28th Annual Vocal Jazz Festival Concert featuring The Sistering

About this event

The hottest new vocal jazz collective in the country, The Sistering, features Lois Deloatch, Nnenna Freelon, Kate McGarry, and Lenora Zenzalai Helm. Their first album came out in March and they performed at Carnegie Hall twelve days later!

The Sistering captures the pure magic that unfolds when four highly accomplished jazz artists join together to uplift and inspire one another—on and off the stage. Their compositions already reveal a beautifully interconnected journey through themes of family, love, loss, and badassery—rendering the project both a memoir and a cultural mirror.

Infused with soul, folk, funk, and spoken word, The Sistering ventures across wide musical terrain with improvisation at its heart. Song titles like “Combat Boots and Glass Slippers” by Lenora, “Circle” by Kate, “Follow the Stream” by Lois, and “A Brother Just Like You” by Nnenna hint at the emotional depth and narrative spirit behind the music.

Accompanied by a world-class jazz quartet, The Sistering takes shape as a powerful and vibrant testament to the power of creative alliance. Continuing that theme, Cuesta’s top student vocal ensemble, Cuesta Voce, will open the evening as well as close out the concert with our headliners in some spectacular large group pieces. It’ll be an unforgettable evening!

All nationally renowned educators, the members of The Sistering will be sharing their expertise with our Cuesta College music students throughout the festival.