FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Release date: January 8, 2004

Media Contacts:

Mattie B. Haynes or Fred Johnson

Auntie Karen Foundation

(Haynes) 803-776-4897 / RHAYNES21@sc.rr.com

(Johnson) 803-799-2057 / fajohnson@worldnet.att.net

ROBERTA FLACK TO PERFORM AT FIRST ANNUAL LEGENDS OF... BENEFIT CONCERT

COLUMBIA, SC – Of the who’s who of the world’s legendary recording artist, there is none more notable and renowned than the classy Roberta Flack. This four time Grammy winner will grace the stage of the Koger Center of the Arts on February 26, 2004. This memorable and premier event of The Legends Of… Series will also feature The Capital City Chorale. Legends of 2004 is being presented by The Auntie Karen Foundation, AARP South Carolina and 98.5 KISS FM. The Legends of …Concert Series serves as the signature fundraiser for The Auntie Karen Foundation.

The Auntie Karen Foundation created the Legends of.. Concert series to keep the legacy of African American music alive. Each year during Black History Month, The series will profile a jazz, rhythm and blues, gospel or blues artist who has made a lasting contribution to the history of music. The series will place a special emphasis on Jazz Legends.

Tickets can be purchased beginning January 15, 2004 at the Carolina Coliseum Box Office from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and all Capital Ticket locations during their normal opening hours. Limited seating available!

For more information on the Auntie Karen Foundation, visit www.auntiekaren.org or call 803-748-7124.

About Auntie Karen

Auntie Karen® Foundation

The Auntie Karen Foundation is a global, non-profit, 501c3 charitable corporation certified by the state of South Carolina on October 31, 2001. The foundation's mission is to create and implement a series of reproducible community outreach programs that will empower, enlighten and educate through the arts.

The Auntie Karen Foundation’s pilots have benefited youths aged 3 through 22. These pilot programs include participants from area schools, churches, and community organizations. Foundation programs will be documented so that other communities across the globe can duplicate them.

Programs include:

Artpreneur/Technopreneur Classes

The purpose of the Artpreneur/Technopreneur classes is to “inspire a new generation of business leaders”. Classes will include financial education, computer literacy, and business entertainment. The Auntie Karen Foundation’s Artpreneur Pilot was implemented at Burton Pack Elementary School during the spring of 2003.

Annual Young Entrepreneur’s Conference

The conference brings children from across the region together to foster economic empowerment. The 1^st Annual Conference was held at Benedict College on May 17, 2003. Over 250 kids were in attendance.

Auntie Karen Hits the Road: An African American Mobile Museum

This traveling museum will offer all ages a chance to experience South Carolina’s history from another perspective. Available to all ages with a focus on students in grades one through six.

Roberta Flack

Roberta Flack was born in Asheville, North Carolina and raised in Arlington, Virginia. Like many other vocal artists, her talent was developed in the church. However, this renowned diva has many distinctions that set her apart from her musical peers. This multi-talented vocal stylist & pianist developed into a renowned composer, arranger and producer. Roberta hears music in her mind & heart, and then expresses it through piano and voice, in a tone unlike any of the others. Roberta Flack songs are striking=not just pretty, but full of heart, emotion, intelligence, and dedication. Those are just some of the many characteristics that have made Roberta the internationally acclaimed Artist she is today, and makes her records so cherished.

It is not just Roberta’s ultra smooth ballads of romantic urban R & B or light commercial jazz music that have attracted fans, she has also scored chart-topping success with up-tempo numbers like “Ooh-Ooh, Look Out (Here It Comes)”, which happened to reign Billboard’s Hot Dance Music Club Play List in 1989, and with her memorable hits “Oasis” and “Back Together Again” (one of the several Roberta Flack/Donny Hathaway collaborations). With talent like Roberta Flack’s, there truly are no limits…

History speaks for itself: “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”, from her “FIRST TAKE” album, won the 1973 Grammy Record of the Year and Song of the Year awards, while “Where Is The Love”, recorded with Donny Hathaway, won Best Pop Vocal by a Duo. “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” along with “Killing Me Softly” (With His Song)” have both gone Platinum. Her Gold albums are numerous, the include “ROBERTA FLACK featuring DONNIE HATHAWAY”, “BLUE LIGHTS IN THE BASEMENT”, “QUIET FIRE”, “ROBERTA FLACK AND DONNY HATHAWAY”, “THE BEST OF ROBERTA FLACK”, “CHAPTER TWO”, “FEEL LIKE MAKIN’ LOVE”, and “OASIS”. Other highlights include the hit duets “Tonight, I Celebrate My Love (For You)” with Peabo Bryson, and “Set The Night To Music” with Maxi Priest. Roberta’s songs have been featured in many major motion pictures, television programs and commercials. Most recently, her irresistible rendition of “It Might Be You”, from the 1994 Grammy Award nominated (in the company of Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Willie Nelson, and Tony Bennett) album “ROBERTA”, was featured in the film Waiting To Exhale.

Throughout Roberta’s illustrious career, she has had the fortune of performing before presidents, royalty, and even headlined a command performance for Pope John Paul II. In August, Roberta will be featured during the historical five-hour VH-1 program “100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll”, for which she was highly ranked with the likes of Madonna, Paula Cole, Tina Turner, Lauryn Hill, and other great female stars.

Roberta remains very much in demand, presently maintaining a heavy touring schedule – performing to packed audiences at every venue, and continually racking up accolades for her recorded music.

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