*(Brooklyn, NY) – On Saturday, April 4, The Billie Vacation Theatre, one of many nation’s preeminent arts and tradition organizations, will current the season finale of BILLIE & BEYOND – the establishment’s acclaimed music sequence impressed by the artistry and legacy of its iconic namesake, jazz legend Billie Vacation.
The sequence – launched in Fall 2024 – is co-curated with veteran journalist, TV/movie author, and producer Bonsu Thompson and celebrates the subsequent technology of girls artists shaping the way forward for Black music, inventive expression, and cultural alternate. Commemorating the 111th anniversary of Billie Vacation’s beginning on April 7, this particular version of BILLIE & BEYOND will likely be headlined by South African singer yolizama. Hosted by spoken phrase artist Shanelle Gabriel, the night can even embody a two-part efficiency by poet Mahogany L. Browne and music by DJ Tadi.
A compelling vocalist with a sound rooted in jazz, soul, and world musical traditions, yolizama brings a robust mix of storytelling and musical expression to the stage. Born in South Africa and primarily based in Brooklyn, she is a singer-songwriter, storyteller, and cultural curator whose music displays a deeply private and world sensibility. Singing in each isiXhosa and English, she fuses the plush, natural textures of Southern African music with the wealthy and dynamic melodies of folks and soul. Identified for her expressive voice and magnetic stage presence, yolizama delivers an intimate but electrifying efficiency type that resonates deeply with audiences. Her creative influences embody Miriam Makeba, Busi Mhlongo, Joni Mitchell, and Tracy Chapman, artists whose work additionally bridges cultural traditions and musical storytelling.
The present will kick off with an electrifying efficiency by author, playwright, organizer, and educator Mahogany L. Browne. Some of the celebrated voices in up to date poetry, Browne is an Emmy and NAACP Picture Award nominee, an Audie Award finalist, a 2022 Kennedy Heart Subsequent 50 Fellow, and the inaugural Poet-in-Residence at Lincoln Heart. Her poetry assortment Chrome Valley gained the 2024 Paterson Poetry Prize, and her younger grownup novel Chlorine Sky was longlisted for the Nationwide Guide Award. Identified for work that strikes seamlessly between efficiency, literature, and cultural activism, Browne brings a robust poetic voice that can set the tone for the night of daring creative expression.
Guiding the evening’s festivities is host Shanelle Gabriel, a celebrated poet, singer, and performer identified for her highly effective stage presence and skill to weave collectively music and spoken phrase. The night can even characteristic a energetic set by DJ Tadi, making a dynamic sonic backdrop all through the occasion.
“BILLIE & BEYOND was created to honor the enduring legacy of Billie Vacation by uplifting the subsequent technology of artists whose work displays the identical depth, braveness, and artistic spirit that outlined her profession,” stated Shadawn Smith, Government Director of The Billie Vacation Theatre. “Closing this season with yolizama alongside the extraordinary Mahogany L. Browne, feels particularly significant as we have a good time Girl Day’s birthday and proceed The Billie’s dedication to presenting daring, visionary voices.”
BILLIE & BEYOND continues the establishment’s 2025-2026 season that includes an thrilling and expansive lineup celebrating the very best in Black artistry. Centering across the theme of “Energy,” this season will discover the which means, manifestations, and complexities of energy throughout the Black expertise – together with particular person, collective, familial constructions and institutional methods. This 12 months’s programming options an thrilling and expanded lineup to additionally embody group targeted occasions, music, dance displays, particular editions of core packages and, after all, theatrical productions uniquely curated to The Billie’s commonplace of excellence.
TICKETS: Early hen tickets – $25 (accessible by means of Sunday, March 31, 2026; $35 ticket worth (starting Monday, April 1, 2026 – on-line and on the field workplace); Group tickets accessible; Teams of 10 or extra, could contact Ms. Edna Fulton – [email protected]
To buy tickets for occasions below BILLIE & BEYOND sequence, please click on HERE
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BILLIE & BEYOND That includes Yoli ZamaDate: Saturday, April 4, 2026Foyer Doorways Open: 7PMEfficiency: 8PM
Tackle: The Billie Vacation Theatre – (1368 Fulton Road – Brooklyn, NY 11216)
PARTNERS
Lead assist for the 2025-2026 season is offered by the Altman Basis, Ford Basis, Howard Gilman Basis, The Pierre and Tana Matisse Basis and the Pinkerton Basis.
Our capacity to inform tales that matter within the epicenter of the most important group of individuals of African descent within the nation is made attainable with assist from our companions: Sales space Ferris Basis, Rose M. Badgeley Residuary Charitable Belief, Mertz Gilmore Basis, Harkness Basis for Dance, Lucille Lortel Basis, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Basis, The Shubert Basis.
The Billie Vacation Theatre, Inc. is a proud member of the Coalition of Theatres of Shade (CTC). Public funds are offered from the Workplace of the Mayor of the Metropolis of New York with the assist of Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York Metropolis Division of Cultural Affairs with the assist of Commissioner Laurie Cumbo in partnership with Metropolis Council Speaker Julie Menin and Council Member Chi Ossé. The New York State Council on the Arts additionally gives beneficiant public funding.
About The Billie Vacation Theatre
The AUDELCO, Obie, and Nationwide Medal for the Arts award-winning Billie Vacation Theatre is a creative anchor to the most important African American group within the nation: Central Brooklyn and one of many final remaining theaters cast within the aesthetic and sociocultural kiln of America’s Civil Rights/Black Arts Actions. Based in Might 1972, The Billie Vacation Theatre is a beacon for world class artwork rooted in racial justice within the coronary heart of Mattress-Stuy: producing, presenting, and commissioning new and traditional works and festivals in theater, dance, music, visible arts, and movie; offering creative and institutional residencies; and serving ages 3 to 103 with dynamic and accessible academic programming.
For daring and daring artists and audiences from across the nook and around the globe who look to The Billie as a rigorous creative house that tackles racial injustices, presents new and unapologetic voices, and imagines a world the place all folks can flourish…welcome residence.
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