Wells Fargo Presents
A Gulf Coast Juneteenth

KTRK news anchor, Melanie Lawson is the emcee for the evening’s onstage festivities which will begin with a dramatic reading of the Emancipation Proclamation by Houston artist and Jazz Historian Tierney Malone, followed by greetings from Mayor Sylvester Turner and other elected officials.

The Soul Rebels started with an idea – to expand upon the pop music they loved on the radio and the New Orleans brass tradition they grew up on. They took that tradition and blended funk and soul with elements of hip hop, jazz and rock all within a brass band context. The band has built a career around an eclectic live show that harnesses the power of horns and drums in a deep pocket funk party-like atmosphere.  The Soul Rebels continue to chart new territory as they feature in major films, tour globally, and combine top notch musicianship with songs that celebrate dancing, life, funk and soul.

Opening for The Soul Rebels will be Houston’s own Annika Chambers and the Annika Chambers Band. Citing the gospel influences of Yolanda Adams, Shirley Caesar, Dottie Peoples and Whitney Houston, she was nominated by the Blues Music Awards as a “Best New Artist” in 2015. With a powerhouse voice, Chamber’s band blends blues and soul with a style that has made her a rising star in the global blues circuit.

There will be two video presentations: A Buffalo Soldier by Joel Shalow and Recollections of Juneteenth, a video produced by Pat Jasper and Angel Quesada
which highlights Houstonians memories of this important holiday.

This event is in partnership with The Houston Museum of African American Culture and the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum.

The festival will begin at 5:30 PM at the Houston Museum of African American Culture and the annual Walk to Freedom commemorating the ex-slave journey from Galveston to Freedman’s Town here in Houston.

At 6:00 PM the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum will stage an historic Civil War Encampment at Miller Outdoor Theatre for visitors to experience and discover. The encampment will be located in the grass across from the box office.

This is a ticketed event for the covered seating area. Free tickets are available (4 per person over age 16 while they last) at the Miller Outdoor Theatre box office the day of the performance between the hours of 10:30 AM-1:00 PM. If tickets remain at 1:00 PM, the box office will re-open one hour before show time to distribute the remaining tickets.

As always, open seating on the hill.

The show goes on rain or shine.

Presented by Miller Outdoor Theatre

The program is supported in part by the City of Houston through the Miller Theatre Advisory Board, an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and generous funding from Wells Fargo with additional funding from AARP. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.

In partnership with Buffalo Soldiers National Museum, and Houston Museum of African American Culture