Chantae Cann
Songwriter and singer Chantae Cann will be the featured main headline performer at the Levitt AMP Chattanooga Music Series on Thursday.
Review for Chantae Cann:
With a voice as rich and smooth as honey, scintillating songstress Chantae Cann treats audiences to soulful contemporary R&B/Jazz grooves. Drawing influence from Chaka Khan, Bobby McFerrin and Haitus Kyote, her music blends the exploratory sound of jazz with the ‘feel-good vibes’ of soul music for a one-of-a-kind, authentic sound with a universal appeal that has attracted a global fan base. Cann says it is her “heart’s desire to simply inspire, uplift and encourage the lives of others through music.”
Cann’s sweet and potent voice has been featured on tracks by artists including GRAMMY-winning jazz fusion act Snarky Puppy and R&B vocalists Avery Sunshine and India.Arie, among countless others. Her 2016 debut album Journey to Golden reached #1 on the iTunes Jazz Charts and #7 on Billboard’s Jazz Charts. Cann’s follow-up sophomore album Sol Empowered (2017)—which climbed to #8 on Billboard’s Jazz Charts—prompted international outlet Jazz in Europe to write “Chantae’s vocals are relaxing, gentle and with a richness that draws you in to want to hear more. Gorgeous…[her] vocal skills are immense and she has this wonderful combination of vulnerability and maturity that is rare.” Chantae Cann demonstrates her mastery of the art of expressive, subtle singing that places the song front and center.
Opening the night will be local music producer and drummer, Twain Dawson. Under his leadership, Twain D Productions, he has assembled an array of local and regional musicians, producers, composers, writers, and vocal artists that has toured across the country opening for multiple acts like The Impressions and many others. “What started out as a mere hobby, morphed into a successful career and lifelong passion," said Mr. Dawson. "Music has become our primary language. We love music and the way music makes people feel."
This is the second year in a row that Chattanooga has been selected as one of 15 small to mid-sized towns and cities across the nation to win a Levitt AMP Grant Award of $25,000 in matching funds to present a free concert series by The Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation, a national funder of creative placemaking that empowers communities to inject new life into underused public spaces through free, outdoor concerts.
Presented by Jazzanooga, in partnership with the Urban League Chattanooga, Bessie Smith Cultural Center, Chattanooga Fun and City of Chattanooga – Government, this year’s series will feature a lineup of talent spanning genres like Blues, New Orleans Bounce, Jazz and Afro-Latin. There will also be over 20 local vendors providing food, beverages and community informational resources.
The series is funded by the Levitt Foundation, Lyndhurst Foundation and Benwood Foundation along with the 2018 Community Corporate Sponsor, Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union.
The free concert series will be held Thursday nights on the lawn of the Bessie Smith Cultural Center from Aug. 23-Oct. 25 from 6-8:30 p.m.