Jordin Sparks, Johnny Gill, Karyn White and Avery Wilson added to The Apollo Spring Benefit line-up and D-Nice to Return as After-Party DJ
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New York, NY–May 21, 2024 –The Apollo today announced new additions to its 2024 Spring Benefit. Award-winning singer-songwriter, actress and philanthropist Jordin Sparks joins the line-up as a musical guest. Legendary R&B singer-songwriter and New Edition’s own Johnny Gill, singer, songwriter and dancer Avery Wilson who also stars as the scarecrow in The Wiz on Broadway and R&B royalty singer Karyn White will be performing a once-in-a-lifetime tribute to Legacy Award recipient Babyface. Hip Hop Legend and innovator DJ D-Nice will return to helm the DJ booth at the benefit’s highly anticipated after party.
The Apollo will present the Icon Award to multi-platinum global superstar USHER at the Spring Benefit. The evening will also feature special appearances from Hip Hop legend Big Daddy Kane, with Music Direction by GRAMMY and EMMY Award-winner Adam Blackstone with more to be announced.
The Apollo recently announced that it will induct Babyface into its Apollo Walk of Fame on Monday, June 10 at 11:30am, the day before the Spring Benefit. Babyface joins esteemed luminaries whose influence has shaped culture for generations and have performed on the iconic Apollo stage over the last nine decades, including Aretha Franklin, Quincy Jones, Richard Pryor, Patti Labelle, Smokey Robinson, Jackie “Moms” Mabley, Gladys Knight, Lionel Richie, Ella Fitzgerald, The Temptations, and most recently, Mary J. Blige. Inductees are honored with a plaque on the Apollo Walk of Fame, installed under the Theater’s iconic marquee on 125th Street.
All proceeds from The Apollo’s Spring Benefit will support the non-profit organization’s year-round, world-class artistic, education, and community programs, as well as its commitment to articulating and projecting the African American narrative using arts and culture, and creating a 21st century performing arts canon.
The Apollo has been a place of dynamic energy and forward motion for more than 90 years. This year, the nonprofit organization celebrates its first-ever expansion with The Apollo Stages at The Victoria at 233 West 125th Street, just down the block from its Historic theater, which will undergo restoration later this year, further solidifying the organization as a civic and economic cornerstone of Harlem and New York City.
The Spring Benefit begins with red carpet arrivals at 5:00 PM followed by the Benefit concert and awards ceremony at 7:00 PM. The evening will also include the event’s legendary afterparty designed by celebrated event designer and Apollo board member Bronson Van Wyck.
Watch for upcoming announcements as The Apollo unveils a thrilling line-up of special honorees and performers. Visit www.ApolloTheater.org for more information. To purchase benefit tickets, make a donation, or for more information, visit www.apollotheater.org/event/spring-benefit-2024.
For exclusive photos, updates and more, use hashtag #ApolloSpringBenefit and follow The Apollo:
ABOUT THE APOLLO
The legendary Apollo—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. In 2024, The Apollo opened The Apollo Stages at the Victoria Theater, marking the first ever expansion and renovation of The Apollo in its nearly 90-year history. The Apollo also has plans to renovate its Historic Theater. For more information about The Apollo, visit www.ApolloTheater.org.
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 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.
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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.
