Multi-Ethnic Latin Pop Songstress’s Bilingual Record Topped Both Amazon and Latin iTunes Charts
Hartford, Conn. (January 3, 2019) – CT Public is proud to announce multi-ethnic Latin pop songstress Gina Chavez is performing for the National Public Television series, THE KATE, produced by CT Public. The live concert taping will take place at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center on Tuesday, January 22 at 7:30 PM.
Gina Chavez is a 10-time Austin Music Award Winner including 2015 Austin Musician of the Year.
Chavez’s bilingual record, Up.Rooted, topped both the Amazon and Latin iTunes charts following a feature on NPR’s All Things Considered and has been hailed by the Boston Globe, USA Today and Texas Monthly. In addition, her Tiny Desk Concert made NPR’s top 15 of 2015 and boasts over 750,000 views.
Fresh off a 10-country tour as a cultural ambassador with the U.S. State Department that reached audiences from Texas to Uzbekistan and Venezuela to Saudi Arabia, Chavez’s passionate collection of bilingual songs take audiences on a journey through the Americas, blending the sounds and rhythms of the region with passion and grace.
Her Spanish-language anthem, “Siete-D”, the Grand Prize winner of the 2014 John Lennon Songwriting Contest, recounts her experience volunteering in a gang-dominated suburb of San Salvador where she is a co-founder of The Niñas Arriba College Fund for young Latinas.
Chavez performs live on THE KATE stage following the September 2018 release of her EP, Lightbeam, a collection of five songs about the journey and hardships she and her wife have undergone to be able to publicly express their love for each other as Catholic Latinx women.
“Lightbeam was born from a life with the woman I love,” Chavez said. “But really, it’s a love letter to all those who fall into that beautiful gray area between black and white. To those who feel the need to slink into the shadows and hide who they are. Lightbeam is about living our true selves right now. Because we are all beautiful just the way we are.”
“Steeped in slow-burn soul and up-tempo R&B, Lightbeam already has NPR under the spell and of a new sound that expands upon her passionate collection of bilingual songs that traverse cumbia, indie-folk, blues, and Latin pop.” – Felix Contreras, NPR
To Purchase Tickets: thekate.org/gina-chavez
About The Kate: https://thekate.tv/
The Kate has garnered a reputation for being more than a music show – it’s a window into the artist’s creativity. This national public television performance series features bold performers with something to say. Paying homage to the series muse and namesake, Katherine Hepburn, artists are selected under a hypothetical litmus test that asks “would Katharine Hepburn have found them audacious enough to invite them for a cocktail?” The result is a unique program of respected artists who take to the stage with personal stories, hilarious moments, honest and creative expressions of art, and of course, impossibly good music.
Produced by Connecticut Public Television, The Kate is filmed in front of a live audience at the exquisite Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, a historic, 250-seat theatre, known as The Kate, in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Season 4 performers (to date) include Shiela E., Desmond Child, Marc Cohn and The Blind Boys of Alabama, and Gina Chavez; with more outstanding artists to be announced.
About The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center: https://www.thekate.org
The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center is a non-profit performing arts organization located in an historic theatre/town hall on Main Street in Old Saybrook. Originally opened in 1911, the building is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. After state-of-the art renovations, the center includes a 250-seat theatre that presents work in several genres including music, theater, opera, dance, comedy, film, and a variety of children’s programming. The theater lobby encompasses a small museum honoring Katharine Hepburn, Old Saybrook’s most celebrated resident.
About Connecticut Public: https://www.ctpublic.org/
Connecticut Public is the state’s only locally-owned media organization producing television, radio, print, and web content for Connecticut’s wide-ranging and diverse communities. It is home to Connecticut Public Television, Connecticut Public Radio, and Connecticut Public Learning. Connecticut Public Television is an affiliate of PBS and is a locally and nationally recognized producer and presenter of quality public television programming. Connecticut Public Radio on WNPR is an affiliate of National Public Radio, Public Radio International, and American Public Media. Connecticut Public Learning serves high school seniors through a partnership with Hartford Public Schools and the Journalism and Media Academy Magnet School. It is also home to the Institute for Advanced Media, a program that provides veterans and adult learners an opportunity to learn valuable digital media skills.