Nailah Blackman to headline DC Carnival and CultureFest

Nailah Blackman is set to headline DC Carnival and CultureFest DMV’s Saturday Night Live! concert series on April 12, at Washington, DC’s historic Howard Theatre.

Blackman will perform with the Eclipse International Band, marking her first headlining concert in Washington, DC with the support of a live band.

“I’ve been coming to Washington, DC, to perform since the beginning of my career so it’s exciting to finally be able to give audiences a taste of my full band live performance, as they might see me perform at my festival Sokah Origins,” Blackman said in a media release.

Saturday Night Live! which previously hosted concerts at the Howard Theatre headlined by Kes and Machel Montano, is returning after a seven-year hiatus. The event intends to be DC’s premier Caribbean live performance platform for soca, reggae and Afrobeats, according to organiser Arthur Griffith.

The Howard Theatre, which was added to the United States’ National Register of Historic Places in 1974, has been a pillar of the Washington DC community since opening in 1910.

Ahead of the concert Blackman will spend time visiting DC landmarks, the Trinidad and Tobago embassy, interact with students at Howard University and be interviewed on CBS affiliate WUSA 9 on its afternoon show, Great Day Washington, the release said.

Blackman comes to the US capitol having announced her forthcoming sophomore album Born A Diamond (BAD), which will be released in summer on Philadelphia-based Big Money Records. Guest featured on the project include Shenseea, Nicky Jam, Sadboi, DJ Obi and Roy Woods, who also features on the album’s just-released lead single, Feels Like Love.

Blackman has a busy spring and summer ahead with shows across the Caribbean and North America, including her debut at this year’s Roots Picnic in Philadelphia (May 31-June 1), where she will be the first soca artist to perform in the festival’s 18-year history.