Harkening back to the heyday of Stax Records and its touring acts, the Stax Music Academy 2007 Summer Soul Tour Presented by FedEx begins June 25 and will take the students on a very special tour of the Northeastern United States.

A chartered “concert bus” carrying approximately 14 student musicians and several faculty members departs Memphis on that day and arrives the following day in Cleveland, Ohio, for a performance the following night at the world renowned Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On June 29, the students will arrive in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to conduct a daytime workshop and rehearsal at the Afro-American Music Institute, followed by a concert there that evening. From there, the students travel to Philadelphia, where they will perform two concerts on July 2 at the Sunoco Welcome America Festival. The trip will culminate two days later on July 4 with a very special free performance on The Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage in Washington, D.C. at 6 p.m.

Garth Ross, Director of Performing Arts for Everyone for the Kennedy Center, said, “I had the opportunity to hear some the Stax Music Academy students perform during the North American Folk Alliance conference in Memphis this past February. They were wonderful. I am sure it will be a great show for the Millennium Stage and our audience and a great experience for the Stax Academy students.”

Last year, 14 student traveled on an extensive peformance tour through Italy, which will be the subject of an August 2 documentary airing in Memphis on its PBS affiliate WKNO Channel 10. All of this is just more ways that the Stax Music Academy is carrying the Stax Records legacy into the future for generations to come.