Apollo Theater Presents A Look Back on Comedy and Apollo Music Cafe: Infinity Song, April 2-3
WHAT: For the first weekend in April, the world-famous Apollo Theater will present two free nights of virtual entertainment.
On Friday, April 2 at 9:00pm ET, there will be a celebration of the fifth anniversary of the Apollo Comedy Club with Apollo Comedy Club: A Look Back on Laugher featuring performances from more than 15 comedians who have performed on the Apollo’s stage. Comedians include Correy Bell, who previously opened for Mo’Nique in Las Vegas; Jason Banks (Tru TV’s “Laff Mobb’s Laff Tracks); Marshall Brandon, a frequent opener for Dave Chappelle; Rita Brent (Comedy Central’s “Hart of the City”); Pat Brown (“Late Show with Stephen Colbert”); Dean Edwards (“Saturday Night Live,” Tiffany Haddish’s “They Ready 2”); Drew Fraser (Capone and Friends); Brandon “Hotsauce” Glover (Tru TV’s “Laff Mobb’s Laff Tracks); Rey Gibbs (Comedy Central’s “Hart of the City”); Timmy Hall (Laff Factory); former Amateur Night winner Davey Lozano; Mugga (“Orange is the New Black”); and Dino Vigo (“Funny or Die”). Bob Sumner, producer of Apollo Comedy Club and legendary producer of Def Poetry and Jam will share some of the best moments from late night comedy at the Apollo Theater.
On Saturday, April 3 at 9:00pm ET, the Apollo Theater welcomes Roc Nation’s Infinity Song to the Apollo Music Café, the Theater’s late-night offering designed to bring independent, cutting-edge artists to a forward-thinking audience. The sibling band and music collective was formed in 2014 in New York City. Its members are not only singers, but also songwriters, arrangers, instrumentalists, and music producers. Since its formation, Infinity Song has cultivated a grassroots fanbase around NYC through pop-up street performances in Central Park and the NYC subway stations, while also frequently collaborating with other musical acts, most recently Kanye West, Jon Batiste, Tori Kelly and more. The event is hosted by Jodine Dorce and features music by DJ Hard Hittin Harry.
Part of the Apollo Theater’s 2021 spring season, these events expand the nonprofit theater’s role as a partner, commissioner, and co-producer of programming that centers Black artists and voices from the African Diaspora. For more details, please click here.
WHERE: The Apollo’s Late Night events will stream live on the Apollo Digital Stage (www.apollotheater.org/digitalstage) and the Apollo’s Facebook page. Following the livestream, recordings of the events will be accessible on the Apollo Digital Stage.
WHEN: Friday, April 2 and Saturday, April 3 at 9:00pm ET.
ABOUT THE APOLLO THEATER
The legendary Apollo Theater—the soul of American culture—plays a vital role in cultivating emerging artists and launching legends. Since its founding, the Apollo has served as a center of innovation and a creative catalyst for Harlem, the city of New York, and the world.
With music at its core, the Apollo’s programming extends to dance, theater, spoken word, and more. This includes the world premiere of the theatrical adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me and the New York premiere of the opera We Shall Not Be Moved; special programs such as the blockbuster concert Bruno Mars Live at the Apollo; 100: The Apollo Celebrates Ella; and the annual Africa Now! Festival. The non-profit Apollo Theater is a performing arts presenter, commissioner, and collaborator that also produces festivals, large-scale dance and musical works organized around a set of core initiatives that celebrate and extend the Apollo’s legacy through a contemporary lens, including the Women of the World (WOW) Festival as well as other multidisciplinary collaborations with partner organizations.
Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, the Apollo Theater has served as a testing ground for new artists working across a variety of art forms and has ushered in the emergence of many new musical genres—including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul, and hip-hop. Among the countless legendary performers who launched their careers at the Apollo are Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, H.E.R., D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill, Machine Gun Kelly and Miri Ben Ari; and the Apollo’s forward-looking artistic vision continues to build on this legacy. For more information about the Apollo, visit www.ApolloTheater.org.
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For more information, please contact:
Fatima Jones Senior Director of Marketing and Communications press@apollotheater.org
Destanie Martin-Johnson / Julie Danni / Josh Balber
Resnicow and Associates
dmartin-johnson@resnicow.com / JDanni@resnicow.com / JBalber@resnicow.com
212-671-5172 / 212-671-5173 / 212-671-5175
About The Apollo
The Apollo is an American cultural treasure. It is a vibrant non-profit organization rooted in the Harlem community that engages people from around New York, the nation, and the world. Since 1934, The Apollo has celebrated, created, and presented work that centers Black artists and voices from across the African Diaspora. It has also been a catalyst for social and civic advocacy. Today, The Apollo is the largest performing arts institution committed to Black culture and creativity.
The Apollo is a commissioner and presenter; catalyst for new artists, audiences, and creative workforce; and partner in the projection of the African American narrative and its role in the development of American and global culture.
The Apollo envisions a new American canon centered on contributions to the performing arts by artists of the African diaspora, in America and beyond.
