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The Celebration Honored SiriusXM for
Outstanding Contributions in Performing Arts
and Community Leadership
The
Gala Concert, Hosted by David Alan
Grier, Included
Musical Performances and Appearances by Brandy,
LL Cool J, Tony Toni Tone, Bell Biv DeVoe,
Salt-N-Pepa, Sway Calloway, Sarah Ikumu, 4th Ave,
and Aidan Doran
HARLEM, NY – June 5, 2018 – Last
evening, the Apollo Theater celebrated
its 13th Annual Spring Gala,
raising over $2 million for its year-round
artistic and community programming
initiatives. The concert portion of the
evening was hosted by David Alan Grier, and
opened with a rousing musical performance
by teenage Showtime
at the Apolloalumnus Aidan Doran. The
concert also featured incredible 90's
throwback performances by Salt-N-Pepa ("Shoop,"
"Push It"), Tony Toni Tone, Bell Biv
DeVoe ("Poison"), and Brandy, who
wowed the crowd with "What About Us"
followed by a mashup of Whitney Houston
classics including "How Will I Know" and "I
Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)"; rising-star
chanteuse Sarah Ikumu of
Fox’s Showtime at the Apollo belted
an exquisite cover of Common and John
Legend's "Glory"; and 4THAve,
who tore up the stage with a toe-tapping
medley of Motown and contemporary hits. The
concert culminated with a New Orleans-style
second line out of the theater and 1-block
down 126th street to the after party led by
Harlem's own The Marching Cobras.
Every year as part of the evening, the
Apollo recognizes individuals and
corporations for their outstanding
contributions to the performing arts,
community leadership, and philanthropic
support of initiatives in the African
American community. Last evening, SiriusXM's
Shade 45 host Sway Calloway introduced LL
Cool J who presented the award to SiriusXM's
Scott Greenstein, President
and Chief Content Officer, who accepted
the Corporate Award in recognition of the
company’s outstanding contributions in
performing arts and community leadership.
The night continued until after midnight
with a much-buzzed-about after-party held in
a lavishly decorated tent created by
celebrity event planner David Stark.
Guests danced to the sounds of the
celebrated DJ D-Nice and sipped on
cocktails provided by Moet/Hennessy.
Gala Chairs: Robert
K. Kraft and Karen and Charles Phillips.
Honorary Chairs: Laura
and Richard Parsons, and Ronald O. Perelman
and Anna Chapman.
Gala Vice Chairs: The
Dolan Family Foundation, Katherine Farley
and Jerry I. Speyer, Debra and Leon Black.
The 2018 Apollo Spring Gala was made
possible with generous support from American
Airlines, Coca-Cola,
BNY Mellon and CBS.
About the Apollo Theater
The legendary Apollo Theater—the soul of
American culture—plays a vital role in
cultivating emerging artists and launching
legends. Since its founding, the Apollo has
served as a center of innovation and a
creative catalyst for Harlem, the city of
New York, and the world.
With music at its core, the Apollo’s
programming extends to dance, theater,
spoken word, and more. This includes special
programs such as the blockbuster concert Bruno
Mars Live at the Apollo, the world
premiere theatrical reading of Ta-Nehisi
Coates’s National Book Award-winning Between
the World and Me, 100: The Apollo
Celebrates Ella, the annual Africa Now!
Festival, and the recent New York premiere
of the opera We Shall Not Be Moved.
The Apollo is a performing arts presenting
organization that also produces festivals
and large-scale dance and music works
organized around a set of core initiatives
that celebrate and extend the Apollo’s
legacy through a contemporary lens; global
festivals including the Women of the World
(WOW) Festival and Breakin’ Convention;
international and U.S.-based artist
presentations focused on a specific theme;
and Special Projects, multidisciplinary
collaborations with partner organizations.
Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests
in 1934, the Apollo Theater has served as a
testing ground for new artists working
across a variety of art forms and has
ushered in the emergence of many new musical
genres—including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B,
gospel, blues, soul, and hip-hop. Among the
countless legendary performers who launched
their careers at the Apollo are Michael
Jackson, Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Wonder,
Billie Holiday, James Brown, D’Angelo,
Lauryn Hill, Dave Chappelle, Machine Gun
Kelly, Miri Ben Ari, Sarah Vaughan, Gladys
Knight, and Luther Vandross; and the
Apollo’s forward-looking artistic vision
continues to build on this legacy.
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