On September 8th at 5:00pm, FROM THE LAB will host a special kickoff event
“Ear Hustle”, A Conversation and Performance featuring Grammy-nominated vocalist Sy Smith and hosted be songstress Theresa Payne at the Kranzberg Art Center located in the Big Brothers Big Sisters building at 501 N. Grand. Admission is $10.00. Tickets available at the door or though Metrotix.com.
Sy Smith is a singer, songwriter and producer that helped cultivate the nu-soul scene which now easily boasts some of the most progressive artists of that genre to date, some of whom came directly from Smith’s own band line-ups (including Thundercat and Kamasi Washington). Her catalog includes five studio albums, with contributions from a who’s who of producers (James Poyser of The Roots, Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest and Nicolay of The Foreign Exchange). She has provided supporting vocals for Whitney Houston, Sheila E., Meshell Ndegeocello, Chaka Khan, Usher, Macy Gray and The Rickey Minor Band (as seen on American Idol for six seasons and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno). Most recently though, she’s caught the ear of jazz aficionados as a featured guest with Grammy-winning trumpeter Chris Botti.
No stranger to success, Theresa Payne has gained numerous achievements ranging from being named “Best R&B/Soul Artist” in a popular voter-based award contest for St. Louis’ music scene all the way to facing megastars Adam Levine, Usher, Shakira, and Blake Shelton on the stage of NBC’s The Voice for their sixth season. Her talent has also gained her opportunities to open for several of today’s most successful soul artists such as Jill Scott and Eric Roberson.
FROM THE LAB is a creative opportunity for area high school musicians, deejays, producers and songwriters to create and record original music. It is designed to give its participants the opportunity to study and explore the richness of their inner-potential through a three-step formula of EXPOSING, EXPERIENCING and EXECUTING. It is the intentions of this program to inform and educate participants about songwriting, recording, business, financial literacy and entrepreneurship in the arts through creative sessions, live studio recordings, performance and networking opportunities.
