Continuing a decades-long tradition, the Summer Concert Series Presented by UMB Bank features a wide variety of musicians performing in the spectacular setting of the Gardens’ York Street location. Concertgoers can wander through gardens in full bloom before the show or between acts for a summer concert evening like no other. Produced in partnership with Swallow Hill Music.
Acclaimed singer-songwriter Gregory Porter was raised in Bakersfield, California, and began singing in small jazz clubs in San Diego and later New York City, where his music career began to ascend with the release of his first two albums—Water (2010) and Be Good (2012). In 2013, he released his Blue Note debut Liquid Spirit which quickly grew into a global phenomenon, selling more than a million albums and earning Porter his first Grammy Award with NPR declaring him “America’s Next Great Jazz Singer.” His 2016 follow-up Take Me To The Alley won Porter his second Grammy for Best Vocal Jazz Album and firmly established him as his generation’s most soulful jazz singer-songwriter. In 2017, Porter released the heartfelt tribute album Nat King Cole & Me and in 2020 returned to his original songwriting on the uplifting All Rise.
In a fusion of original pop, jazz, soul and classic love songs, singer-songwriter and cellist Gabriel Royal’s inimitable voice cuts through the haze. In Heart & Soul, he shares tales of love, loss and hope in a solo performance that weaves pop, soul, jazz and classical influences. Performing on piano and cello, Royal’s engaging style is the ultimate in entertaining— balancing heartfelt moments of vulnerability with his signature sense of humor and timing.