Blues Jazz Vocalist Shayna Steele Kicks Off Arts in Bloom Series

Powerhouse vocalist Shayna Steele will kick off the 2023-2024 Season of Arts in Bloom at Commonwealth University-Bloomsburg. Steele, at home singing soul, jazz, and blues, will perform Friday, Sept. 15, at 7:30 p.m. in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. 

Steele’s effortless execution of both soul and jazz has grabbed the attention of audiences globally, be it the Vancouver Jazz Festival, the Blue Note, or a guest vocalist with the biggest symphonies throughout North America.

In her fourth studio album, Gold Dust, released in 2023, Shayna’s songwriting abilities are dynamically evident through an infusion of soul, jazz, and blues. The album features a fresh new cover of Cole Porter’s “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To” featuring Grammy-nominated saxophonist Donny McCaslin. The album also highlights brand new original material such as the inspiring anthem “The Bloodline,” celebrating her ancestors, and the sultry yet intimate “Behind Closed Doors,” but it’s her explosive new arrangement of Stevie Nick’s “Gold Dust Woman” that will leave every listener in awe. Steele has sung in New York City, appearing in the smash hit musical RENT, as well as Jesus Christ Superstar, and then her original role in the massive Tony Award-winning musical, Hairspray!

Information and tickets for the series are available online at bloomu.edu/arts-in-bloom.  The box office can be reached at boxoff@commonwealthu.edu or 570-389-4409. Box office hours are Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on headliner show dates from 11 a.m. to curtain.

Other headliner shows in the season include: 

• Odyssey, Friday, Oct. 6, 7:30 p.m., Carver Hall, K.S. Gross Auditorium.
• Modern Warrior LIVE, Friday, Nov. 17, 7:30 p.m., Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. 
• Philadelphia Freedom: Elton Comes Home for the Holidays, Saturday, Dec. 2, 7:30 p.m., Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. 
• Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, 7:30 p.m., Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall.
• International Guitar Night, Friday, March 1, 2024, 7:30 p.m., Carver Hall, K.S. Gross Auditorium.
• RUBBERBAND: Trenzado, Saturday, March 23, 2024, 7:30 p.m., Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall.
• iLuminate, Sunday, April 14, 2024, 7:30 p.m., Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall.