Broadway Grill Restaurant | San Francisco Bay Area - Burlingame,CA | Bar and Grill

Performance August 12th at 7PM

Los Angeles native, Rhonda Benin 2009's Bay Area Blues Society's Vocalist of the Year, moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1989 after working with singer Maria Muldaur. In 1990 Bay Area vocalist Linda Tillery invited Rhonda to be a part of an experimental group called the Cultural Heritage Choir (CHC).  Today, 19 years and 23 countries later, The CHC has become an internationally acclaimed vocal ensemble performing African American roots music.  In 1997 CHC was nominated for a GRAMMY for their CD, Shakin a Tail Feather with bluesmen Taj Mahal and Eric Bibb.  In 2001, the group released Say Yo Business, featuring Wilson Pickett, Richie Havens and Odetta.  Make your Reservations Now!

At home in the Bay Area, Rhonda began making a name for her self as a solo artist with many Bay Area bands. But it was her 12 year stint with Mal Sharpe's Big Money In Jazz Band which gave her visibility on the nightclub and festival circuits and led her to form her own band Soulful Strut in 1995.  Soulful Strut has become a permanent fixture in the San Francisco music scene.  "My band has been described as a jazz band drenched in soul with a solid helping of the blues". In 2006 Rhonda produced and released her first solo CD, A Matter of the Heart a classic mix of jazz, blues, and soul.  Along with Rhonda's vocals, A Matter of the Heart showcases the best Bay Area musicians, pianist Tammy Hall, drummer Darrell Green, saxophonist Charles McNeal, guitarist Cedricke Dennis and Bassist Ron Belcher. The title song, written by Benin, features a classic vocal/bass duet with veteran musician, composer and music "guru" Harley White.

Additionally Rhonda performs and teaches throughout San Francisco Bay Area school districts as an artist educator in both classroom and full school assembly settings and leads the yearly Cal Performances, School Time Program, "The Power of Song" for classroom teachers visiting some 25 classrooms per school year.