Poet/Author/Musician Gil Scott-Heron to Perform at The Carolina Theatre in Durham

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: January 4, 2010
CONTACT: Aaron Bare
919-560-3040 x224
aaron [at] carolinatheatre [dot] org

POET/AUTHOR/MUSICIAN GIL SCOTT-HERON TO PERFORM AT THE CAROLINA THEATRE IN DURHAM

Durham, N.C. - Revolutionary poet Gil Scott-Heron is set to perform his politically and socially conscious works at the Carolina Theatre in Durham at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, February 5, 2010. Scott-Heron is best known for his late 1960s and early 1970s work as a spoken word performer, which documents the major social and political changes at the time. He is also often praised for his collaborative efforts with musician Brian Jackson, which feature a fusion of jazz, blues and soul music. Scott-Heron will appear at 8:00 p.m. at the Carolina Theatre in Durham, located at 309 W. Morgan Street in Downtown Durham. Tickets are $30, $22 and $18 for Star Members.  Tickets are available at the theatre box office or online at www.carolinatheatre.org. Call 919-560-3030 to purchase tickets. Box office hours are weekdays from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and one hour prior to show time.

Gil Scott-Heron was born in Chicago in 1949, but spent most of his childhood living with his grandmother in Tennessee. His mother, Bobbie Scott-Heron, was a librarian and his father, Giles "Gil" Heron was the first black athlete to play for Glasgow's Celtic Football Club. Praised for his writing as a child, Scott-Heron idolized Langston Hughes, and eventually attended college at Hughes' alma mater - Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. It was at Lincoln University where Scott-Heron met Brian Jackson, with whom he would make some of his most highly-acclaimed collaborations. Scott-Heron took time off from college to write a pair of satirical thrillers-The Vulture and The Nigger Factory. He never returned to Lincoln University, though he later received a master's degree in creative writing from Johns Hopkins University.

Scott-Heron's first collection of poetry, Small Talk at 125th and Lenox, was put to music and released as an album on Flying Dutchman Records. The album dealt with themes that would emanate throughout Scott-Heron's musical career, such as superficiality, mass consumerism, hypocrisy, ignorance and homophobia. On later albums, Scott-Heron followed a more conventional song structure, applying his poetry as lyrics to jazz or blues music. His body of work includes more than 20 albums. Invigorated by righteous anger, integrity and burning wit, Scott-Heron's music is often associated with black militant activism, such as one of his most well-known and highly acclaimed compositions, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised."
  
Scott-Heron's confrontational, no-nonsense street poetry and songwriting skills have often earned him the title of the "Godfather of Rap." His music has influenced and helped engender later African-American music genres such as hip-hop and neo soul. Scott-Heron is a culture bearer and one of the artistic spokesmen of the civil rights movement.

Gil Scott-Heron will perform at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, February 5 at the Carolina Theatre in Durham. Tickets are $30, $22 and $18 for Star Members. Tickets are available at the theatre box office or online at www.carolinatheatre.org. Call 919-560-3030 to purchase tickets. Box office hours are weekdays from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and one hour prior to show time.

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About The Carolina Theatre of Durham

The Carolina Theatre of Durham, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which manages the city-owned Carolina Theatre at 309 W. Morgan Street, Durham, NC 27701. Carolina Theatre of Durham, Inc. is dedicated to presenting vibrant, thought-provoking film and live performances that contribute to the cultural and economic vitality of downtown Durham and the Triangle Region.
 
Live performances at the Carolina Theatre are supported in part by the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency funded by the state of North Carolina, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the A.J. Fletcher Performing Arts Fund of the Triangle Community Foundation.