Houston, TX Jumpstart Juneteenth with a rockin musical tribute to the City of Houston at Miller Outdoor Theatre in Hermann Park, Sunday, June 18, 7:30PM with A GULF COAST JUNETEENTH, courtesy of Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston, a Survivor-Centered Storytelling and Oral History Project. This major free concert event explores the ongoing dialogue between the traditions of Houston and those of the Gulf Coast.
With a hearty serving of hot blues, blaring brass band jazz and sizzling zydeco, A GULF COAST JUNETEENTH extends a big musical thank you to and for the citys generous response to hurricane evacuees and survivors. It also celebrates links among these styles of music and their performers which have seldom been appreciated or acknowledged. With Houstons own R&B legend Grady Gaines, New Orleans transplants New Birth Brass Band and local phenom Brian Terry and the Zydeco Travelers, A GULF COAST JUNETEENTH samples the range of African American music that forms the core of the Gulf Coast sound.
This free concert kicks-off the traditional tribute to June 19, 1865 (known as Juneteenth) when Texas African-Americans were belatedly informed of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, officially freeing enslaved Americans. Since then, the Texas commemoration of Juneteenth has become an important celebration of African-American identity throughout the Gulf Coast and the United States.
In the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, hundreds of thousands of displaced persons passed through Houston. Some have spent a few weeks or months in the city, but many will make Houston their home for decades to come. These individuals have undergone life-changing experiences and have stories of great drama and heroism to share with us. The Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston project provides hurricane survivors with the training to document the stories of their fellow evacuees and to do so on the survivors own terms for the national memory, the historical record and to acquaint and connect these recently-arrived residents of the city with their new neighbors and fellow Houstonians.
Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston is a partnership of the Texas Commission on the Arts, The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress and the University of Houston and is funded by the Houston Endowment. Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston works in cooperation with several prestigious Houston cultural organizations including FotoFest, The Orange Show, Project Row Houses, The Houston Institute for Culture and the Vietnamese Studies Program at the University of Houston.
A GULF COAST JUNETEENTH is sponsored by the City of Houston through the Miller Theatre Advisory Board.
All performances at Miller Outdoor Theatre are free. Program updates are available at 713-284-8350. For a complete schedule of 2006 Season performances, visit www.milleroutdoortheatre.com. The theatre is operated by the City of Houston Convention & Entertainment Facilities Dept. and performances are funded in part through the Miller Theatre Advisory Board. Ride Metro to Miller: The theatre is accessible via Metro bus or MetroRail (exit the Hermann Park/Rice University MetroRail station.) Bus and train schedules are available at www.ridemetro.org or 713-635-4000.
