FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Livermore Valley Arts
Contact: Ruth Egherman (925) 583-2306
Celebrate Black History Month with an Array of Offerings at The Bankhead
Livermore, CA – (January 15, 2026) – Livermore Valley Arts is joining in the Black History Month celebration this February with a month of Friday evening events that will uplift and champion black artists and talents. From one legendary night of music with two extraordinary performances at Ruthie Foster and Blind Boys of Alabama on February 6 to the dynamic trio that creates stimulating musical experiences that inspire audiences to love, hope, feel, and imagine at The String Queens on February 13, The Bankhead has an array of performances that will entertain as well as educate on black artists, talents, and stories. The celebration is so big, it even trickles a few days into March with the triumphant return of the dynamic and soothing four-piece a cappella group Kings Return on March 6. All of these thrilling performances will take place at the beautiful Bankhead Theater in Downtown Livermore.
Kicking off our February celebration, Ruthie Foster’s musical journey is as eclectic and vibrant as her soulful voice. Born into a family steeped in gospel tradition, Ruthie’s earliest influences were the voices of her mother, grandmother, and the gospel singers she grew up listening to — artists like the Gospel Keynotes and the Blind Boys of Alabama. However, her path to becoming a solo artist was not a straightforward one. Growing up in the rich musical tapestry of Gause, Texas, Ruthie found herself drawn to the diverse sounds and arrangements of local gospel choirs and musicians. Despite her reluctance to take center stage and initially shying away from the spotlight, Ruthie’s talent was undeniable, and her mother encouraged her to step up and sing out. She stood out as a young black girl with a guitar in a choir scene dominated by pianos, but with her grandmother’s vocal coaching and encouragement from her mother and the church community, she recognized her own power — as a songwriter, a musician, and as a captivating singer. After studying music at a community college in Waco, Ruthie decided to take a break from music and enlist in the Navy. The stage drew her once more, and she was selected to sing for the Navy band Pride, where she honed her skills as a vocalist and performer. A development
deal with Atlantic Records led her to New York City, where she immersed herself in the songwriting community and learned the craft of writing songs that spoke to the soul. However, Ruthie’s journey took a turn when her mother fell ill, prompting her to step back from music and return to Texas once again. It was a period of introspection, caregiving, and deep bonding with her mother, and upon her return to writing and performing, it was to shape her voice as a singer-songwriter and storyteller. Drawing on her experiences and her musical roots, she began to craft blues, folk, and gospel-tinged songs that spoke to the universal themes of love, loss, and resilience.
Turning down a major record deal in pursuit of authenticity, she has stayed true to herself and her vision as an artist, signing with independent label Blue Corn Music to release Runaway Soul in 2002, followed by The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster in 2007, The Truth According to Ruthie Foster in 2009, Let It Burn in 2012, Promise of a Brand New Day in 2014, Joy Comes Back in 2017, and Healing Time in 2022. She has also released three live albums, Stages in 2004, Live At Antone’s in 2011 and 2020’s Live at the Paramount. Now, with five Grammy nominations to her name, Ruthie Foster has achieved a long-awaited milestone: her very first Grammy win. Her latest album, Mileage, released on the legendary Sun Records, won Best Contemporary Blues Album at the 2025 Grammy Awards — a triumph not only for Foster, but also a historic first-ever Grammy win for Sun Records. The recognition underscores the power of Foster’s artistry and the enduring legacy of a label that continues to champion timeless voices. With soulful melodies, heartfelt lyrics, and unwavering commitment to her craft, Foster continues to carve out a path that is uniquely her own — inspiring audiences and fellow musicians alike.
The Blind Boys of Alabama are recognized worldwide as living legends of gospel music. Celebrated by The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and The Recording Academy/GRAMMYs with Lifetime Achievement Awards, inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, and winners of six GRAMMY® Awards, they have attained the highest levels of achievement in a career that spans over 70 years. The Blind Boys are known for crossing multiple musical boundaries with their remarkable interpretations of everything from traditional gospel favorites to contemporary spiritual material by songwriters such as Eric Clapton, Prince, and Tom Waits. They have appeared on recordings with many artists, including Lou Reed, Peter
Gabriel, Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Aaron Neville, Susan Tedeschi, Ben Harper, Patty Griffin, and Taj Mahal. Blind Boys of Alabama released Echoes Of The South on Aug 25, 2023, which finds the Gospel Music Hall of Fame inductees coming home to honor those they’ve lost on a bold declaration of how far they still plan to go. The eleven-song collection is a portrait of perseverance from a group well-versed in overcoming incredible odds — from singing for pocket change in the Jim Crow South to performing for three different American presidents, soundtracking the Civil Rights movement, and helping define modern gospel music as we know it. Recently, the group’s decades-long mission of spreading light and love has taken on even deeper context as they’ve reckoned with the loss of two of their own, Paul Beasley and Benjamin Moore, both longtime members of the Blind Boys’ tight-knit family. Echoes Of The South is released in their honor — as well as for the group’s recently-retired leader, Jimmy Carter — and keeps the Blind Boys’ long-held mission statement at its core: “As long as everybody gives all that they have to give and we sing songs that touch the heart, we’ll live on forever.”
In 2022, the group had a collaborative recording with Béla Fleck, nominated for a Grammy. The nominated collaboration, “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free,” powerfully reimagines the anthem of the Civil Rights Movement, originally made famous by Nina Simone. They also have had collaborative recordings and coinciding tours with both Marc Cohn and afro-pop duo Amadou & Mariam. In 2023, Blind Boys garnered another Grammy nomination for Best Americana Single for “The Message” featuring Black Violin. The following year, 2024 started off with a return to the GRAMMY® Awards with three nominations and one win for Best Roots Gospel Album — Echoes Of The South. This was followed by a sold-out tour in Australia and a sizzling performance with Sir Tom Jones during the Bluesfest Byron Bay (Australia), where a video of their rehearsal reached 750 K+ views in 48 hours on social platforms. The definitive book, titled Spirit of the Century, was released in March 2024. It is an insider history of the Blind Boys of Alabama, the longest-running group in American music, and the untold story of their world, written with band members and key musical colleagues. Audiences do not want to miss this legendary group, in their double-billing with the soulful Ruthie Foster, at the kick-off for Black History Month at The Bankhead on February 6 in Downtown Livermore.
Praised for its authentic, soulful, and orchestral sound, The String Queens (TSQ) is a dynamic
trio with an array of repertoire spanning from the Baroque era to the Jazz Age to today’s Billboard Hot 100 Chart, that performs versatile programs that take listeners on a rousing musical journey through time and a multitude of musical genres. Based in Washington, D.C., TSQ has been featured in performances at renowned concert halls and venues across America, including Carnegie Hall in New York City and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the nation’s capital. Notable appearances include a special performance dedicated to Vice President Kamala Harris at the “We Are One” Presidential Inauguration Concert in January 2021 and rendering a spotlight presentation of TSQ’s electrifying arrangement of Harry Styles’s hit song “Golden” for the world’s most prestigious tennis tournament, “The Championships, Wimbledon” in June 2021. As an ensemble who frequents the D.C. jazz scene, other headlining performances include multiple appearances at the DC Jazz Festival and the Capital Jazz Fest. Recognized by D.C.’s leading news network WUSA9 as “school teachers by day and concert performers by night,” TSQ’s dedication, service, and innovative work in the field of music education has been acknowledged by the DC Jazz Festival with the “Jazz Education Award” in 2022, Carnegie Hall with the “Music Educators Workshop” Keynote Address in 2021, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra with the “Aspire Award” in 2020, Washington Performing Arts’ “Mars Arts D.C.” Resident Ensemble in 2019 and 2020, and most recently, a partnership with the Save The Music Foundation to present a series of professional development workshops for performing arts educators around the country on “Social Emotional Learning in the Arts Classroom” and “Trauma-Informed Centered Arts Classrooms” as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2022, TSQ released its third album titled RISE, which was made possible by a Sphinx Organization MPower Artist Grant. With this album, TSQ sought to sonically address the world’s current problems by creating unique arrangements of timeless classics rooted in hope, joy, peace, and love. Featuring original compositions by Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Richard Smallwood, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, and more, RISE takes listeners on a musical journey that starts in a field of loss and hopelessness and ends in a fortress of faith, triumph, and fortitude. Previous albums from TSQ include a self-titled EP released in 2019 and a holiday EP titled Our Favorite Things released in 2020. All TSQ albums are available on its website and all major digital music platforms. This inventive and fabulous group will certainly delight Tri-Valley audiences on February 13.
Sneaking LVA’s Black History Month celebration just a few days beyond the shortest month of the year, on March 6, dynamic and soothing four-piece vocal group Kings Return returns to The Bankhead after their sellout Tri-Valley debut in 2024, a tight knit group that takes pride in showing how they craft a diverse yet supremely cohesive a cappella sound, with a blend of unique vocal timbres so rich and so smooth that, at times, it sounds more like a full choir than a mere four men. Discovered after posting a series of bare-bones stairwell performances that went viral, their music is a balm to the soul, laced with expansive harmonies that flex the agility and effortless range of their vocal talent. Their sound has earned comparisons to iconic acts like Take 6 and Boyz II Men, being set apart by their seamless integration of a wide range of genres and styles. Drawn to the flexibility of a cappella music, they take full advantage of the genre-mixing aspects of the tradition. Their brand of R&B is entwined with moments of free jazz, soulful bursts of gospel, and bright touches of pop—all built on a solid classical foundation. Theirs is the kind of talent that makes virtuosic performance look (and sound) like sublime, effortless playtime, defying the constraints of any single genre to explore a myriad of sonic shades and textures. Kings Return was first conceived in 2016 when Gabe Kunda asked some friends to perform with him for a college recital. The a cappella performance captivated the crowd and soon led to local gigs, where the group cut its teeth before finalizing the lineup in 2020. Composed of tenor Vaughn Faison, bass Gabe Kunda, tenor JE McKissic, and baritone Jamall Williams, the Dallas-based quartet has since captured the hearts of millions of fans in-person and online. They earned their first taste of fame that summer, when they arranged, performed, and posted a video of their soul-stirring, a cappella rendition of “God Bless America,” which went viral. The next year, they posted a more classical a cappella performance of “Ubi Caritas,” which also went viral, amassing over 10 million views. A pivotal moment for the budding act, Kings Return began to shift away from a strictly gospel focus to explore a more diverse musical repertoire. They dropped their debut EP in December 2021, a warm, jazz-leaning holiday album titled Merry Little Christmas, followed by the June 2022 release of their stunning Bee Gees cover “How Deep is Your Love” off debut LP ROVE, which earned a GRAMMY nomination for “best arrangement instrumental or a cappella.” Epic, expansive, and polished, ROVE was released in September 2022, showcasing a nuanced attention to detail and a remarkable fusion of four distinctive, classically-trained voices into one elegant and intricate whole. “When we come together to do this vulnerable thing called a cappella, it strengthens our bonds. It makes us tighter
as a unit and as human beings. We want to be examples for other men like us.” Having released their first full-length holiday LP, aptly titled We 4 Kings, in November 2023, Kings Return continues to defy expectations, charming audiences with their signature smoothness and sophisticated, down-to-earth charisma, and they will be celebrating their talents once again in Livermore on March 6 in a do-not-miss return performance.
Tickets for shows in the 2025—2026 Bankhead Presents season are available online, by calling 925-373-6800, or at the box office windows. For a complete list of events, visit LivermoreArts.org.
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Livermore Valley Arts is an independent 501(c)3 non-profit offering wide-ranging programs that provide access to the arts for the Tri-Valley community and beyond. The Bankhead Theater and Bothwell Arts Center are home to eight resident performing arts companies and over 40 studio artists and cultural arts instructors. LivermoreArts.org
Show: Ruthie Foster and Blind Boys of Alabama
Date/Time: Friday, February 6, 2026, at 8:00pm
Tickets: $25—$95 ($25 student/military personnel) / Groups of 10 or more save 20%
Show: The String Queens
Date/Time: Friday, February 13, 2026, at 8:00pm
Tickets: $25—$75 ($25 student/military personnel) / Groups of 10 or more save 20%
Show: Kings Return
Date/Time: Friday, March 6, 2026, at 8:00pm
Tickets: $25—$70 ($25 student/military personnel) / Groups of 10 or more save 20% Dates, times, and ticket prices for other events available at www.LivermoreArts.org
