IMG Artists Announces 36-City North American Tour in 2019 “We Shall Overcome: A Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. featuring Damien Sneed”

IMG Artists, today's leading global performing arts management agency, announces a 36-city North American tour with multi-genre recording artist Damien Sneed. The Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipient will bring his brand of classical, jazz, and gospel music to "We Shall Overcome: A Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., featuring Damien Sneed." The tour will kick off on Friday, January 11, 2019, at the Empire Center at The Egg in Albany, NY, and will make stops at concert halls and universities in the U.S. and Canada. The tour will conclude on March 3 at the Gallo Center for the Arts in Modesto, CA.

"We are thrilled to be working with Damien Sneed," says Toby Tumarkin, Senior Vice President, Global Head of Artists and Attractions. "He is an amazing rising star, and 'We Shall Overcome' is a great opportunity for audiences across the country to experience Damien's incredible music-making."

The year 2019 marks Dr. King's 90th birthday and also the 35th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which was signed into law and made a federal holiday in 1983. The "We Shall Overcome" tour will continue through Black History Month (Feb 1-28) and the early part of Women's History Month (March 1-31).

Sneed notes, "I look forward to honoring the life and legacy of the great civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr., in my upcoming tour as well as many other great artists and public figures who used their voices and their art to let the world know that one day we will truly overcome."

Joining Sneed on the two-month tour will be an ensemble of multi-genre vocalists and instrumentalists, including Chenee Campbell (vocalist), Markita Knight (vocalist), Ayana George (vocalist), Anitra McKinney (vocalist), and Quinn Brown (vocalist), along with special guests, classical recording artists Patrice Eaton, Audrey DuBois Harris, and Brandie Sutton, who will appear on various dates of the tour. The musicians include Mark Clark (drums), John Matthew Clark (bass), and Marquéz Cassidy (keyboards).

Just in time for the tour, Sneed will release his the forthcoming recording Damien Sneed: We Shall Overcome. His most recent release was the 2018 set, The Three Sides of Damien Sneed: Classical, Jazz and Sanctified Soul.

Sneed recently joined the acclaimed staff of the Houston Grand Opera (HGOco) asMusic Director and Composer in Residence and serves as cover conductor for HGO mainstage productions under Patrick Summers, Artistic and Music Director. He has been commissioned to compose a new opera for Houston Grand Opera that will have its world premiere in early March 2020 at the Cullen Theater.

Damien Sneed is a pianist, organist, conductor, composer, producer, arranger, vocal coach, and arts educator whose work spans multiple genres. He has worked with classical, jazz, pop and R&B legends including the late Aretha Franklin, Wynton Marsalis, Jessye Norman, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Ashford & Simpson, Lawrence Brownlee, and many others.

A graduate of John S. Davidson Fine Arts School in his hometown of Augusta, Ga., he earned a Bachelor of Music - Piano Performance from Howard University and a Master of Music in Music Technology: Scoring for Film and Multimedia from New York University. Sneed also completed his doctorate in Orchestral Conducting from USC in Fall 2018. He is the founder and artistic director of the international vocal ensemble Chorale Le Chateau, and the founder of LeChateau Earl Records.

We Shall Overcome:

A Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. featuring Damien Sneed

North American Tour

Friday, January 11, 2019

Empire Center at The Egg, Albany, NY

Saturday, January 12, 2019

The Clemens Center, Elmira, NY

Sunday, January 13, 2019

TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning - Koerner Hall, Toronto, ONT

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

August Wilson Center, Pittsburgh, PA

Thursday, January 17, 2019

Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, NJ

Friday, January 18, 2019

McCarter Theatre Center, Princeton, NJ

Saturday, January 19, 2019

Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA

Sunday, January 20, 2019

George Mason University - Hylton Performing Arts Center, Manassas, VA

Monday, January 21, 2019

City of Morganton Municipal Auditorium, Morganton, NC

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Diana Wortham Theatre at Pack Place, Asheville, NC

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College, Irmo, SC

Friday, January 25, 2019

Mesa Arts Center, Mesa, AZ

Saturday, January 26, 2019

Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts, Northridge, CA

Sunday, January 27, 2019

Carpenter Performing Arts Center at California State University, Long Beach, CA

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Opelika Center for the Performing Arts, Opelika, AL

Thursday, January 31, 2019

Straz Center - Ferguson Hall, Tampa, FL

Friday, February 1, 2019

Kravis Center for the Performing Arts - Dreyfoos Hall, West Palm Beach, FL

Saturday, February 2, 2019

Miramar Cultural Center, Miramar, FL

Tuesday, February 5, 2019

The Ritz Theatre and Museum, Jacksonville, FL

Friday, February 8, 2019

The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, St. Paul, MN

Sunday, February 10, 2019

Carlsen Center, Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, KS

Monday, February 11, 2019

University of Central Arkansas - Reynolds Performance Hall, Conway, AR

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

The University of Mississippi - Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oxford, MS

Thursday, February 14, 2019

Holland Performing Arts Center - Kiewit Concert Hall, Omaha, NE

Friday, February 15, 2019

College of St. Benedict - Escher Auditorium, St. Joseph, MN

Sunday, February 17, 2019

The Whiting, Flint, MI

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Door Community Auditorium, Fish Creek, WI

Thursday, February 21, 2019

Hancher Auditorium at University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

Friday, February 22, 2019

The Hett Center for the Arts, Lebanon, IL

Saturday, February 23, 2019

North Central College - Wentz Concert Hall, Naperville, IL

Sunday, February 24, 2019

Clowes Memorial Hall of Butler University, Indianapolis, IN

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Cal Poly Arts - Christopher Cohan Center, San Luis Obispo, CA

Thursday, February 28, 2019

Sunset Cultural Center, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

February, March 1, 2019

UC Davis - Mondavi Center, Davis, CA

Saturday, March 2, 2019

Green Music Center at Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA

Sunday, March 3, 2019

Gallo Center for the Arts, Modesto, CA.

Image: Damien Sneed © Michael Rubenstein