“The women’s voices blend and soar in a
 spectrum of styles few other ensembles
 could match.” –The New York Times

Rooted in the verdant soil of African American culture, the a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey In the Rock is celebrating 35 years of foot-stomping, soul-stirring, consciousness-raising music. With two founding members among the six vocalists, new talent steadily revitalizes the group, which also features an American Sign Language interpreter. Drawing on gospel, hymns, spirituals, R&B and jazz, Sweet Honey delivers songs that seem to float on delicate harmonies and surge with irresistible syncopation, as on their recent Grammy-nominated album, Experience...101.

Presented in Association with the San Francisco Chapter of The Links, Inc.

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Rooted in the verdant soil of African-American culture, the all-women a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey In the Rock is celebrating 35 years of foot-stomping, soul-stirring, consciousness-raising music. While the group’s guiding spirit Bernice Johnson Reagan retired four years ago, the legendary ensemble has lost none of its power and commitment to social change. Guided by an expansive vision of African-American culture, Sweet Honey has created an uplifting body of work drawing on West African chants, field hollers, blues, spirituals, gospel, folk tunes, protest songs, jazz, soul and hip hop.

Sweet Honey was born out of the struggle for civil rights in the 1960s with origins in Reagan’s work as a member of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Freedom Singers. The group traveled the country providing inspiration to protesters facing down police batons, fire hoses and fists. She drew the founding members from a workshop at the D.C. Black Repertory Theater Company, and the group took its name from a song based on Psalm 81:16, “Sweet Honey in the Rock.”

With their expert hand percussion, Sweet Honey delivers songs that float on delicate harmonies and surge with irresistible syncopation, as on their recent Grammy-nominated album, Experience...101.

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