Media Releases
Festival Napa Valley encores Library of Congress Gershwin Prize
“Tribute to Tony Bennett” PBS Special
Festival Napa Valley pays tribute to the legendary Tony Bennett with a very special tribute concert on July 21, 2021, at Charles Krug. The performance features a star-studded lineup of Emmy and Grammy Award-winning musicians in an encore of the 2017 PBS Special filmed when the Library of Congress presented Bennett the Gershwin Prize in Popular Song.
Headlining the Tribute to Tony Bennett is the “Ambassador of the American Songbook”, Michael Feinstein. He will be joined by pop sensation and Festival favorite Wé McDonald, singer/actor Jordan Donica, who was lauded for his 2017 appearance at Festival Napa Valley during his run as Thomas Jefferson and the Marquis de Lafayette in the first national tour of Hamilton, acclaimed jazz vocalist Jane Monheit, and Festival Napa Valley’s 2021 Composer in Residence and accomplished singer, Nia Imani Franklin.
The Tribute all-star band features Festival Napa Valley’s Special Music Advisor Gregg Field on drums, Frost School of Music Dean Shelly Berg on piano, and jazz musicians Dean Parks on guitar, Tom Scott on saxophone, and Randy Waldman on keyboards.
“We’re very excited to present this special tribute to Tony Bennett at Festival Napa Valley,” said Gregg Field, who is producing the concert. “Tony Bennett’s music is deep in our national character, and a perfect pairing for an evening under the stars.”
Tony Bennett defines the Great American Songbook, from solo hits like “Cheek to Cheek” and
“As Time Goes By” and duets like “Just in Time” with Michael Bublé and “Anything Goes” with Lady Gaga, to his signature tune, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”. In 2017, the Library of Congress recognized his legendary status with its Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, granted to artists whose careers reflect a lifetime of achievement – an event celebrated with an Emmy Award–winning PBS special.