SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCKāFrom left: Standing, Louise Robinson, Nitanju Bolade Casel and Carol Maillard. Seated, Shirley Childress and Aisha Kalil. (Photo by Dwight Carter)
Sweet Honey in the Rock co-founder Carol Maillard is excited to be returning to Pittsburgh to perform.
āWeāre going to be there with our bass player who works with us during our tribute concerts. We wanted to explore and find other ways to express the music,ā said Maillard.
SHIR fans neednāt worry, though. They will still get experience the A Capella music that the all-female group is known for.
āWe have new renditions of songs that we have done before like āMidnight Specialā and Nina Simoneās āFeelinā Goodā and āLet There Be Peace.ā We want to make people feel good,ā Maillard said.
Sweet Honey in the Rock makes its Pittsburgh return as part of Cohen & Grigsbyās Trust Presents Series for a Nov. 9 performance. Tickets for the event begin at $25 and can be purchased by calling 412-456-6666.
The unique but proud group of women express themselves through various mediums including song, dance and sign language.
Sweet Honey in the Rock started out as a quartet in 1973 at a workshop in the DC Black Repertory Theater Company by Bernice Johnson Reagon, Maillard and one other member. The group got its name from the first song they learned to sing, āSweet Honey in the Rock,ā based on the Biblical psalm.
āSweet Honey speaks of a land that is so rich that when you break the rocks open, honey flows,ā said Johnson who retired from the group in 2004. āWe thought it was something like us African-American women: strong like a rock, but inside thereās honey-sweet.ā
Sweet Honey in the Rock began performing locally and was soon performing at festivals throughout the United States and Canada before releasing its first album in 1976.
The group will be celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2014.
āWeāre trying to put together a show that will pay homage to the 24 women that have been a part of Sweet Honey over the past years,ā Maillard said. āWe want to put on a fierce show.ā
The women are raising money through the fundraising website Indiegogo. The goal is to raise $35,000 to help celebrate the milestone year.