Avery Sommers To Headline The Cultural Council's Summer Jazz Series, July 20

As part of its popular Summer Jazz Series, the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County will be presenting a concert next month by Broadway and cabaret star Avery Sommers. The series is presented in collaboration with the Palm Beach International Jazz Festival.

July 20 at 7 pm (Saturday)

Avery Sommers

Avery Sommers is a South Florida treasure and Broadway veteran with a "powerhouse" voice (The New York Times) and charismatic stage presence. The evening will begin with "Getting to Know Avery" - a conversation between the singer and Yvette Norwood-Tiger about her career in music and on Broadway, accompanied by some music and questions from the audience. Then after a short intermission, the night continues with a performance by Avery and her full band: Music Director Phil Hinton, drummer Frank Derrick, and bassist Rances Colon.

A frequent headliner at the former Royal Room Cabaret at The Colony Hotel, Palm Beach, and a member of the Honorary Board of Advisors for The Society for the Preservation of the Great American Songbook, Sommers recently performed her new one-woman concert, For Sentimental Reasons, in the Helen K. Persson Hall at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in 2018, and also performed in another one-woman show, I Love Being Here with You, to two sold-out houses at the Kravis Center in 2016. She also starred as the title role in The Devil's Music...The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith at Arts Garage in Delray Beach, for which she earned a Carbonell Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play/Musical. Avery is also the recipient of the Best Actress Award given by The Arts and Entertainment Magazine of South Florida and The Silver Palm Award for Outstanding Contributions to the South Florida Theater Season 2015-2016.

In the fall of 2017, Sommers performed the role of Addie in Palm Beach Dramaworks' season opening production, The Little Foxes. She recently appeared as Motormouth Maybelle in Hairspray at Actor's Playhouse in Coral Gables and was nominated for a Carbonell Award again.

On Broadway, Sommers appeared with Ken Page in Ain't Misbehavin' as Nell Carter. Other Broadway credits include Broadway, Chicago, Showboat and Platinum. She was in the first national tour of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (starring Ann-Margret) and played Matron Mama Morton in the first national tour of the Broadway show, Chicago, winning a Los Angles Ovation Award.

Independent film credits include the immigration lawyer Ms. Ravencourt in Immigration Tango. Her performance earned her a Best Supporting Actress Award at the 2010 Monaco International Film Festival. She was also nominated for Best Actress for her role in the independent film Lost Everything.

Tickets to see Avery Sommers are $20, and are available for purchase online at https://www.palmbeachculture.com/music. Doors open at 6:30 pm, with the performance starting at 7 pm. The Summer Jazz Series is sponsored by Wells Fargo in collaboration with radio station Legends 100.3FM.

For more information about upcoming Summer Jazz Series performances, visit: https://www.palmbeachculture.com/music.