Veronica Swift and Kings Return Come to Segerstrom Center for the Arts This Month

Segerstrom Center for the Arts presents jazz vocalist Veronica Swift with special guest Kings Return on Saturday, June 24, 2023 at 7 pm and 9 pm in the Samueli Theatre as part of its 2022-23 Jazz series. Veronica Swift has garnered an impressive repertoire whilst still being relatively early in her professional career, and now, she’s returning to the Center with more of her incredible music.

Her third album, Veronica Swift (2023) ventures into mixing jazz and classical with rock, soul, and funk paying homage to greats like Janis Joplin, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix and Duke Ellington. Veronica's ability to transcend different styles, and fully embody them with authenticity to tell a story makes her one of the most skillful singers in any genre and displays her theatrical approach as a performer and artist. 

She was only 9 years old when she recorded her first album and toured professionally with her musician parents, jazz pianist Hod O'Brien and vocalist Stephanie Nakasian. At 11 years old, Swift performed at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York. Before graduating from the University of Miami in 2016, she toured and performed with a few jazz superstars, including GRAMMY®-award-winning trumpeters Wynton Marsalis and Chris Botti, and pianists Benny Green, Michael Feinstein, and Emmet Cohen.

Opening the concert for Veronica will be the exceptionally gifted vocal ensemble Kings Return. Blending gospel, jazz, R&B, soul and classical music, this a cappella group became social media stars after posting videos from the stairwell where they rehearse in Dallas.

Single tickets for Veronica Swift with special guest Kings Return at Segerstrom Center for the Arts start at $69 and are now available online at SCFTA.org, at the Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa or by calling (714) 556-2787. For inquiries about group ticket discounts for 10 or more, call the Group Services office at (714) 755-0236. 

About Veronica Swift

Veronica Swift is a Mack Avenue recording artist whose debut album Confessions was released in 2019. Her second release,  This Bitter Earth (2021), earned her a five-star review in DownBeat magazine including the front cover on their November 2021 issue, the JazzTimes December cover, and L'academie du Jazz "Best Vocal Album" award in 2021. Having made her mark on the international jazz scene as one of the star vocalists of her era, Veronica Swift has now expanded her style, establishing herself as a skilled rock and soul singer as well as a dynamic performer.

Raised in Charlottesville, VA, Veronica began her performing and recording career at age nine. 

As a child, she headlined at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club, and appeared at major US festivals, such as the Telluride Jazz Fest.  She went on to receive a Bachelor of Music Degree from University of Miami's Frost School of Music.  

Placing 2nd in the 2015 Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition put Veronica on the map, contributing to her landing a weekly residency at the historic jazz venue Birdland. It was there where she captured the attention of jazz icons Chris Botti and Wynton Marsalis who featured her on their tours throughout the following years as Veronica also toured extensively with her own band. 

About Kings Return

Dynamic and soothing four-piece vocal group KINGS RETURN take pride in crafting a diverse yet supremely cohesive a cappella sound: The blend of their unique vocal timbres is 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. But what sets Kings Return apart is 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 free moments of 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 their 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.  Poised to release 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.

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