Date | City | Venue | Country |
---|---|---|---|
30/03/19 | Deal | The Astor Theatre | United Kingdom |
Time: 8:00pm. Admission: £18. Age restrictions: No Minors. Address: Stanhope Road. Buy Tickets |
BESSIE SMITH “EMPRESS OF THE BLUES”

Ma Bessie (Julia Titus) and her blues troupe – internationally acclaimed drummer, Sam Kelly with Paul Jobson (Musical Director) on piano, Tony Qunta on acoustic guitar, Richard Sadler on upright bass, Chuck Lloyd on sax/clarinet and Kevin Davy on trumpet – perform to a narrated show, featuring music from the era and showcasing many of Bessie‘s songs. The production chronicles her life from a one-room shack in Blue Goose Hollow, through to becoming the highest-paid black entertainer of that time, to the tragic accident on Route 61 in September 1937 which resulted in her untimely death aged 43 years.
Photo credit: Dawn Fletcher-Park