Sweet Honey In The Rock

Sweet Honey In The Rock is an internationally renowned, Grammy Award-winning female a cappella sextet that stretches deep roots into the sacred music of the black church – spirituals, hymns, gospel- as well as into jazz and blues, reggae, rap, hip hop, ancient lullabies, and African chants. Sweet Honey’s collective voice, occasionally accompanied by hand percussion instruments, produces a sound filled with soulful harmonies and intricate rhythms. Evoking all the rich textures of African American legacy and traditions in transcendent vocal harmonies, the group will perform in concert at MASS MoCA on Saturday, July 7, at 8 PM. MASS MoCA’s galleries will be open until 7:30 PM before the show for those wishing to see the art on display before the performance.

The New York Times says: “Like the gospel music it draws on, Sweet Honey In The Rock delivers messages with luminous, virtuosic singing, and the…women’s voices blend and soar in a spectrum of styles few other ensembles could match.” Other accolades: “Consisting of singers who complement one another perfectly and completely, Sweet Honey is a harmonic machine that exceeds the sum of its parts. At their best, the singers create a sonic tapestry of melodic, harmonic and rhythmic threads woven together with precision, if little nuance. But Sweet Honey isn’t so much about nuance as it is about throwing everything out onto the stage and seeing what works.”

Click to read the rest at Berkshire on Stage.