Drop Me Off in Harlem: An Evening with Becky Livas
October 19 @ 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
The Hampton History Museum, in partnership with the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) and acclaimed local jazz and cabaret vocalist Becky Livas, proudly presents “Drop Me Off In Harlem,” a captivating musical fundraiser.
This special event will transport attendees back to the vibrant era of the Harlem Renaissance, celebrating the rich cultural legacy and musical brilliance of the time. Featuring an evening of live performances, the program will showcase classic pieces from legendary artists such as Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, and Louis Armstrong, capturing the essence of jazz, blues, and cabaret that defined this golden age.
Attendees are encouraged to embrace the spirit of the evening by dressing up as their favorite figure from the Harlem Renaissance or in period-inspired attire, adding to the immersive experience.
The event will be catered by Polly’s Restaurant, and tickets are available for $40. Beer and wine will be available for purchase. Join us for an unforgettable night of music, history, and community!
About the Artist: Becky Livas
Versatile cabaret-jazz vocalist Becky Livas has been a favorite of Virginia music audiences for thirty years; she is at home in front of big band audiences or in intimate cabaret settings. Her Great American Songbook covers periods from Tin Pan Alley to the late 20th century. Her official start was in 1992 with Lynn Summerall’s 1920’s style Hotel Paradise Roof Garden Orchestra.
In the early 2000s, Livas paired with guitarist Flip Hoopes, and later with pianist Pamela Hines, at Sterling’s Restaurant in Norfolk; then with Hines at Main Street Jazz in Suffolk, releasing a 2007 CD For All We Know. She rejoined Hoopes, adding bassist Eddie Edwards for trio gigs at the Chesapeake Sterling’s through 2009.
A 2011 CD with Hines, If I Had You (in memory of ODU professor Dr. Leon Francis Bouvier) added the talents of well-known New Englanders bassist John Lockwood (Berklee) and drummer Les Harris, Jr. Available on CD Baby, it sold at Veneziano Restaurant to benefit St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Earlier Livas CDs include The Stars Come Out for St. Jude, produced by “Uncle Pete” Decker and Bye, Bye Blues (Hotel Paradise)
The Becky Livas Trio with pianist Keith Nesbit and saxophonist Joey Placenti enjoyed a 22-month run at Orlando’s Diversion in Norfolk’s Veneziano Restaurant in 2013. The most recent Becky Livas Jazz Trio included Keith Nesbit and guitarist Flip Hoopes. In April, 2016, Livas did a benefit for the Las Vegas Jazz Society, working with the Tom Hall Quartet, top “Strip” musicians from the Las Vegas casinos. As of August 2017, Livas and Nesbit are a duo, appearing regularly at Varia Trattoria-inspired Restaurant in the Norfolk MAIN Hilton.
A 1997 Eugene O’Neill Cabaret Symposium Fellow, Livas was mentored by cabaret-Broadway and movie legends Margaret Whiting, Julie Wilson, Max Showalter, Carol Hall, and Julie Halston; by musical directors Paul Trueblood, Tex Arnold, Shelly Markham, and Christopher Denny; and costume designer Fred Voelpel (NO STRINGS).
A native of Philadelphia, Livas was reared mostly in Hampton Roads, VA. A graduate of Hampton University, she was the region’s first African-American female news reporter and later producer/host of daily TV shows at WTAR-TV in the 1970s. After being a“band wife” in Las Vegas in the early 1980s, Livas returned to and became the producer/host of WHRO-WHRV-FM Jazz Excursions, a show she created. Livas retired from teaching middle school World History and Geography in 2013.
