop, reggae, R&B, rock and jazz - Meshell's music conveys her most intimate thoughts in colorful terms sung in rich vocals with acoustic melodies. Credited by many with sparking the neo-Soul movement, Meshell will take the stage with Chris Bruce, whose career began with Wendy & Lisa in the late 1980s before working with Seal, Trevor Horn, Chris Connelly and others.
On Sunday's Main Stage, four-time Grammy nominee Oleta Adams
will perform heartfelt songs that effortlessly crossover into
the realms of gospel, soul, R&B, urban and pop music. Her
platinum debut album Circle of One included the hit single
"Get Here." Oleta's amazing voice was labeled by San
Francisco Chronicle as "upbeat, fantastic, incendiary
singing."
Zendaya, the breakout star of Disney Channel's "Shake It Up,"
comes home to Oakland with a special show on Sunday's Main
Stage. Having performed at the White House and in the 2011
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, she has also toured in
Germany, England and France. Zendaya's first video for "Swag
It Out," taped at her alma mater - Oakland School for the
Arts - has garnered more than 3.8 million views on YouTube.
She will be joined by hometown favorites Pop Lyfe (also
students of the award-winning Oakland School for the Arts)
and Z-Swagg Dancers and Singers.
The East Bay's own Lyrics Born will bring to the EBX (East
Bay Express) Stage his unique, melodious rhyming and rich
baritone voice that have gained him national acclaim.
Also on Saturday, Vocal Rush, the premier Oakland School for
the Arts a cappella group that won the
2012 International Championship of High School A Cappella,
performs on the City Center Stage.
Dear Indugu, an acoustic/electric indie-rock band from
Oakland, will bring their rich vocal harmonies and potent
lyrics, in songs ranging from intimate folk to driving rock,
to Sunday's 12th Street Stage.
The Youth Rock Stage on Sunday in City Center showcases the
region's hottest youth bands that call Oakland home. The
Oaktown Jazz Workshops, Unwanted Money and In the Moment will
be joined by the Sobrante Park Talent Show winners and
members of the TIGHT Youth Program.
These are just the recent additions among the 50 band on 5
stages that can be found at Art & Soul. Other performers
previously announced include Luce, Souls of Mischief, Lalah
Hathaway, Blame Sally, Forrest Day, Sweet Talk Radio,
Vetiver, Saviours, Garrison Starr, Tia Carroll, Lady Bianca
and Kellye Gray. The ever popular Bay Area Blues Society and
Edwin Hawkins Gospel stages return as well. Visit
artandsouloakland.comfor this year's exciting
musical lineup.
Thanks to an expanded partnership with the East Bay Express,
Art & Soul 2012 will feature an epic new art show ranging
from large-scale art installations by acclaimed East Bay
visual artists to the Saturday Night Dance Party with DJ
Dyloot spinning from the roof of City Hall synchronized
with
giant-scale VJing by Ex'pression College for Digital Arts. In
addition, collaborations with world-class arts organizations
such as the de Young Artist Fellow and Artist-in-Residence
Alumni, Black Rock Arts Foundation, The Crucible, NIMBY, Pro
Arts and American Steel Studios will infuse more art than
ever to the ever-popular festival.
DeliRadio, a free, independent, location-based streaming
music service that connects listeners with music scenes
worldwide, brings its local-centric "relevant radio" to Art &
Soul by hosting listening stations on the ground floor of the
Wilson Building. Festival goers can sample the music of many
performers on Art & Soul Radio powered by DeliRadio. To
listen, visit http://dr.fm/LlM4Yp.
The finalists in the first-event City of Oakland Youth Poet
Laureate competition will perform Saturday on the Rotunda
Building stage. The search for talented young writers ages
13-18 began April 1 and will culminate when one young,
articulate writer is selected as Oakland's first Youth Poet
Laureate by a
panel comprised of local leaders and celebrity authors. Also
on Saturday's Rotunda Building stage, two- member teams
perform some of the freshest, homegrown street dancing
anywhere during the "Yak to the Bay" turf dance
competition.
Sunday's World Dance Stage in the Rotunda Building has been
programmed with "The Magic of Dance" by Carla Service from
Dance-A-Vision. Jazz, Modern, African, Hip Hop, Belly and
Pole dancing are all part of the show celebrating the
uniquely diverse dance studios found right here in
Oakland.
New this year, some of the Bay Area's hottest mobile food
trucks will join favorite festival vendors, bringing a wide
array of American and global gourmet eats. Beer, wine and
other beverage concessions will also be offered. Confirmed
food trucks include Oakland's own FiveTen Burger, Anakoot
Indian Street Food, Taco Oaxaco and Get Goes Mobile Coffee
Café.
As a precursor to the two-day festival, a free Friday night
pre-party will be held from 7:30 - 10:00 p.m. on Friday,
August 3 at Awaken Café, 1429 Broadway. The free Broadway
Shuttle, which runs until 1 a.m. on Fridays, makes getting to
and from the pre-party fast, easy and fun. The festive event
features live performances by the Rosie Burgess Trio and
Oakland's Anita Lofton Project. The Australian Rosie Burgess
Trio crosses many genres, sliding from folk to blues to
gypsy-rock and back. The Anita Lofton Project takes a
minimal, acoustic approach to folk and Neo-Black folk. Steps
away at Telegraph and Broadway, the Liba Falafel mobile food
truck will be serving up tasty eats. Complementing the
popular First Friday Art Murmur gallery crawl, the August 3
pre-party is in the heart of the burgeoning Midtown Arts
District which includes Pro Arts, Oaklandish, Joyce
Gordon
Gallery, Bittersweet, NNEEKA and the debut of Oakland's
newest pop-up store lOAKal, a mixed-use gallery curated by
Ken Harman of Spoke Art in association with the East Bay
Express and local designers fiftyseven-thirtythree
Advance tickets are now available online at
artandsouloakland.com, where festival goers can
save money by buying tickets in advance. As always, children
12 and under enjoy free admission to the festival. Online
admission prices are $10 for Adults and $5 for Seniors (65+)
and Youth (13-17). The easy-to-use system allows purchasers
to print their tickets at home and walk directly to one of
the festival's three entrances, bypassing ticket purchase
lines.
A family paradise, Art & Soul Oakland boasts the largest
Family Fun Zone of any festival in the Bay
Area, complete with kid-friendly rides, carnival games and
interactive arts.
Art & Soul Oakland 2012 takes place in downtown Oakland on
Saturday, August 4, 2012, from 2:00 p.m. to midnight, and on
Sunday, August 5, 2012, from noon to 6:00 p.m. The festival
is centered in Frank Ogawa Plaza and City Center,
encompassing ten strollable city blocks. Northern
California's most accessible festival, Art & Soul Oakland
offers direct service from BART (12th Street - Oakland City
Center Station) in addition to free parking for cars and free
bike valet parking in association with the
East Bay Bicycle Coalition.
Art & Soul Oakland 2012 is produced by the City of Oakland in
association with the East Bay Express. Major sponsors include
Budweiser, Lucky, KFOG 104.5/97.7 FM, The New R&B 102.9 FM
KBLX, Clear Channel Outdoor, Oakland Magazine, Oakland
Tribune, Downtown Oakland Association, Lake Merritt-Uptown
Association, Oakland Marriott and Oakland City Center.
For more information on Art & Soul Oakland 2012, visit
ArtandSoulOakland.comor call (510) 444-
CITY.
# # # Media Contacts:
Harry Hamilton, Associate Producer/Publicity, (510) 238-2107
or hhamilton@oaklandnet.com
Samee Roberts, Executive Producer, (510) 238-2136 or sroberts@oaklandnet.com
Michael Coats, Coats PR, (707) 935-6203 or michael@coatspr.com
