20|21 Season: Kandace Springs Performance Program

THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 UPSTAGE AT THE PHILLIPS CENTER

KANDACE SPRINGS 2020|2021 SEASON

KANDACE SPRINGS Sponsored by EAD CORPORATION | KET ENTERPRISES, LLC | WES AND BRENDA WHEELER

I

f Kandace Springs’ new album, Indigo, sounds like something new, that’s because it is. Simple while funky. Classic but contemporary. Straightforward in the way it breaks down complex ideas and genres. And, at the end of the day, undeniably human. That said, it isn’t quite a rebirth for the Nashville-born artist, who after stints living in New York and Los Angeles has returned back home to Music City. She’s long had that lithe and smoky voice and an intensely expressive mastery over the piano. For those paying attention, Kandace’s second album finds her unleashing what was there all along, all at once, for the first time.

Kandace grew up the bi-racial daughter of a soul singer in a countrywestern town. Her dad, Scat Springs, had his own band but also sang backup for an incredible array of musicians: Brian McKnight, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, Michael McDonald, and Donna Summer. He did voices on Nashville radio too, while Kandace’s mother had a full-time gig raising three talented daughters at home.

When Scat brought home an upright piano, Kandace couldn’t leave the keys alone. Soon mom started taking her to lessons, while dad let her tag along to sessions and led his own three-girl choir in the living room. “He’d make us do hymns, but we hated it,” Kandace laughs.

“We’d be singing and crying at the same time.”

Her father instilled in Kandace a love of the greats—Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald, Eva Cassidy, Luther Vandross—and eventually they grew closer than ever through music. He helped her record a demo at 15 and got it into the hands of the production team Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken. They offered Kandace a deal but it was too much, too soon. “My dad said, ‘If you sign with these guys, I’ll never get the chance to make an album with you,’” says Kandace. “I’m so glad I waited.” She and Scat made that album when she was 17 and though it was never released, a piece of it appears on Indigo. Scat suffered a stroke in early 2017 that rendered him unable to sing, so she pulled one of his original vocals from their record and set it to new music. Simple Things is the beating heart of this LP. Some of Indigo’s greatest songs are its most unadorned: Black Orchid; a cover of The Stylistics’ People Make the World Go Round; the remake of Gabriel Garzón-Montano’s Six Eight; and the Roberta Flack-popularized torch song, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. That one was special for Kandace. “Prince picked it for me to play for Purple Rain’s 30th anniversary at Paisley Park in 2014,” she says. That was Kandace’s first big break. The legendary artist saw her on YouTube before she’d released a single note and invited her out. It’s testament, again, to the power and potential that’s been in Kandace the whole time.

Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.

NEW AT UF PERFORMING ARTS

DRIVEWAY THEATRE PROJECT

ith the Driveway Theatre Project (DTP), we’re bringing a new kind of block party to neighborhoods throughout Greater Gainesville!

The way it works is simple: UFPA teams up with community members like you to bring together friends and neighbors around a performance in driveways, backyards, community centers, and even places of business. You provide the space and invite the people, we provide the magic of performance. Whether it’s bringing actors, musicians, dancers, or all three, we will work with you to figure out the most appropriate performance type for your gathering.

The DTP will be an effort that meets people where they are both geographically and socially, providing performances at no cost and removing many of the boundaries that hinder folks from attending performances inside our venues. But providing no cost performances and removing these boundaries is a serious undertaking, and to realize the full potential of DTP we will need your support.

To us, success would entail DTP performances taking place at homes and community centers across Gainesville’s east, west, north, south, and in surrounding communities.

Further, relevance is key to DTP success. These events need to marry fun, the social glue of performance, and historical context into the experience. UFPA’s audiences are varied, and so too should be the Driveway Theatre Project’s.

We believe that with your help, we can grow DTP into an initiative that garners national notoriety and potential major foundation funding. Engagement with our surrounding community has always been a priority at UFPA, but this project would take things to a new level.

For further information about the Driveway Theatre Project, contact Sorrell Fields, UFPA Director of Development, sfields@performingarts.ufl.edu, 352.273.2480

YUVAL RON ENSEMBLE WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14 | 7:30 P.M. UPSTAGE AT THE PHILLIPS CENTER

DATE, TIME, AND VENUE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

ORDER ONLINE OR CALL THE PHILLIPS CENTER BOX OFFICE —

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