A joyous celebration and concert presentation of original blues, gospel, jazz and American roots styled songs from the Broadway-bound musical, “TRUTH” - inspired by the life, words & soul of Sojourner TRUTH.

TRUTH is an original musical theater project inspired by the true life story and spiritual mission of SOJOURNER TRUTH, a woman once-enslaved in New York’s Hudson Valley, who grew up to take her own freedom, free her son, and become a pioneering champion of emancipation and women’s rights in America. The original Songs of TRUTH convey the wide range of feelings, struggles, triumphs, joys, and revelations of Sojourner’s incredible journey. Sojourner herself is both the musical's storyteller and central figure in the story within a story, as she takes us back in time along on her unique soul’s journey through an incredible, sometimes harrowing, oft times inspiring, moving and impactful life. SONGS of TRUTH is a selection of heart and eye opening songs from the full musical.

The tale of TRUTH is a musical battleground, set in a Hudson River Fairground on the 4th of July, 1851, where Sojourner has returned home to New York after traveling, speaking and preaching around the country. As she did countless times, Sojourner fearlessly takes the stage to challenge the patriotic “Independence Day” narrative of America, being “the land of the free and home of the slave.” The musical Battle is joined, in song, between Sojourner and the archetypal Church and State figureheads, the Mayor and Preacher. Once Sojourner sets the stage, she proceeds to recount key moments of her life from early childhood enslaved, on through self-emancipation, into her fully embodied spiritual mission as a TRUTH teller to the Nation. The Men try anything to stop her, but it’s like trying to push back a holy wind. Sojourner wins over the mostly white crowds wherever she goes by using her homespun humor, sharp wit, deep faith, and powerful songs she sings, some of which she herself wrote. As Sojourner once said: “Life is a hard battle anyway. If we laugh and sing a little as we fight the good fight of freedom, it makes it all go a little easier.”

TRUTH invokes Sojourner’s inspiring presence once again, with her dignified wisdom, peaceful presence and majestic simplicity, and through her musical journey, Sojourner, being so compassionate and humorous even with all her scars and searing memories, shows how every human heart has great potential to be contagious in Shining the Light!

TRUTH was first conceived on the shores of Cold Spring Harbor and Huntington, Long Island, which were, by amazing synchronicity, the very first places visited by “Sojourner Truth” when she first began her holy mission to “heal the nation of its sins.” Aligning with the vision to bring Sojourner back to Broadway, where she once lived, TRUTH started its development in New York when the very first songs were presented at the United Nations in a special program on Women and the International Declaration of Human Rights. TRUTH traveled south to Washington DC, where a specially commissioned developmental production was mounted at THEARC Theater Center.Sojourner, who was enslaved in New York and never travelled south of Washington DC, is now coming for the first time ever to Richmond, Virginia - former capital of the Confederacy, a most compelling and profound place for Sojourner to speak to the fundamental issues of freedom and equality. The SONGS of TRUTH Concerts at Révéler are the first step in RVA to bring Sojourner’s musical story fully to life.

PRODUCERS: KENI B FINE is a Broadway and Off Broadway producer, accomplished lyricist, librettist, composer, playwright, director, singer-songwriter, actor, filmmaker, attorney and yogi, dedicated to using the creative and spiritual power of the arts to address vital social issues and to help heal and uplift the world. CRAIG MARTIN is a Co-Host and Producer of “The Good Road” - a nationally broadcast TV Series on PBS. He is a co-founder of Shockoe Records, a multi-faceted producer, content creator, marketing strategist and communications expert, and serves on the boards of many Richmond cultural and arts organizations.

MUSIC + PERFORMANCE: DESIREE ROOTS and DR. WELDON HILL are two of Richmond’s most beloved music and theater icons, who have performed together many times. Together with a band and cast full of Richmond’s most wonderful talent, they will bring the SONGS of TRUTH to life for a unique and unforgettable evening.

With only 100 seats, shows at Révéler are intimate and immersive. A romantic venue with exquisite sound and dreamy vibes, Révéler offers a unique selection of cocktails, wines, beers, bubbles, and non-alcoholic beverages. Our kitchen delivers small plates crafted with care.

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