Former Broadway vocalist to perform at Libretto
Shayna Steele. Photo from Instagram.
Steele was part of the original Broadway cast of Hairspray
– Jazz and former Broadway vocalist Shayna Steele is scheduled to perform on Aug. 10 at Libretto in Paso Robles.
Shayna Steele is a former demo and backup vocalist for Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson, Rihanna, and Bette Midler, as well as part of the original Broadway cast of Hairspray. Her newest album, Gold Dust, is out through Ropeadope Records and spans soul to R&B to jazz to rock. Steele’s 2015 album, RISE, landed the #2 spot on the iTunes Jazz Albums chart and paved the way for her to perform at jazz festivals internationally and to collaborate with artists like Chris Botti.
The album is a mix of covers (from Radiohead’s “Faust Arp” to Cole Porter to Ray Charles) and originals by Steele. Shayna wrote the first single, “The Bloodline,” while studying at Berklee College of Music during the pandemic. Inspired by the coverage of the Black Lives Matter movement, it addresses Shayna’s identity as a black woman who grew up in a biracial household and suffered a culture shock moving from Germany to Biloxi, MS at age 9. Jazziz included “The Bloodline,” the first single from the album in their “Editors’ Choice.”
Stream Gold Dust at: https://ropeadope.ffm.to/golddust
Comments
