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Share it! The Grammy® Award-winning quintet @rankytankymusic (Facebook and Instagram)/@ranky_tanky (Twitter) and @LisaFischerSings (Facebook)/@l.i.s.a.f.i.s.c.h.e.r (Instagram)/@ lisafischersing (Twitter) come to the @KimmelCC (Twitter)/@KimmelCulturalCampus (Facebook and Instagram) on 3/11 for a night of timeless music born from the Gullah culture of the southeastern Sea Islands. For more info, visit kimmelculturalcampus.org.
Press Contacts:
Lauren A. Woodard Hall Hannah Palermo
484-832-1963 267-765-3724
lhall@kimmelculturalcampus.org hpalermo@alliedglobalmarketing.com
KIMMEL CULTURAL CAMPUS PRESENTS GRAMMY® AWARD-WINNING
RANKY TANKY AND MS. LISA FISCHER
JOYFUL GULLAH MUSIC ROOTED IN WEST AFRICAN-TRADITION
MARCH 11, 2023
Ranky Tanky are “lively, soulful honey to the ears.” – NPR
Lisa Fischer “in concert is addictive. Every performance is so enriching, so exciting, so transcendent.” – Minneapolis Star Tribune
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (January 23, 2022) –The Kimmel Cultural Campus presents the Grammy® Award-winning, South Carolina-based group Ranky Tanky, alongside two-time Grammy® winner, Ms. Lisa Fischer, for a one-night-only event at the Miller Theater (formerly the Merriam Theater) on Saturday, March 11, 2023, at 8:00 p.m.
“The musical stylings of both Ranky Tanky and Ms. Lisa Fischer individually provide something intangibly magical, each possessing a rarity of musical talent so coveted by Philadelphia’s jazz audiences,” said Frances Egler, Senior Director of Programming and Presentations on the Kimmel Cultural Campus. “It is a privilege to present this concert collaboration in a city that values artistic creativity and the importance of honoring one’s heritage.”
Ranky Tanky (a Gullah phrase for “get funky”) has achieved many firsts for South Carolina’s West African-rooted Gullah community since their formation, including earning the 2019 Grammy® Award for the Best Regional Roots Album prize for their sophomore release, Good Time. The album, which also hit No.1 on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Chart, combines songs carried down through generations in the Sea Islands of the southeastern United States with the band’s own original compositions in the Gullah tradition. The group is made up of five lifelong friends from Charleston, South Carolina, who have established themselves as passionate global ambassadors for their local culture and community, helping to faithfully preserve the traditions originated by African Americans in the coastal South during slavery that are kept alive through the present day.
Ranky Tanky has been featured on NPR’s Fresh Air, The Today Show, PBS Newshour, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The group were featured artists in President Biden’s inauguration event, We The People. They were the subjects of a 10-page profile in Oxford American’s South Carolina Music Issue and were named 2020 Artist of The Year by the Charleston City Paper.
After four decades of featured background singing with icons like Luther Vandross, The Rolling Stones, Chaka Khan, Tina Turner, and Nine Inch Nails, Ms. Lisa Fischer set out to take center stage with her own song. The 2013 Best Documentary Oscar® winning film, Twenty Feet from Stardom, altered the course of Fischer’s musical journey; telling her story and showing clips of her legendary duets with Sting or with Mick Jagger on “Gimme Shelter”, the film left audiences eager to see and hear more, so Fischer took the chance to set out on her own, reinventing classic songs with JC Maillard and Grand Baton.
Fischer’s passion for constant growth and experimentation with different styles has invited collaborations with jazz pianist Taylor Eigsti, Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Michael McDonald, Eric Krasno, Talib Kweli, Billy Childs and YoYo Ma, the BBC Proms / Jules Buckley and the Metropole Orkest, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Anna Deavere Smith’s “Notes from the Field” for HBO, and especially her full evening program: The Classic Lisa Fischer with Grand Baton and Seattle Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony and the National Philharmonic.
The Ranky Tanky with Ms. Lisa Fisher performance is a part of the Kimmel Cultural Campus’ Jazz Series. Remaining shows on the Kimmel Cultural Campus’ 22-23 Jazz Series include: Gregory Porter (February 16, 2023, Academy of Music); David Sánchez (February 18, 2023, Perelman Theater), Immanuel Wilkins (April 6, 2023, Perelman Theater), Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour (April 8, 2023, Verizon Hall), George Benson (May 20, 2023, Academy of Music), and American Patchwork Quartet (June 24, 2023, Perelman Theater.)
Tickets
Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999 or online at www.kimmelculturalcampus.org. In-person ticket sales can be conducted daily from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. at the Academy of Music Box Office, located at 240 S. Broad Street. See www.kimmelculturalcampus.org for more information.
Ranky Tanky with Ms. Lisa Fischer
Miller Theater (formerly Merriam Theater) on the Kimmel Cultural Campus
March 11, 2023, at 8:00 p.m.
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KIMMEL CULTURAL CAMPUS
Located in the heart of Center City, Philadelphia, our mission is to engage the region's diverse communities with art through performance and education. Our Cultural Campus serves more than 1-million guests per year and includes Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater, and SEI Innovation Studio), the Academy of Music, and the Miller Theater (formerly the Merriam Theater) – representing more than 160 years of rich history for the performing arts along Philadelphia's Avenue of the Arts. We are home to The Philadelphia Orchestra and six esteemed Resident Companies: Opera Philadelphia, Philadelphia Ballet, PHILADANCO, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and Curtis Institute of Music. With nearly 9,000 seats per night, we are the region's most impactful performing arts center, and the second largest in the country. Our Cultural Campus serves as a preeminent and inclusive place to enjoy exceptional experiences that reflect the spirit of our region by cultivating a creative and socially responsible environment where our community shares experiences that are delivered with pride, integrity, and respect. As a 501 c 3 nonprofit organization, we collaborate on, present, and produce a broad range of relevant and meaningful events, we serve as an active gathering space for social and community events, we educate the region's young people through access to quality arts experiences, and we provide support to artists in the creation of new work. Read Kimmel Cultural Campus' vision statement, world view, and mission statement here. Learn more about our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and how it encompasses our mission, coworkers, and programs here.
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For photography, please visit https://kcccpress.smugmug.com
For a PDF version of this press release, click here.