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It’s Showtime at the Apollo and Tulsa artist Branjae will begin her “Debut Tour,” on June 15, 2022 in Harlem, New York at the Apollo Theater’s amateur night.
Her visit to New York will kick off a five-state tour with eight performances spanning over the course of the summer. Her first three performances will be held in New York, performing at Bowery Electric and Groove NYC. She will then travel west to perform in Colorado and New Mexico, before wrapping up her tour in Oklahoma.
It’s been a life-long dream for Branjae Jackson to perform in New York City. “I’m excited. I’m ready,” she told The Black Wall Street Times. “I feel like I wanted to do this my whole life, and it’s something that I just got serious amounts of talent, playing New York City.”
She added that she wanted to show other places the kind of diversity and creativity that Tulsa has in its community. “People don’t really know, you know, that we exist in a lot of ways,” She wants people to know what Tulsa sounds like.
Branjae mentioned that manifestation helped bring Jackson’s dream to life. “Me and my manager got on it, and just really was a manifested effort,” Branjae believes that manifestation is a human power. She also mentioned the vast number of cold calls and cold emails she and her manager made to get her music out there, as well as weekly practices with her band to help make her dreams a reality.
Performance with a message
Branjae and her band will be performing a one-hour live set, consisting of original music written by her and the band members. The audience can expect a lively performance as she has a dramatic and theatrical performance style. Her band members include Bobby Moffett on keys and key bass, Josh WestBrook on guitar and Stanley Fary on drums.
To her, drama is simply story telling. “I may take on a different persona in the song or character, the songs or change costume. And, you know, just it’s more storytelling. There’s messaging in the music.”
She wants her music to resonate with her listeners through deep listening. “You know, it’s meant to be listened to and to try to lean into, you know, the wisdom of life and learning lessons and growing and becoming and changing and evolving,” she told the Black Wall Street Times. She prefers to tackle real life issues dealing with mental health, relationships, and day-to-day problems, but in a creative way.
Branjae has been featured in Billboard and Afropunk and played alongside Thundercat and Erykah Badu’s band. According to Apollo Theater’s website, amateur night has been known to launch the careers of many artists, including, Ella Fitzgerald, Lauryn Hill and D’Angelo.
The Debut Tour launches at Apollo Theater
6/15 – HARLEM. NY / APOLLO THEATRE
6/16 – MANHATTAN. NY / BOWERY ELECTRIC
6/18 – MANHATTAN. NY / GROOVE NYC
7/16 – OKEEMAH, OK / WOODYFEST
7/21 – MUSKOGEE, OK / OKLAHOMA MUSIC HALL OF FAME
7/30 – ROGERS, AR / MUSIC MOVES BLOCK PARTY
8/5 – DEL NORTE. CO / RHYTHMS ON THE RIO FESTIVAL
9/10 – SPAVINAW. OK / HARVEST FEST
