UPDATE | Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings were originally slated to headline the Downtown Long Beach Alliance (DLBA)’s New Year’s Eve Celebration, before the Grammy-nominated soul and funk performer passed away last month, succumbing to a hard fought battle with pancreatic cancer.
Jones told Rolling Stone she was glad to be alive in a mid-summer interview about Miss Sharon Jones!, a documentary capturing her struggle with cancer and her valiant pursuit to regain her singing career.
In place of the irreplaceable artist, the high-energy, Birmingham, Alabama-based St. Paul and the Broken Bones will co-headline the New Year’s Eve Celebration alongside Citizen Cope. The three-stage, three-block festival in downtown is still set to ignite the last hours of 2016 with an exciting lineup.
“We are honored to be selected to replace the late Sharon Jones,” said lead vocalist Paul Janeway in a statement. “No one can fill her shoes. She will always be remembered for the positive impact she had on those around her and the lives she touched with her amazing music. We played a few festivals with Sharon and it was always a pleasure to watch real music with a superstar front person.”
St. Paul and the Broken Bones recently released Sea of Noise, their second full-length album, which you can sample to here.
PREVIOUSLY: Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Citizen Cope to Headline DLBA’s New Year’s Eve Party
Image courtesy of the DLBA.
10/12/16 at 12:06PM | Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings and Citizen Cope will headline the Downtown Long Beach Alliance (DLBA)’s three-stage, three-block New Year’s Eve festival on Pine Avenue, the organization announced today.
Over 12,000 people are expected to attend Long Beach’s largest New Year’s Eve party, to be situated between First and Fourth Streets, smack dab in the heart of downtown.
The soul and funk legend that is Jones and the Kings and blues and folk outfit Citizen Cope, will be joined by Australian indie-electronic duo Cut Copy, electro-dance aficionado Big Data, reggae singer Hirie, house DJ Plastic Plates and Latin soul group Boogaloo Assassins.
Joining them will be The Delta Bombers, DJ Paul V., DJ Taharba and Sizwe the DJ, organizers stated.
“The spectrum of music genres—from funk to reggae, electro to rock—is something we were aiming for to better reflect Long Beach itself,” said DLBA Special Events and Marketing Manager Gina Dartt in a statement. “Our city has always been a music-centric city and DTLB is at the heart of that. And let’s be honest: Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings are par none.”
The show will kick off at 8:00PM on Saturday, December 31 and culminate with a midnight countdown, followed by celebratory dancing until 2:00AM.
To purchase tickets, available through December 25, click here. After the 25th, tickets will be $50 online and at the gate the day-of.
The DLBA partnered with Knitting Factory Entertainment to establish the party’s line-up.
For more information, visit the DLBA’s site here.