ROANOKE, Va. – The musical production of ‘Cross That River’ is coming to the Berglund Center on Friday night.
The show takes place in the 1860s in the unsettled west. This musical performance shares the story of Blue, a slave who escaped to Texas in search of a new life and becomes one of America’s first Black cowboys.
The tale integrates fiction with historical facts. Each song performed presents a different page of American History.
‘Cross That River’ follows Blue on his journey, beginning in Louisiana and crossing the Sabine River to freedom in the Wild West.
Award-winning musician, Allan Harris, wrote the musical to tell the untold story of the Black West and empower Americans with this inspiring story.
“I want to remind us through the songs and the through the people on the stage and through my voice, that we are all in this together. Even though I am singing about cowboys, it could be any period in our history where we work together to just make our dreams come true and that is what it is about,” said Harris.
The music from ‘Cross That River’ combines jazz, RNB, country, bluegrass and folk.
Harris has received numerous awards for his work. He won the New York Nigh Life Award for outstanding jazz vocalist three times. He also won the Backstage Bistro Award for ongoing achievement in jazz. He has performed on stage with legends like Vince Gill and Stevie Wonder. Not to mention, he has played at Carnegie Hall, The Lincoln Center, and the winter and summer Olympics.
You can catch the show on Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the Berglund Center.
You can get a voucher to the show by checking out a book at Roanoke Public Libraries.