University of Florida Performing Arts

Sponsored by Blue Water Bay and Oak Hammock at the University of Florida 

To hear Preservation Hall Jazz Band, click here.
To hear the Blind Boys of Alabama, click here.

Down by the Riverside is an unprecedented collaboration featuring vocal legends the Blind Boys of Alabama and the ageless music of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Sharing the stage for the first time ever, two of America’s great cultural ambassadors bring together the joy of gospel with the soul of New Orleans, promising an unforgettable evening of music.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band
For more than 45 years, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band has maintained the bridge between the present day and the earliest foundations of New Orleans jazz, all the while enriching audiences the world over.  A recent recipient of the NEA National Medal of Arts, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band performs traditional New Orleans jazz at Preservation Hall, spending more than 150 days a year touring around the world. Whether performing at Carnegie Hall, the Red Sea Jazz Festival, or for the British Royal Family, the group embodies the joyful, timeless spirit of a true American art form.  Whenever the band takes to the stage, no matter where in the world it may be, the music draws us back to that storefront at 726 St. Peter Street, where time holds its breath in a nightly communion with the spirits of New Orleans.

The Blind Boys of Alabama
Formed six and a half decades ago, and respected as an indisputable musical treasure, the Blind Boys of Alabama are the “iron men” of the music industry.  They predate Elvis, Little Richard and Al Green, yet even in their 70s they are still at the top of the gospel charts and have won an impressive four consecutive Grammy awards.  Recently inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the Blind Boys of Alabama have proven themselves masters of bringing out the most spiritual aspects of mainstream music, while at the same time bringing the music of the church house straight to the roadhouse.