Patti LaBelle in concert at ASU Saturday with Luke Wade;award presented by LaBelle honoring the hero of the 'M (2864 hits)

The incomparable Miss Patti LaBelle will perform this Saturday in concert at Alabama State University  (ASU) to commemorate the historic 50th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery March. The commemoration and concert is sponsored by ASU, the City of Montgomery and the Montgomery County Commission. 

And, although the anniversary of the march is very historic, Patti LaBelle will also be making history at the concert!

During her concert, she will be presenting the hero of the 1965 Selma to Montgomery March with the 50th anniversary Freedom Award fifty years to the very day the event occurred in Selma. 

The "March's" hero, John Lewis (the only living 'Big Six' leader of the Civil Rights Movement) led the 1965 marchers over Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge on 'Bloody Sunday' (March 7, 1965) and was severely beaten (and hospitalized) due to the savage behavior of the Alabama State Troopers who were under the control of pro-segregationist Alabama governor George Wallace. He is now one of the Democratic leaders of the U.S. Congress. More about Lewis below.

Miss LaBelle will be joined on stage by Luke Wade of NBC's 'The Voice," who will perform his soul and folk music as her opening act - see more about Wade below.

Tickets for the concert are $35 in advance and $45 the day of the show - they are going fast! Tickets are available through ticketreturn.com or by calling the ASU ticket office at 334-229-4551.

About Patti LaBelle

Beautiful, simply does not describe the incomparable force known to the world as Patti LaBelle. As time continues to evolve, the soulful songbird’s name has become synonymous with grace, style, elegance and class.  Belting out classic rhythm and blues renditions, pop standards and spiritual sonnets have created the unique platform of versatility that Ms. Patti is known and revered for within the music industry.

In 2009, she reunited with Sarah Dash and Nona Hendryx for the first time in 30 years for the critically acclaimed LaBelle reunion album, Back to Now.  It’s a small wonder that Patti has time for anything else in between recording and touring, but she makes time and the world is oh so happy that she does! 

In November 2008, Patti released her fifth book and third cookbook, Recipes for The Good Life, and an instructional cooking DVD, In the Kitchen with Miss Patti. The cookbook features recipes and anecdotes that reflect Patti's philosophy that good cooking and the love of entertaining come from the heart.  More recently, Patti introduced a line of signature sauces and marinades called Patti’s Good Life and launched a designer bedding collection, Patti LaBelle Home. 

In addition to her amazing career as an entertainer and entrepreneurial success, LaBelle’s work as a humanitarian is just as legendary. She remains an advocate for adoption, foster care, Big Sisters and the United Negro College Fund, among many other initiatives.  While Ms. LaBelle's celebrated 50 plus year career is respected world-wide, she has also endured and survived personal strife. Within a 10-year period, she lost her mother, three sisters and best friend to diabetes and cancer. In 1994, LaBelle was diagnosed with diabetes and shortly thereafter became a spokesperson for the American Diabetes Association.

The same motivation that had Patricia Louise Holte blossom from a choir member to lead vocalist for Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles and later led her to a be a solo artist is the same energy that keeps her fire burning. “Each year I grow, and that’s a blessing from God.  I do what I can do.  I do what I feel God has given me the energy to do, so I just go out there and I do it…It’s not about making money because I don’t need money, but I need to sing.  With a voice or without, I’ve got to get on that stage.”  And the world is thankful that Ms. Patti’s voice sounds so good to our ears.

About John Lewis

John Lewis has been named by the last five U.S. Presidents as one of the major heroes of the Selma to Montgomery March and of the entire civil rights movement.

Lewis is the only living "Big Six" leader of the American Civil Rights Movement, having been the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), playing a key role in the struggle to end legalized racial discrimination and segregation in the Deep South from 1960 to the present date. Lewis helped lead the 1960 Lunch Counter Protest Movement; the 1961 Freedom Bus Movement in Alabama and Mississippi; the 1962-65 Alabama Black Belt Voter Registration Movement and led freedom advocates across Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge on 'Bloody Sunday' on March 7, 1965 and was severely beaten by Gov. George Wallace's pro-KKK Alabama State Troopers. A member of the Democratic Party, Lewis is a member of  the Democratic leadership of the United States House of Representatives and has served as one of its leaders since shortly after his first election to the U.S. Congress almost 30 years ago.
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Luke Wade (NBC’s The Voice) will joins Patti LaBelle at ASU!