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For Immediate Release
May 28, 2003
PortFest 2003
OAKLAND, Calif, (May 28, 2003) - Before Oleta Adams, this year’s marquee performer at PortFest 2003, was discovered by the British band Tears for Fears and went on to record popular-selling albums, she was an icon of the Kansas City, Kansas music scene.
Likewise, the other performers sharing top billing with Adams at the June 7th estuary festival, are all Bay Area venue veterans with varying degrees of national and international acclaim. Listeners be warned: jazz vocalist Faye Carol, funkmeister singer Lenny Williams and the pop-fused singer/violinist Natasha Miller are readying to sprinkle their unique soulful flavors on the expected crowd of more than 25,000 people at Jack London Square.
“Who would’ve thought that we could manage to book such a diverse collection of artists who all exude their own unique dynamic, styles,” said Harold Jones, director of communications at the Port.
The dynamic Miss Faye Carol is a veteran performer of blues, jazz, gospel and cabaret. She began her career in the mid-60s touring as a vocalist in Bay Area R&B and funk bands. In the 1970s she formed her own trio and found appreciative audiences in cabaret and jazz venues. The San Francisco Examiner once wrote that “no singer in the Bay area comes close to Carol’s sheer intensity; she doesn’t just sell a song…she sells her soul for that song.”
Lenny Williams’ family relocated to Oakland from Little Rock, Arkansas when he was just one year old. He grew up in a disciplined religious home and at one point aspired to be a minister. That was until he got a taste of secular music, won numerous talent contests that eventually led to a record deal in 1968. After several years, he was invited to join the funk band Tower of Power as lead singer during their breakout period in the 1970s. He has recorded some five pop hits and another 20 hits that have made the Billboard Music R&B charts.
Natasha Miller is another Bay area artist whose body of music is evocative and original. She writes all of her material, plays the acoustic guitar, violin, piano and sings. Her musical style has often been compared to Rickie Lee Jones, Shawn Colvin and Sting.
Besides these solo artists, the Grammy-nominated Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir – a multi-racial interfaith group of 55 vocalists – will also perform united in their love of music and its spiritual message.
PortFest will also feature an acrobatic air show, antique airplane displays and muscle car exhibits, a balloons-and-clowns-kids zone, whale boat races, dock and harbor tours, seaport crane and container demonstrations and plenty of food.
A portion of the proceeds from PortFest 2003 will benefit: Safe Passages for Youth, the Museum of Children’s Art (MOCHA), Native American Health Center, West Oakland Community Collaborative, Unity Council – Family Literacy Program.
For more information, including questions about location, parking, public transportation and the free bicycle valet, call the Port Fest Hotline, 510.627.1111.
Contact:
Harold Jones
Director of Communications
(510) 627-1564
hjones@portoakland.com |
