The Band
YahZarah | Host 1
Considered by many music insiders to possess one of our generation’s greatest voices, with a 5-octave range YahZarah has simultaneously been compared to Minnie Riperton, Grace Jones & Tina Turner. YahZarahʼs performances are effortlessly electric. She encompasses the tenderness of Adele and the fierceness of Janis Joplin. YahZarah is the diva with the healing power and the archetype of an urban pop Joan of Arc with the audacity of Prince. IG & Twitter: @Yahzarah
Meghan Dawson / Host 2
Meghan is thrilled to be stepping into her first National Tour! Born and raised in south Louisiana, she was surrounded by a rich musical culture at a very young age. Love for whimsical storytelling and musical instruments is credited to be what started her performance aspirations. Most recently seen in Six! The Musical as Tudor queen Catherine Parr. She attended Louisiana State University under an Opera concentration and has used that technical training to perform around the world. IG: @moxdawson “I owe it all to God—and my momma.”
Terrell Foster-James | Host 3
Terrell is thrilled to be part of his first national tour! Raised in Chelsea, MA and a graduate of Berklee College of Music on full scholarship, performing and music has always been his chosen form of expression. Recently on stage, credits include playing JR in an Off-Broadway production of Passion Nation. Regionally, he’s played the role of The Wiz in The Wiz, Minstrel in Something Rotten, Tom Collins in RENT, Mereb in Aida, Mister Understudy in The Color Purple to name a few. He is extremely grateful to be a part of this amazing cast and crew to tell the story of Aretha Franklin! Enjoy the show and don’t be afraid to say hi! Sending you all the love and light <3 @terrellfosterjames (IG & TikTok).
Chela Faulkner | Host 4
Chela is thrilled to be performing in her first production with Right Angle Entertainment. Chela has been singing and acting since the age of four. She studied Classical Voice Performance at Elizabeth City State University and pulls on her gospel roots to produce her large sound. Chela is represented by STISA Talent Agency and would like to thank her STISA family, biological family, and her Movement Embassy family for all the love and support. Special thanks to Dr. Walter Swan for all the years of training. She cannot wait to make magic with this wonderful cast and crew!
Jasmine Alena Tompkins | Host Understudy
A Detroit native, Jasmine grew up singing gospel music in church and then classically trained as part of the Cass Technical High School Harp and Vocal ensemble. While majoring in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan, Jasmine also sang in Jazz combo groups. In 2020, Jasmine moved to Los Angeles to pursue a full-time music and acting career acting in leading roles in plays FaithNLove, Fort Huachuca and I Can Hear Everything, as well as a supporting role in the feature film John Wynn’s One Hour. Jasmine is thrilled to be performing in honor of the legendary Aretha Franklin.
Billy White | Keyboards
Pianist/keyboardist/composer/music director Billy White hails from San Francisco, has won numerous music awards, and worked with Grammy winners in R&B and Jazz including Maiysha Kai, Scott Jacoby, Dayna Stephens, and Ambrose Akinmusire. He was Music Minister at New Journey Baptist in Brooklyn, NY and is a huge Aretha fan. IG: billy.white.music
Photo credit: Jendog Lonewolf, IG: ilovejendog
Michael Williams | Associate Music Director, Keys 2
Michael Williams hails from Staten Island, New York. His musical roots go back to Mt. Sinai United Christian Church under the leadership of Rev. Victor Brown. It is there where he discovered the Hammond Organ at the age of 12 and fell in love with it. From then on he he’d be married to music for life. Since then he’s gone on to play for Evelyn Champaigne King, Melba Moore, Mel’isa Morgan, Cece Peniston and many local acts in the Greater NYC area. He also works as an actor having made appearances in several national television shows. He gives honor to The Lord Jesus Christ in everything he does.
TJ Griffin | Drums
New York born and raised! Everything for me began in church and music is a big part of my family. From church I then started to perform throughout the city to other places in and outside the country never taking the gift God has given me for granted. I’ve worked with amazing people so far in my career and thankful to work with more for this tour.
Kenneth “Gypsy” Simpson | Guitar
Gypsy is a guitarist versed in various styles of music and enjoys the different kinds of “playgrounds”, as he calls them. Being a second-generation musician, he learned to watch and listen, which were skills that served him well, working and touring with the likes of J.T Taylor (Kool and the Gang), Lydia Caesar, Public Enemy, and Styles P amongst others. Recently, he has been on the reggae circuit touring with Jesse Royal, Pressure, and 2x Grammy-nominated singer Etana. Gypsy hails from Long Island City, Queens, NY.
Osei Kweku| Music Director & Bass
Osei Kweku is a Los Angeles born bassist, rapper and self diagnosed Keeper of the Funk. Having grown up in Los Angeles, oldies/throwback radio was staple in his life, so much of his major influence comes from the likes of Sly and the Family Stone, Parliament-Funkadelic, Curtis Mayfield, Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin….you know the rest. Kweku attended The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music from 2012-15 and has since traveled the world as a freelance bass player. Playing on shows like Michael Jackson tribute shows “I Am King” and “Invincible”, Rennie Harris’s “Funkedified”, Oya Festival in Norway, hosting a jam session in NYC and has made a couple on screen appearances in “Vinyl”, “The Irishman”, “The Only Living Boy in New York”.