Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience debuts in NYC at Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage in Central Park

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Actor and cultural icon Morgan Freeman appeared in Central Park at the Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage on August 27 to debut Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience, a cross-disciplinary performance that merges the grandeur of orchestral arrangements with the genre that influenced much of contemporary music, taking listeners on a journey through the storied history of the blues. The actor loaned his instantly recognizable voice to the production, narrating the show through pre-recorded interjections that help to transport audiences from their seats to the heart of the Mississippi Delta.

Freeman, who was born in the Mississippi Delta, has had a hand in propelling the blues to new heights of awareness since 2001, opening the Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi, where the genre gestated from a combination of African rhythms, work songs, and field hollers sung by enslaved people, as well as spirituals performed in places of worship. The genre has laid its roots into much of what audiences consume today, providing the blueprint for pop, rock, hip-hop, and jazz.

“We see Ground Zero Blues Club coming here to present to you what you really need,” Freeman told the enthusiastic New York City audience alongside moderator Charlie Worsham and business partners Eric Meier and Howard Stovall before the performance. “A little infusion of home,” he added with a smile.

Soon after Freeman left the stage to take his seat at the front of the audience, Austrian conductor Martin Gellner and the Big Island Orchestra took to the stage, backing Mark Yacovone on keys, bassist Adrian “Rev Slim” Forrest, Lee Williams on percussion, and guitarists Anthony “Big A” Sherrod, Jacqueline “Jaxx” Nassar, and Keith Johnson, who all shared vocal duties with Adrienne “Lady Adrena” Ervin. The group, filled with local Mississippi musicians, showcased the diversity of styles that fall under the blues umbrella, including classic tunes by Robert Johnson, BB King, and Led Zeppelin, alongside contemporary songs like “Someday,” an original composition by “Big A,” and “I Lied to You,” which appeared in the film “Sinners” earlier this year. Central Park attendees could not help but leap from their seats to dance to the stomping rhythms and lush orchestra sounds emanating from the musicians onstage. “I’m not hoping you leave here with anything,” Freeman said to the audience. “I’m pretty sure, you’re going to leave here thinking you’ve had a very unique experience, and your steps [are] going to be light — you are going to be lifted.” If the smiles across the faces of attendees leaving the park were any indication, Freeman’s predictions were correct.

For more info about Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience and the Ground Zero Blues Club, visit symphonicblues.com.