The Concert
A fusion of sound and culture, plus a lasting gift to each city
The Concert Event
The Gift to the City
The Post-Concert Celebration
The concert stage is set like a panoramic view of New Orleans. A French quarter wrought iron balcony overlooks a levy with a Riverboat paddle wheel, and the waterfront view transitions into a centuries old oak tree-lined bayou bank.
Giant video screens flank the proscenium. Visual artists set up their easels at the two down stage corners. They face the audience. They begin capturing the audience as they settle into the local concert hall adjacent to the Wade In The Water Tour exhibit dome.
Throughout the concert, the video screens broadcast the artists’ works in progress. The original works will become part of the Wade In the Water auction and prints from the paintings will be merchandized with exclusive usages offered to tour sponsors.
The concert will be a high energy experience beginning with local talent and working up to the crescendo through the Wade In The Water Tour artists and ending with the performance by a major headliner.
A local celebrity from each city will be the evening’s master of ceremonies who will introduce each succeeding act.
A local student from a Masters jazz program will perform the national anthem.
The musical concert begins with a performance by a favorite local jazz act.
Subsequent acts are presented with each act or group building on to the previous one so that each group adds to the performance of the next.
The first major artist, Donald Harrison, will be accompanied by a 4-piece rhythm section for a 45-minute show.
Bill Summers is then introduced along with a three-piece horn section added to the musical group and a back-up vocalist for another 45 minute set. This set is interrupted by the dramatic entrance of the incomparable Shaka Zulu, who walks on his stilts thru the audience as drummers play around entire theatre. Shaka Zulu then disappears, and Summers and his combo finish that set.
During intermission, the emcee comes out and gives some acknowledgements.
The second act is opened by Big Chief Bo Dollis, who is carried by the Mardi Gras Indians down the middle of the auditorium to the stage. He performs with the rhythm section and three horns for a 45 minute set.
Davell Crawford joins the show with three back-up vocalists, a full rhythm section and three horns. Bill Summers and Donald join the act after 30 minutes. They are introduced and play with Crawford.
The headliner act is then introduced for a 30-minute set.
Shaka Zulu and the Mardi Gras Indians rejoin the ensemble for a big finale followed by encore performances by the headliner act.
It is Summers’ vision that this spectacular concert experience will be free and open to the public with special seating set aside for members of local schools. Each year, millions patron high priced jazz festivals around the nation and around the globe. This practice has created an artificial barrier to the survivability of the art form.
The Wade In The Water Tour seeks to change that paradigm. By allowing free, general admission to all concerts, this tour will allow people of underserved populations and generations disconnected to their cultural roots to re-connect to the music and to the people who make it. It will therefore be a true cultural exchange program.
After the concert, sponsors and their V.I.P. guests will be invited back to the exhibit dome for a high profile and ultra exclusive party with the artists and headliners. The dome canvas will be lit with a spectacular montage of video images and lights. Inside a fusion of jazz and contemporary tracks will be spun while guests enjoy exquisite catered food presenting authentic tastes of Afro-Caribbean, Cajun, Creole and Latin fare.
