Avery*Sunshine brings her soul revue to Hampton's American Theatre

The Atlanta-based singer and pianist plays the 400-seat American Theatre on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2027, her first Hampton Roads show since December 2018.

The last time Avery*Sunshine played Hampton Roads was a December night in 2018 at the Harrison Opera House. More than eight years later, she's coming back to a much smaller room, and for a singer who learned her craft behind a church piano, that's good news.

Avery*Sunshine plays The American Theatre in Hampton on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2027, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $57.45 to $94.10 through Ticketmaster. The show was announced Oct. 9. It's her first Hampton Roads date since Dec. 13, 2018.

If you don't know the name, start with the story behind it. She was born Denise Nicole White in Chester, Pa. Her stage name comes from two movie characters: Shug Avery from *The Color Purple* and Sunshine from *Harlem Nights*. She came up in the church as a pianist and music director, and that's still the core of what she does on stage. She sings, but she also plays, and the songs are built from the piano bench out.

She graduated from Spelman College in Atlanta, where she and her classmate Maia Wilson formed a duo called DaisyRew. Later she sang on the soundtrack to *The Fighting Temptations*. Her husband, Dana Johnson, is also her creative partner, and Atlanta has stayed home base. Their career together took an unusual turn in 2005. A friend set their neo-soul track "Stalker" to a house beat, it became a dance hit on a Japanese label, and that led to a run of shows in Japan.

Since then her music has traveled far beyond the Southeast, with tours across Asia, Europe, the U.K. and Australia. In 2016 she received ASCAP's Rhythm and Soul song of the year award. She has also served as a board governor for the Atlanta chapter of the Recording Academy, and SoulTracks has given her its award as well. It's the résumé of an artist who has built a long career on her own terms rather than on one big radio moment.

That's why The American Theatre is the right room for this. It's one of the stages in the city of Hampton's arts program, and it holds about 400, which is small enough to feel her play as much as hear her. Soul music built on church piano and call-and-response needs a room where the crowd can answer back, and a 400-seat theater on a Saturday night gives it that.

She sings, but she also plays, and the songs are built from the piano bench out.

A few practical notes. It's a 7:30 p.m. Saturday start in January, so dress for the walk from the car. With only around 400 seats and a gap of more than eight years since her last visit, this is a show worth buying early for.

Hampton Roads has waited a long time. On Jan. 23, it gets her in a room close enough to see her hands on the keys.

Sources: AverySunshine – Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org); Avery*Sunshine biography – GKP Promotions (PDF) (gkp-promotions.de); Avery*Sunshine – GKP Promotions (gkp-promotions.de); SoulTracks Award winner Avery*Sunshine begins tour – SoulTracks (soultracks.com); Interview with Avery Sunshine – SoulTracks (soultracks.com); The American Theatre – City of Hampton (hampton.gov); Curtain Rises Again for Hampton Arts – Coastal Virginia Magazine (coastalvirginiamag.com); AverySunshine at The American Theatre – Ticketmaster (ticketmaster.evyy.net)