Let Freedom Ring Concert Performer Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens EPK & Bio

“Naomi Shelton’s broad, muscular voice gives the gospel-infused soul songs she sings impossible weight — sometimes
it feels as if they could deflect a bullet.” - New York Times (May 22, 2009)

“If gospel is a great American art form, Naomi Shelton should be considered a national treasure.”
- Washington Post’s Express (May 7, 2009)

“Shelton’s raspy roar fills the club with a jolt of angelic electricity. She works the room, grasping listeners’ hands,
back-slapping, high-fiving, and coaxing onlookers out of their seats for a little sanctified shuffle. All the while, the
Queens make like a cross between the Raelettes and the Caravans, while Driver masterminds the Stax-goes-to-church
feel.” - The Village Voice (May 27, 2009)

“[Naomi Shelton’s] raspy delivery is a reminder of where a great like Wilson Pickett learned the craft before Long Tall Sally led him off into temptation, as can
be heard on the album What Have You Done, My Brother?. Highly recommended.” - Time Out New York (May 21, 2009)

“What Have You Done, My Brother? [is] a thoroughly winning, and thoroughly funky, demonstration of top-of-the-line sanctified soul singing that will sound
just as at home on a Saturday night as it does on a Sunday morning.” - Philadelphia Inquirer (May 1, 2009)

“Like Jones, hers is an undeniable, inimitable voice, a rich and gritty alto brimming with authority and hard-earned authenticity, but also an unmistakable
sense of compassion, grounded by a forthright, soberly pragmatic sensibility. What Have You Done, My Brother?, the first full-length Shelton has cut in her
long and varied career, is a gospel record, to be sure -- from the reedy organ notes that open the proceedings to the inspiring lyrical message of uplift and
righteous struggle, bolstered by the sturdy and stirring backing harmonies of the Gospel Queens -- but it’s a soul record, too, just as obviously, and one that
bears many of the hallmarks of Jones’ Daptone sides.” - All Music (May 2009)

“Shelton’s voice goes from honey-smooth to gritty and back again. The harmonies of the ‘60s girl group-esque Gospel Queens affirm and provide a constant
over which Shelton is free to improvise.” - Brooklyn Vegan (May 28, 2009)

“There’s the usual sizzling B3 and gritty tape hiss we’ve come to expect from Daptone’s throwback recording styles, but Shelton’s voice properly grabs all the
attention here, every bit as brawny and indicting as her story would have you believe.” - RCRD LBL (April 21, 2009)

“Naomi Shelton, backed by the Gospel Queens, sang as the voice of conscience with three-inch heels and a powerful shoulder shrug. She was there, she told
us, to do what she does. And what she does is call on God to show her the way while she calls on us to do the best we can: Smile, hold hands, and keep on.”
- Pop Matters (March 18, 2009)

“After decades of grinding with a church fan and a righteous smile, Shelton and The Gospel Queens (Edna Johnson, Bobbie Gant, and Cynthia Langston) are
getting the chance to share a revived, but authentic portal into yesteryear’s Southern roots music. Quiet rage tinges its blues; unshakeable faith lifts its gospel;
and simple honesty caress the soul of an album whose title speaks to all three genres blessed here by these humble messengers.” - Soul Tracks (May 2009)



Like many gospel and rhythm and blues singers, Naomi Davis Shelton learned to sing at an early age in the very church where she was baptized. Her parents were very dedicated and involved members of Mt. Coney Baptist Church in Midway, Alabama, and by age six, she was already singing there alongside her two older sisters, Hattie Mae and Annie Ruth. Her father was a designer who had built some of the radio studios out in Tuskegee, and every Sunday morning all through high school, the Davis Sisters would sing on a regular half-hour broadcast from one of the very studios their father built. As a little girl, Naomi was inspired by the southern gospel quartets like Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers, and the Five Blind Boys of Alabama.

“Those were pretty much my mentors. I was inspired by their music – the spiritual tone they had in their voice. They wasn’t doing a whole lot of hollering and stuff, they was just outright singing. During them years we weren’t around a whole lot of big time people singing. It was a small little town. My father and mother kept us very busy, with church affairs – every Sunday going places singing, just me and my sisters. So we pretty much had our own little style going as the Davis Sisters of Alabama.”

Following in the steps of her older sisters, Naomi left Alabama directly after her high school graduation in 1958. She joined Annie Ruth in New York, living in a rooming house and working private duty with a family in Hempstead, Long Island. However, she was not happy there, and in 1959, when her mother fell sick she returned to Alabama. In 1960 she left again, this time to join Hattie Mae in Florida, where she found work as a nanny in Miami Beach.

It was these first years away from home when she discovered the blossoming sound of soul in the voices of Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, Otis Redding, and Lou Rawls. This new sound would be a fresh inspiration, and would have a lasting impression on Naomi’s gospel-rooted approach to soul music.

With this newfound soulful feeling, Naomi made her first foray into secular music in Florida, singing rhythm and blues in the Opalacka talent show on Thursday nights. She began bringing home first place prize money every week and soon got up the nerve to try her luck over at the hipper, jazzier talent shows over at St. John Lounge. Still underage, she would don sunglasses, hats, and extra make-up in order to get in the door and mingle with St. John’s older, classier clientele. It wasn’t long before she began taking all of the first place prize money home from there as well. However, her daytime work was not paying well, and in 1963 Naomi moved back to New York, where she had landed a job taking care of another family in Hempstead, Long Island.

She moved into an apartment near the Brooklyn Academy of Music with a friend and began sitting in with bands at local clubs, settling into a gig as the house singer at a little place called the Night Cap on Flatbush Avenue. At this point Naomi was working constantly: working for herself as a household technician during the day, and doing three sets a night, seven days a week down at the club. It was there at the Night Cap where she would meet the man who would later become her producer, mentor, and friend for life.

Cliff Driver and his band had just come off the road backing Baby Washington, and had taken a job as the house band at the Night Cap. Cliff took an instant liking to Naomi’s voice. “I liked her cause she had a different type voice – a raspy sound like Mavis Staples.” They worked together for only a few months before Cliff left and another band came in to replace him. Naomi stayed on at the Night Cap for a couple years before moving to the Bronx to join another R&B band that had a resident gig for the summer at the Spring Hill Club up in the Catskills. The next several years would see the two of them traveling separate paths – Naomi fronting different bands, Cliff backing different singers – occasionally crossing paths back at the Night Cap, or when Cliff would call Naomi to fill in for another singer. Naomi spent the seventies and eighties singing with R&B bands in clubs all over the New York area, but throughout her career she never stopped singing gospel, returning to Greater Crossroads Baptist Church in Brooklyn every Sunday, where she sings and emcees programs to this day.

Cliff hadn’t come from a musical family, but when he arrived at the Kentucky School for the Blind in Louisville as a young man, he found music all around him. Though his first instrument was trombone, his music courses required that he learn all of the instruments, and after he began to take a specific interest in arranging, he eventually switched to the piano as his main instrument. In 1947, at the tender age of sixteen, Cliff moved to the Bronx, and joined up with Chick Chanifield’s Band. Like all of the bands Cliff would play with in the late forties, Chanifield’s was a dance band, playing the big band hits of the day out of music books. While the other musicians were reading down the charts, Cliff had to learn quickly to follow along by ear.

During the day, Cliff attended the Lighthouse for the Blind on 59th Street, where he studied woodwork and other trades along with his music classes. Aside from learning to build chairs and make belts, it was through the Lighthouse that he was able to secure a much-needed union card that enabled him to get better work as a musician.

At eighteen, he struck out on his own, leading his band in places like the Savoy and the Harlem Club in Manhattan. His first influences included Ray Charles, and singers Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra. “They all had different styles. I liked each one. I said I’ll take a little bit of that, a little bit of that, and I’ll put a little bit of me. That’s what I did.”

Over the next few decades Cliff led and played in countless Rhythm and Blues bands. He led Charley Moore and the Honkytonks, played with Carl Earskins’ Band, and even ventured into Latin music as the piano player for the great Johnny Ortega’s Band.

Sometime around 1956, he started cutting sides for Neptune Records behind vocal groups like the Devours and the Hearts, as well his own group, the Cleftones, with whom he cut ‘The Masquerade is Over’. Under his own name, he put out instrumentals like ‘Juicy Fruit’, ‘Drive On’, ‘Driver’s Roll’, and ‘Crazy Hot’.

In the mid-fifties he moved to Brooklyn and played with Little Rockin’ Willie (the band he would later lead behind Naomi at the Night Cap in the early sixties,) as well as baritone saxophonist Johnny “Rough House” Green. It was around this time Cliff took a young singer from the Hearts named Baby Washington into the studio and produced her first solo sessions. They would have a hit together on Neptune Records with ‘The Bells’ in 1959, and go on to record ‘The Time’, ‘Workout’, ‘Never Could Be Mine’, and ‘Nobody Cares’ in 1961. In 1962 Baby split from Cliff and moved to Juggy Murray’s Sue label where she would later have success with ‘That’s how Heartaches Are Made’ in 1963 and ‘Only Those In Love’ in 1965.

The late fifties were the heyday for the New Jersey organ scene, and amidst all of his work with Baby Washington, Cliff was also leading an organ trio. They would do week long engagements at Club 20, The Broadway Lounge, Leon’s, and The 570 in Newark – dueling keys with Groove Holmes, Jimmy McGriff, Charlie Earland, Wild Bill Davis, and Bill Doggett as they all ran the circuit together.

In the sixties he would play with the Nightcats, and when Little Richard split with the Upsetters, bandleader Charlie Lucas brought Cliff in to replace him on piano. With the Upsetters, Cliff went on the road backing the legendary Little Willie John, and later on, L.C. Cooke (Sam’s brother), Millie Jackson, and John Adams.

Throughout all of this, Cliff was also leading his own show as Cliff Driver and his Band. As the house band for various clubs, Cliff backed all the top rhythm & blues acts of the day when they came through town on tour: Ruth Brown, Solomon Burke, Faye Adams, Reba Jones, Arthur Prysock. In 1967 Cliff switched from the Jimmy Edwins Agency to the Universal Agency, who booked him and his band for a month long run at a club in Bermuda backing Lloyd Barber and some other singers. When he returned he took up with the Coasters, with whom he would tour for a year or two before a narrowly averted plane crash would change his course.

In 1968, Cliff was on a small plane out of Columbia, South Carolina with the Coasters. Coming in to land in Augusta, Georgia, they hit some ice and almost missed the runway. Cliff was so shaken that when it was time to head back to New York, he refused to board another plane. “We’re gonna catch that bird,” said the Coasters. “Well I’m gonna catch that dog!” said Cliff, and made his way home on the Greyhound bus. He was invited back to Bermuda, but after the traumatic landing in Augusta, Cliff wouldn’t board another plane, and instead took his band for a run upstate. (He would later join the Coasters again for a brief stint in the early seventies, but would never shake his fear of flying.)

It is impossible to get a complete account of the innumerable rhythm and blues acts Cliff played with in the fifties and sixties, as he was rarely credited on record and is not the type to vainly reminisce about the old days.

In the early seventies, a promoter named Bobby Robinson, who had a record store up on 125th Street in Harlem (the recently defunct Bobby’s Happy House), put out the instrumental track ‘Soul Train’ by a group he called the Ramrods. The record was a huge hit and would later become the theme for the TV show by the same name. Cliff was recruited along with saxophonist King Curtis and guitarist Jimmy Spool, who had played on the record, to play the Apollo and later put the act on the road. Though the original band broke up after only a few gigs, Cliff took over the Ramrods and continued to do club dates and record sides with them for a few more years, including a whole year stretch at a club up in Springfield, Massachusetts.

In 1976, Jerry Goldberg (the bassist from the Ramrods, who had broken up the year before) invited Cliff to join his new band Primitive Love. After a year, Cliff left to put together his own band again and got a gig playing for New York Mets’ Hall of Fame ball player Tommie Agee at his Outfielder’s Lounge, where they would play for most of 1979 and 1980.

Surprisingly, Cliff didn’t start playing gospel until a churchgoing friend of his told him that a local church needed a musician in 1977. When asked about the difference between playing rhythm and blues and playing gospel, Cliff explains:

“To me, I played gospel the same way that I played music in the clubs. I only know one way of playing. To me it’s soul music. They come up with different changes now with this contemporary gospel, but I don’t mess with that… It’s more or less the words that make the difference. The music doesn’t change. They just notes. Whether it’s rhythm and blues, gospel, or a ballad.”

By 1980 Cliff’s band had broken up and he had stopped playing in clubs all together. He was tired of all the smoking and drinking, the long hours, the traveling. Besides, he found that the money was better in church. He would stay out of the clubs for most of the next two decades until an old friend named Bob Orzo (who had been the manager of Primitive Love) brought him a gospel singer named Akim around 1997. Akim was writing a lot of original material, but needed help getting the music together. Cliff agreed to produce him. It was Akim’s request for three back up singers for the group that led Cliff to assemble the first incarnation of the Queens: Gloria Cartright, Shelly Fields, and Lisa Poindexter. When Akim fell off the scene in 1999, Cliff and the Queens (then consisting of Edna Johnson, Lisa Poindexter, and Judy Bennet) were eager to find a new lead singer and continue working together. It was Edna who suggested Cliff’s old friend Naomi Shelton. Naomi had never stopped singing both in church (as Naomi Shelton) and on the club scene (as Naomi Davis), and jumped at the chance to work with Cliff again. Thus began Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens.

Later in 1999, Cliff and Naomi were doing a club set with Jerry Goldberg and legendary James Brown bassist Fred Thomas at Flannery’s on 14th St. in Manhattan, when then Desco Records label man Gabriel Roth approached them about doing a recording. A staunch J.B. enthusiast, Roth had been tipped off about Fred’s gig by Bob Orzo who was managing Thomas, and had been bowled over by Naomi’s voice and Cliff’s organ playing. A few weeks later, Cliff and Naomi ventured up to Desco’s 41st Street studio for a session. Backed by Desco house band The Soul Providers, Naomi and Cliff cut ‘41st Street Breakdown’, credited on the 45’ as Naomi Davis and the Knights of Forty First Street. Backed with an instrumental entitled ‘Catapult’, the record made some noise in the then-budding deep funk scene, getting heavy rotation at overseas funk parties by DJ’s like Keb Darge and Snowboy. A second session produced an unreleased 10” containing ‘Wind Your Clock’ and ‘Talking ‘Bout A Good Thing’, test pressings of which have been sought after by collectors ever since, commanding exorbitant prices.

Though the success of ‘41st Street Breakdown’ had earned a bit of a reputation for Naomi Davis on the funk scene, Desco Records closed its doors forever in 2000, and Naomi Shelton and the Queens continued to focus their efforts in the church. As Cliff describes it, “After we cut those records, things fell apart for a minute. Things change directions.”

However, it wasn’t long before Roth would cross paths with Cliff and Naomi again. This time it was Cliff who called upon Roth. Cliff had been through a few different bass players with the Queens including Jerry Goldberg, and Fred Thomas (when he was not on the road with James Brown). He enlisted Roth, who started playing bass for them on their church programs and on some demo recordings.

Over the next few years, Roth formed and developed Daptone Records with partner and saxophonist Neal Sugarman. And though Daptone’s second release, The Sugarman Three’s Pure Cane Sugar (2002), features Naomi Davis on a gospel tinged uptempo song called ‘Promised Land’, it was not until 2005 that Roth and Driver got together and decided to try to record a full length gospel soul album for Daptone.

It took three sets of sessions over three years before Roth and Driver finally found the right combination of singers, songs, and musicians to make Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens’ full length. Most of the record was cut live to an eight track tape machine on June 20, 2007 at Daptone’s House of Soul in Bushwick Brooklyn, though a handful of tracks were taken from the earlier sessions on June 16, 2005 and January 24, 2006. The final result, What Have You Done, My Brother? is a testament to the singular sound of gospel and soul music, invoking the early sounds of Wilson Pickett, Ray Charles, The Staple Singers, and Sam Cooke.

Currently, Naomi and the Queens find themselves performing more and more frequently outside of their traditional church engagements. With momentum growing, they can be heard every Friday night at the Greenwich Village club Fat Cat, as well as in clubs and festivals as part of the Daptone Soul Revue, or on their own billing, which has included the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Takeover event (September, 2008) and Lincoln Center’s American Songbook event (February, 2009). The power and raw feeling in Naomi’s voice and the sincere benevolence of her character seem to lift everyone within earshot when she sings, and with the Queens at her side and the force of Driver’s musical direction at her back, her performances are commanding the attention of an exponentially growing number of fans, reaching far beyond the pews of the local churches. Though the experience of hearing her sing can be truly transcendent for even the most secularly minded listener, she has a simple and humble approach to what it is she does. “My occupation is singing. My other occupation is going out in the field, helping others whatever way I can.”

Cliff Driver is the musical director of the group, and leads the band with his inimitable honkytonk piano style. Jimmy Hill, the organist on the record, leads his own blues and R&B band and has a pedigree rivaling Driver himself, including a stint in the late sixties backing Wilson Pickett. (Coincidentally, his band was backing Daptone stablemate Charles Bradley at the Tarheel Lounge on Bedford Avenue when Bradley was first seen by Roth and Sugarman.) The record also features guitarist Tommy ‘TNT’ Brenneck and Bosco Mann, both of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings and each a producer in their own right. Brenneck is also part of The Budos Band, The Menahan Street Band, and heads his own imprint, Dunham Records. His country approach to rhythm and blues guitar handily won him a place at the table with Driver, who often features Tommy’s twangy guitar figures in his arrangements. Most of the drums on the record were played by Brian Floody, a fixture on the bluesier end of the New York jazz scene who beats an indispensable if understated pulse throughout the bulk of the record. ‘What Have You Done?’, ‘Am I Asking Too Much’, ‘What More Can I Do?’, and ‘I Need You To Hold My Hand’ feature drummer Homer Steinweiss, also of the Dap-Kings, whose distinctive feel has become the backbone of the Daptone Sound, as well as the uncredited force behind the music of Amy Winehouse, Jay-Z, Nas, Mark Ronson, and countless others.


The Gospel Queens are made up of Bobbie Gant, Cynthia Langston, and Edna Johnson. Bobbie, who sings alto, was born and raised in Yazoo City, Mississippi, and started her singing career at her church’s junior choir. After going to school in Nashville, she moved to New York, where she began singing with a few different groups, including with Helen Ferguson and the Personalities, who opened for Sammy Davis, Jr. and Ray Fox, among others. It was in 2000 that Bobbie was first introduced to Cliff, who was playing organ at her church, Brown Memorial Baptist, and asked her to join the Gospel Queens soon after, claiming that he knew she could sing because of the “way she talked.” Soprano Cynthia, the youngest of the Queens, grew up singing in Brooklyn’s Spring Hill Baptist Church, where she met Cliff, who played the piano there, as well. After touring with the Off-Broadway gospel production of The Devil Used My Children – for which Cliff was the musical director – as a young teenager, singing with various gospel groups, and living in various places around the country, Cynthia resettled in Brooklyn, where she formed the a group called the Gospel Samaritans before joining the Gospel Queens in 2006. Tenor Edna Johnson was 9 years old when she began singing at her church at school in her hometown of Clairton, Pennsylvania. When she was 15, her mother enrolled her in music school in Pittsburgh. At 18, she moved to New York, where she sang in an R&B group called The Charlettes. Edna met Cliff in 1998 at Greater Crossroads, where she sang and Cliff played the organ, and joined up with the Gospel Queens the following year. Sharon Jones, Judy Bennett, Jamie Kozyra, and Tamika Jones contributed additional background vocals on the record.

ROUNDTABLE EVENT AT BROOKLYN HISTORICAL SOCIETY JANUARY 10 ADDED TO LET FREEDOM RING! WEEKEND THAT ALSO INCLUDES PLYMOUTH CHURCH CONCERT BY THE IMPRESSIONS, NAOMI SHELTON & THE GOSPEL QUEENS, AND MEMBERS OF THE DAP-KINGS

ROUNDTABLE TO FOCUS ON MODERN-DAY SLAVERY AND ONE SLAVERY SURVIVOR/ACTIVIST ALONGSIDE TWO EXPERTS OFFERING ACTION PLAN AND INSIGHTS

In conjunction with the all-star concert January 11 at Plymouth Church featuring The Impressions, Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens, The Inspirational Voices of the Abyssinian Baptist Church, and members of the Dap-Kings, a roundtable discussion will take place January 10 at the Brooklyn Historical Society on modern-day slavery.

The events take place around National Human Trafficking Awareness Day and will benefit Free the Slaves, which is dedicated to ending slavery worldwide in our lifetime. Free the Slaves has presented a Freedom Award to courageous slavery survivor, activist, and roundtable participant Tina Frundt and she will join Harvard's Timothy Patrick McCarthy and Free the Slaves' Maurice I. Middleberg for a discussion.

Doors open at 6pm for a sneak peek at Brooklyn Historical Society's major new exhibit, Brooklyn Abolitionists/In Pursuit of Freedom and a reception.

WHO: Tina Frundt, Timothy Patrick McCarthy, Maurice I. Middleberg
WHAT: Fighting Modern Day Slavery: A Panel Discussion
WHEN: 7pm, Friday, January 10
WHERE: Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11201
TICKETS: Free, RSVP here

The panelists include:

Tina Frundt is a sex trafficking survivor from Chicago who now rescues young people from slavery on the streets of Washington, D.C. She runs a telephone hotline and recovery shelter staffed by survivors like herself. Tina’s personal experiences provide special insight for providing rescue and rehabilitation services for trafficking victims. She is a vocal advocate in the anti-slavery movement: testifying before Congress, speaking to journalists, and telling her story in a TEDx talk. In 2010, she was awarded a Free the Slaves Freedom Award for her courage and diligence as a survivor and activist. Her organization is called Courtney’s House. Click here for Tina's TEDx talk.

Timothy Patrick McCarthy: A lecturer on history, literature and public policy, Dr. McCarthy is director of the Human Rights and Social Movements Program at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Harvard University Kennedy School. Educated at Harvard College and Columbia University, where he received his Ph.D. in history, Dr. McCarthy is a historian of social movements who specializes in slavery and abolition, media culture and communications, and the politics of race, gender, and sexuality in American culture. He is also a frequent media commentator, and a regular contributor to The Daily Beast, The Nation and The Huffington Post. A national leader in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, Dr. McCarthy was a founding member of Barack Obama’s National LGBT Leadership Council.

Maurice I. Middleberg: As executive director of Free the Slaves, Maurice Middleberg oversees the organization’s wide range of innovative anti-trafficking initiatives around the globe. These include frontline community-based projects in hotspot countries to liberate slaves and transform the economic, political and social systems that allow slavery to persist – as well as guiding the group’s policy advocacy, corporate engagement and awareness-raising programs inside the United States. His experience includes projects in 50 countries for CARE, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), The Futures Group, IntraHealth International, and others. Mr. Middleberg has a 15-year record in senior and executive positions, including extensive relationships with international development institutions.

More info on the panelists here.

Most Recent Facts about Modern Day Slavery

• 21-30 million people are trapped in slavery around the world today
• 22% of slavery victims today are in sex slavery
• 78% of slavery victims today are in forced labor slavery
• 55% of slavery victims today are women and girls
• 45% of slavery victim today are men and boys
• 26% of slaves today are children under age 18

Where is Slavery Worst?

• Mauritania has the highest percentage of its population in slavery: 4%
• India has the largest number of people in slavery: 14 million
• The U.S. has 60,000 victims in slavery today
• Top 10 per-capita slavery hot spots: Mauritania, Haiti, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Moldova, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Gabon,
• The U.S. ranks 134th out of 162 countries for slavery prevalence

Sources cited here.

About Free the Slaves

Free the Slaves liberates slaves, helps them rebuild their lives, and transforms the social, economic and political forces that allow slavery to persist. We support community-driven interventions in partnership with local groups that help people to sustainable freedom and dismantle a region’s system of slavery. We convince governments, international development organizations and businesses to implement key changes required for global eradication. We document and disseminate leading-edge practices to help the anti-slavery movement work more effectively. We raise awareness and promote action by opinion leaders, decision makers and the public. Free the Slaves is showing the world that ending slavery is possible. Free the Slaves works in India, Nepal, Ghana, Congo (DRC), Haiti, Brazil.

LET FREEDOM RING: A CONCERT TO BENEFIT FREE THE SLAVES ADDS THE INSPIRATIONAL VOICE OF ABYSSINIAN BAPTIST CHURCH TO JANUARY 11 BILL AT PLYMOUTH CHUCH, ALONGSIDE THE IMPRESSIONS, NAOMI SHELTON & THE GOSPEL QUEENS, MEMBERS OF THE DAP-KINGS

Let Freedom Ring: A Concert To Benefit Free the Slaves has added The Inspirational Voices of the Abyssinian Baptist Church to an already incredible lineup January 11 at Plymouth Church. The choir joins The Impressions, Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens, and members of the Dap-Kings in a concert to commemorate National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.

Based in Harlem, New York, The Inspirational Voices of Abyssinian Baptist Church is the resident choir of one of the most prominent African-American institutions in America. Under the leadership of its pastor, the Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III, the Abyssinian Baptist Church has followed the African-American church tradition of actively building communities, and remains a champion of spiritual empowerment, social justice and reform. Jeff Bolding is the director of The Inspirational Voices of Abyssinian Baptist Church.

LANGSTON HUGHES CELEBRATED IN NEW ALBUM BY CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROP LEYLA MCCALLA

'VARI-COLORED SONGS: A TRIBUTE TO LANGSTON HUGHES' OUT FEB 4 – THREE DAYS AFTER HUGHES' BIRTHDAY

WALL STREET JOURNAL PREMIERS FIRST TRACK

Carolina Chocolate Drop and cellist Leyla McCalla pays tribute to Langston Hughes on what would have been his birthday with 'Vari-Colored Songs: A Tribute To Langston Hughes,' out February 4 on Music Maker Relief Foundation. (Hughes was born February 1, 1902.) "I grew up with Langston Hughes' poetry and he inspired me to become an artist," recalls McCalla, continuing, "I wanted to honor his life and his legacy and my own creativity through him with 'Vari-Colored Songs.'"

She adapted his poetry to her original music. She says of the process, "His poetry is so musical, so rhythmic. They're blues poems. I wrote what I felt without having to fit the music into jazz or blues constructs."

The Wall Street Journal premiered a track from the project, the jubilant "Mesi Bondye," last week.

"Langston's poetry encapsulates things that they don't teach in school about black history. He writes about the human experience so elegantly," she says reverently.

BROOKLYN'S "GRAND CENTRAL" ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD, PLYMOUTH CHURCH PERFECT SETTING FOR LET FREEDOM RING! A CONCERT TO BENEFIT FREE THE SLAVES JANUARY 11 FEATURING THE IMPRESSIONS, NAOMI SHELTON & THE GOSPEL QUEENS, MEMBERS OF THE DAP-KINGS

"The hymn of Temperance, of Human Rights and Freedom, of Peace, and of Benevolence will be found both numerous, energetic, and eminently Christian..."

- Henry Ward Beecher, The Plymouth Collection Of Hymns And Tunes For The Use Of Christian Congregations, Brooklyn, N.Y., August 10, 1855

Plymouth Church – "the Grand Central Depot" on the Underground Railroad – makes for an incredible setting for Let Freedom Ring! A Concert To Benefit Free the Slaves, January 11 featuring the Impressions, Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens, and members of The Dap-Kings. In this space in February 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. preached a sermon on "The American Dream," echoed just months later in his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington, D.C.

Oral tradition and several published memoirs tell us that slaves seeking passage to Canada may have hidden in the tunnel-like basement beneath the church sanctuary – still a part of the structure today.

From the earliest days of its founding in 1847 by anti-slavery Congregationalists, with Henry Ward Beecher as its first called minister, Plymouth served as a center of abolitionist activist and the most prominent ministry in the second half of 19th century America. Beecher was a master at creating public events to strengthen the fight against slavery. He staged mock "auctions" at Plymouth, urging the congregation to purchase the freedom of actual slaves. During one service, he trampled the chains that had bound John Brown. He invited famous anti-slavery advocates to speak at the Church, including William Lloyd Garrison, Sojourner Truth, Wendell Phillips, Charles Sumner, and Frederick Douglass.

Beecher understood the connection between music, faith, and Civil Rights – a connection that continues with Let Freedom Ring! With his brother, Charles Beecher, and Plymouth's organist, John Zundel, he compiled The Plymouth Collection Of Hymns And Tunes For The Use Of Christian Congregations, the world's first modern hymnal in which words and music were printed on the same page.

On the campaign trail in 1860, Abraham Lincoln attended services on two occasions, the first of which was the day before his famous Cooper-Union Address, a speech which is not only credited with launching his presidential campaign, but also for laying the groundwork for his public stance against slavery. His pew is presently marked with a plaque.

The National Register of Historic Places designated the church a National Historic Landmark in 1961.

As part of a weekend that will focus on the problem of historical and modern-day slavery, Plymouth, in partnership with Brooklyn Historical Society, will also be offering a panel discussion featuring anti-trafficking experts on January 10 at Brooklyn Historical Society, where the exhibit "Brooklyn Abolitionists: In Pursuit of Freedom" will open in early January.

For more information on Plymouth Church, please go here.

For tickets, please go here.

For information on the panel discussion at Brooklyn Historical Society, please go here.

Nick Moss publicity photos

Credit: Mark Goodman

NAOMI SHELTON & THE GOSPEL QUEENS ADDED TO LET FREEDOM RING CONCERT FEATURING THE IMPRESSIONS AND MEMBERS OF THE DAP-KINGS JANUARY 11 AT PLYMOUTH CHURCH

Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens have been added to the Let Freedom Ring! concert January 11, which will take place at Plymouth Church. They join Rock & Roll Hall of Famers the Impressions and members of Brooklyn's own all-star group the Dap-Kings. NPR.org has said, "Naomi Shelton is gruff and she takes no guff."

Naomi Shelton is no ordinary gospel singer. Though she, like many others, grew up singing with her sisters in their Alabama church, she has also spent much of her life in the soul clubs around New York, and her 45s, "41st St. Breakdown" and "Wind Your Clock" b/w "Talking 'Bout a Good Thing," have long been revered and prized by funk DJs around the globe.

On January 11, 2014, Plymouth Church will present Let Freedom Ring!: A Concert to Benefit Free the Slaves. This major musical event will be held on National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Funds raised will benefit the organization Free the Slaves, which is dedicated to ending slavery worldwide in our lifetime.

FOR YEAR-END CONSIDERATION: KINGSLEY FLOOD'S 'BATTLES'

KINGSLEY FLOOD CAPS BREAKOUT YEAR WITH OPENING SLOT FOR LUCIUS THIS WEEK

With coverage in the NY Times, Esquire, and NPR, Kingsley Flood has had a breakout year and their album 'Battles' ranks among the year's best:

"Best new music." - Metro New York

"...2013 ought to be the Year of The Flood" - Boston.com

"...best albums of 2013? ['Battles'] will be at the top of our list." - HearYa

Here's a recap of a remarkable 2013 for Kingsley Flood:

+ Main stage set at Newport Folk Festival streamed by NPR Music.

Rolling Stone's James Joiner said, "Kingsley Flood kicked off the main stage, shirking the rain with puddle-splashing, foot-stomping folk rock and their signature high energy."

Billboard's Devon Maloney wrote, "Special props ought to be given to a pre-rain, fest-opening set by energetic Boston mainstays Kingsley Flood."

American Songwriter's Sean Maloney testified, "We had never heard these guys before but we were gobsmacked – GOBSMACKED – by the Boston band’s soulful, folk rockin’ shimmy on the Fort Stage.

+ NPR Music premiere of "Sigh a While" music video.

+ NY Times calls "Sun Gonna Lemme Shine" video "awesome."

+ Esquire posts session.

+ Paste posts session.

+ Opening slots for Josh Ritter.

+ A slot on the Hot Stove Cool Music show in Boston January 11 alongside Joan Osborne, The Baseball Project, members of Buffalo Tom and Belly, and baseball industry greats Peter Gammons and Theo Epstein.

+ Current tour supporting Lucius:

Dec 03, 2013 - Pearl Street Ballroom - Northampton, MA
Dec 04, 2013 - Port City Music Hall - Portland, ME
Dec 06, 2013 - World Cafe Live - Philadelphia, PA
Dec 07, 2013 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY

"EXCELLENT" (ALL MUSIC GUIDE) SONGWRITER, GUITAR MAN, & TOP TEN RELIX/JAMBAND RADIO TOP TEN ARTIST THE NICK MOSS BAND TO PLAY NYC'S SLAKE DECEMBER 20

The Nick Moss Band — "an artist with important things to tell us," according to Blue Revue Magazine, on which he has appeared on the cover – will perform at NYC's Slake December 20 in anticipation of a new album 'Time Ain't Free' due in March, 2014. The Nick Moss Band's Here I Am album debuted at #2 on the Relix/Jamband Radio Charts in 2012. Moss' new song "I Want The World To Know" recently premiered at Billboard.com.

The Nick Moss Band features second guitarist and vocalist Michael Ledbetter, a descent of Huddie Ledbetter, better known as Lead Belly. An electrifying new talent, Ledbetter will be making his recorded debut on guitar and vocals on the forthcoming Moss album. The Slake show will find the Nick Moss Band hitting on all cylinders, hot off of a 36-date headlining tour.

The Nick Moss Band has been compared to Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, and Gary Clark Jr. Downbeat said, "He sings with confidence and heats up his guitar with enough imagination to transcend." All Music Guide has praised Moss' music as "memorable… played with spirit, drive, and swing."

Having spent time in the bands of blues legends Jimmy Dawkins, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith (The Legendary Blues Band), and Jimmy Rogers, Moss started his career in the deep Chicago blues tradition.

WHO: The Nick Moss Band

WHAT: Headlining concert and preview of 'Time Ain't Free'

WHEN: 7pm, December 20, 2013

WHERE: Slake, 251 W 30th St, NYC

TICKETS: $12 via TicketWeb.com

OUT LAST WEEK, SPIN, USA, RELIX HAIL 'FESTIVUS 2,' HEARTWARMING INDIE POP CHRISTMAS MUSIC COMP

Out last week, Highline Records' indie pop Christmas music compilation 'Festivus 2' saw track debuts this week at SPIN and USA Today and a full album stream at Relix. SPIN debuted LIlys' psychedelic verstion of "Good King Wenceslas."

Western Lows' dream pop rendition of "Silent Night" premiered at USA Today.

Relix is streaming the entire release.

Here's a music video for "The Coldest Night" by Left With Pictures, assembled from mid-century footage, also brand new last week.

1. Silent Night - Western Lows
2. I Wish You A Merry Christmas - Ulysses
3. In The Bleak Midwinter - Trevor Moss & Hannah-Lou
4. Ho Ho Hos Before Hos - Red Pony Clock
5. One Christmas Wish - The Priscillas
6. It's Christmas - Piney Gir
7. Don't Freat Out On Me - Mi Mye
8. Good King Winceslas - Lilys
9. The Coldest Night - Left With Pictures
10. Baby Jesus Was The First Glam Rocker - Glam Chops
11. Silver Bells Sing Their Chime - Francis Macdonald and Anna Sheard
12. Christmas at the Foodbank - Dodgy
13. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlmen - Dennis Hopper Choppers
14. Thank God It's Christmas - Darling BOY
15. My Heart Is As Pure As The Snow - Antony Elvin
16. Three Kings - Alexander's Festival Hall

THE IMPRESSIONS, MEMBERS OF THE DAP-KINGS SING IN CELEBRATION OF CIVIL RIGHTS AT HISTORIC PLYMOUTH CHURCH FOR LET FREEDOM RING: A CONCERT TO BENEFIT FREE THE SLAVES

On January 11, 2014, Plymouth Church will present "Let Freedom Ring!: A Concert to Benefit Free the Slaves." This major musical event, held on National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, will feature The Impressions, members of the Dap-Kings, and other special guests. Funds raised will benefit the organization Free the Slaves, which is dedicated to ending slavery worldwide in our lifetime.

The Impressions will team up with Brooklyn's Binky Griptite and a group of musicians featuring members of the Dap-Kings and some very special guests. Many consider the music of Rock & Roll Hall of Famers The Impressions the soundtrack to the civil rights movement. They are 1998 Grammy Hall of Fame inductees for their hit "People Get Ready," which is ranked at #24 on the Rolling Stone list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

This is a rare chance to hear The Impressions' best known songs addressing and advancing the black freedom movement of the Sixties on the strength of indelible songs of striving and transcendence, such as "Keep on Pushing," "Amen", "We're a Winner" and "People Get Ready," all performed by the group's original members Fred Cash, Sam Gooden and Reggie Torian (who replaced former lead vocalist Curtis Mayfield in the early '70s), and backed by a mighty band.

As part of a weekend that will focus on the problem of historical and modern-day slavery, Plymouth, in partnership with Brooklyn Historical Society, will also be offering a panel discussion featuring anti-trafficking experts on January 10 at Brooklyn Historical Society, where the exhibit "Brooklyn Abolitionists: In Pursuit of Freedom" will open in early January.

Although Plymouth Church was not established until 1847, just fourteen years before the start of the Civil War, it later became known locally as "the Grand Central Depot" of the Underground Railroad. Plymouth Church is one of the few active Underground Railroad congregations in New York still housed in its original location. Minister and church founder Henry Ward Beecher was a prominent abolitionist who compiled a book of hymns and understood the power of music in faith and in politics.