From old spirituals to blues, jazz, reggae and soul, the history of Black music was on full display on the Capitol Theater stage this past Sunday evening.
‘Freedom! The Spirit and Legacy of Black Music’ featured a full band and multiple vocalists, setting the scene through song and storytelling.
The critically acclaimed show, originally part of the Stratford Festival’s 2021 season, was wrapping up its current Southwestern Ontario tour in Chatham.
Bandleader Beau Dixon, who sings as well as plays keys and harmonica, said he wanted to engage audiences while bringing the musical history to life and underscoring the strong influence many of these songs had on the mainstream scene.
“I feel that I’m here to serve as an edu-tainer,” he said after the show, “so to educate and entertain at the same time.
“I think there’s nothing wrong with trying to change the world and trying to change people’s perspectives and enlighten them on things they may not have known about Black music, which is a large canon in the western musical world.”
The setlist included such classics as Trouble So Hard, Hound Dog, Crossroads, Redemption Song and What’s Going On with the singers onstage trading off lead vocal duties.
Dixon, who splits his time between Toronto and Peterborough, praised his fellow singers and musicians in the production, calling them “top-shelf” talent.
He said all of the songs in his review have had a special place in his heart for a long time.
“(I was) listening to my dad’s albums when I was six years old,” he said. “I remember first listening to Stevie Wonder, Miles Davis, Sam Cooke, Ella Fitzgerald. All the great Black artists. I wanted to do a show celebrating that music.”
Dixon called it an honor to perform the show in Chatham-Kent, given its rich Black history and pivotal role in the Underground Railroad.
Although he will be moving on to another project, he said the Freedom Cabaret show will return in the future.
“I hope the word is spread. This is a show I do for these communities specifically,” he said.