2023 Lineup / Headliners

Soul music pours out of Lee Fields, as free and unstinting as God’s love. It has ever since the 1960s, when he was a teenager in North Carolina sweating it out on juke joint stages, crumpled dollars hailing at his feet.

Durand Jones & The Indications are equally beloved for their energetic, joyous shows, dual lead singers, and thoughtful songwriting. From an Indiana basement (where the band recorded their 2016 self-titled debut LP as college students), the band has catapulted into the soul limelight and onto an international stage.

This all-star performance is a convergence of New Orleans cultural heavyweights. Crescent City musical veterans the New Orleans Suspects, alongside a guest appearance from vocalist Erica Falls, set the musical tone for a vibrant set.

For 60 years, South Africa’s five-time Grammy Award winners Ladysmith Black Mambazo has warmed the hearts of audiences worldwide with uplifting vocal harmonies, signature dance moves and charming onstage banter, all while singing a message of peace, love and harmony.

R&B powerhouse singer/songwriter Leela James first burst onto the scene with her 2006 debut album A Change is Gonna Come, introducing audiences to her soaring sultry vocal dexterity. She quickly garnered nominations for Outstanding New Artist at the NAACP Image Awards and Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist at the 2008 Soul Train Music Awards.

Some people might say that after notching ten number one singles, 13 GRAMMY Award nominations, a New York Times best-selling memoir and ongoing sold-out, coast-to-coast arena tours, Charlie Wilson has proven his point. But he isn’t planning on slowing down anytime soon.

Telmary is one of Cuba’s leading, cutting edge hip-hop and urban music artists. Her study of English, theater, and writing informed her work in the Havana music scene during the late ’90s and early 2000s.

To help celebrate late bebop pioneer Charlie Park’s incalculable impact on jazz, four saxophone titans unite on the Summer Fest Main Stage for a centennial celebration.

Four-time Grammy Award Winner Stanley Clarke has attained “living legend” status during his over 50-year career as a bass virtuoso. He is the first bassist in history who doubles on acoustic and electric bass with equal ferocity and the first jazz-fusion bassist ever to headline tours, selling out shows worldwide.

2021 Grammy winner Ledisi is a twelve time Grammy nominated powerhouse vocalist with a career spanning almost two decades. Since arriving on the scene in the late 1990’s, she’s garnered three Soul Train Music awards, an NAACP Theater Award and six NAACP Image Award nominations.