Duke Arts and Hayti Heritage Center are excited to announce the lineup for Duke Arts at American Tobacco: Celebrating 50 Years of Hayti Heritage Center, a free community concert series presented in partnership with American Tobacco Campus. Concerts will be held every Wednesday in September from 6:30–8 p.m. under the Lucky Strike Water Tower.
Programmed by the team at Hayti Heritage Center, this year’s featured artists embody the Center’s mission and impact through their commitment to cultural expression, storytelling, and community. From Shana Tucker’s “ChamberSoul” blend of jazz, soul, and classical music to Dior Ashley Brown’s dynamic fusion of hip-hop and activism, each performer reflects Hayti’s dedication to preserving and advancing African American heritage through the arts. Denitia’s invigorating embrace of country music and Kenny Sharp’s rooted Americana blend further speak to the Center’s ongoing legacy—honoring the past while shaping a brilliant creative future. Together, these artists amplify Hayti’s vision of celebrating Black excellence, nurturing artistic innovation, and building community through performance.
Forget genre—Shana Tucker’s signature style “ChamberSoul” blends jazz, classical, folk, acoustic pop, and soul, anchored by cello and voice in a deeply personal loop. As JazzTimes put it, she’s “a jazz talent…whose imprint and vitality has already been quite visible in North Carolina.”
From The Kennedy Center to Johannesburg, Shana’s been captivating audiences worldwide for over two decades. Her albums SHiNE and Hiding in the Light showcase her emotive songwriting and genre fusion. Shana’s voice and playing have appeared alongside Norah Jones, the Indigo Girls, Sweet Honey in the Rock, and more.
Whether she’s composing for PBS or performing on international stages, Shana is a local talent with global reach, and the perfect artist to kick off this year’s series at American Tobacco Campus.
Raised on Muscle Shoals soul and James Brown funk, Nashville-based artist Kenny Sharp delivers a Southern-fried blend of soul, funk, country, blues, and rock. He calls it “Brown Liquor Music”—a sound that’s smooth, punchy, and deeply rooted.
A former rapper turned vocalist, Sharp writes with a storyteller’s heart and a musician’s ear. He’s worked with sync teams and studios from L.A. to Miami and won Nashville’s 2024 Music City Mayhem, rising to the top of over 650 contestants.
Sharp’s songs are rooted across the American south, offering a rich sonic blend that goes down even easier than the best brown liquor.
Dubbed “the Hip-Hop Polymath” by The Washington Post, Dior Ashley Brown is an award-winning emcee, actor, poet, and activist whose work fuses music, politics, and performance. She’s opened for artists from Esperanza Spalding to the Wu-Tang Clan, and even shared stages with Yo-Yo Ma.
A Recording Academy member and powerhouse in the D.C. arts scene, Brown is driven by a deep belief in the power of voice—using her platform to preserve the soul of hip-hop, uplift women, and build a legacy rooted in change.
Texas-born and Nashville-based artist Denitia has spent years remapping country music. Her sound drifts between Nashville roots and Brooklyn edge—acoustic guitar and pedal steel woven with shimmer, soul, and restraint.
Stereogum praised her 2022 album Highways as “deeply tuneful, light on its feet, and shot through with melancholy.” Her latest release, Sunset Drive, deepens that vision—part Glen Campbell nostalgia, part dreamlike Americana.
An NPR 2023 Artist to Watch, Denitia has toured with the Black Opry Revue and shared stages with Joy Oladokun, Allison Russell, and Amythyst Kiah. Denitia’s voice will stop you in your tracks.
These outdoor concerts are free, appropriate for all ages, and open to the general public. No registration is needed. Come early, bring a chair or blanket, and enjoy food and drinks from any of the 15 bars and restaurants on campus. Alcoholic beverages are allowed ONLY if they have been purchased from an establishment participating in The Bullpen Social District; all other alcoholic beverages are strictly prohibited. The stage is located under the Lucky Strike water tower, and the closest parking is at the South Parking Deck at ATC.
Concerts are weather permitting, with notice of cancellation announced at dukearts.org and via Duke Arts social media accounts on the day of the event.
Now marking its fifth year, Duke Arts at American Tobacco is a free public concert series that originally began in 2021 as an initiative by Duke Arts and American Tobacco Campus to provide outdoor public arts events during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year’s September concert series celebrates 50 years of the Hayti Heritage Center, featuring artists selected by the Center. The series is presented by Duke Arts in partnership with American Tobacco Campus and Hayti Heritage Center.
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