Atlanta-born, Nigerian-raised Howard University graduate and pop powerhouse AYO hopes her music can provide a message of empowerment and liberation. Her versatile style ranges from pop to hip-hop to soul, but the core of her work is always emotional vulnerability, love, and self-actualization. Her performances in the Mansion at Strathmore are on Wednesdays, January 15 and 29, 2020 at 7:30PM, kicking off the Artist in Residence class of 2020 concerts. AYO’s performances are generously sponsored by Mrs. Patricia Haywood Moore and Dr. Roscoe M. Moore, Jr. Tickets and more information are available at www.strathmore.org or by calling (301) 581-5100.
AYO’s forthcoming EP release explores the intricacies of being a black woman in America, heralding a message of love, freedom, and self-discovery. She employs a soulful blend of smooth vocals and poignant lyrics to illustrate her struggles with identity and acceptance. Over the course of her accomplished career, AYO has been featured in NPR’s Christmas special, made the top eight contestants on BET’s Sunday Best, and performed at the Kennedy Center for the 2015 DC Jazz Festival. She was also a soloist for the opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2016. Most recently, AYO portrays a young Ella Fitzgerald in the newly released HBO documentary, The Apollo.
AYO earned a bachelor’s degree from Howard University in Jazz Studies and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Jazz Performance. She credits her time in Howard University’s Jazz Studies program for giving her a solid foundation of music theory and technique from which she could expand and explore. Since graduating, the accomplished singer-songwriter has worked with artists such as Common, Chance the Rapper, and Andra Day.
Strathmore Presents
Artist in Residence
AYO (pop vocalist)
Wednesdays, January 15 & 29, 2020
Wednesday, January 22, 2020 (Free Songwriting Workshop)
7:30 pm
Sponsored by Mrs. Patricia Haywood Moore and Dr. Roscoe M. Moore, Jr.
Tickets $19
Mansion at Strathmore
10701 Rockville Pike
North Bethesda, MD 20852
For additional information or to purchase tickets, visit www.strathmore.org or call (301) 581-5100.
About The Author
Editor-in-Chief/Entertainment Reporter
I knew early on that I wanted to take my place among the stars. One day, my mother saw me reading The Washington Post at a very young age. Who would have known that it would be the building blocks of my journey? Since that day, I dedicated my life to learn all that is learnable. I read everything from encyclopedias, to books, to dictionaries, to magazines. I’m also an avid consumer of television, with my favorite genre being game shows. If you’ve seen me on Who Wants to be a Millionaire or Wheel of Fortune, then you know that this interest has served me well!
My unique style of reporting began back in junior high school, when I started to chronicle the events that shaped my life. Whether it was the annual family vacation or the local science fiction convention, I shot numerous pictures and recorded my thoughts so I could truly appreciate the history. During my senior year at Friendly High, I wrote what was to be my first masterpiece, “Advanced Space Academy – A One Week Journey.” I sent the eleven-page article back to the U.S. Space Camp staff. The article was highly praised for being “one of the best written articles in the history of U.S. Space Camp.” From then on, I knew what I wanted to do for rest of my life — to be a reporter.
Since then, I have trained in Broadcast Journalism at Bowie State University (2008) in Bowie, MD earning a B.S. in Communications. I gained experience in news production and editing through field experiences with Bowie Community Media Corporation, Prince George’s Community Television, and Bowie State University Television. I also wrote scripts for a variety of quiz shows for over five years.
As a lifelong movie buff, I now see close to 100 films every year. I took this love of movies to the next step when I became a co-host for Eclipse Magazine TV in the fall of 2005. While at EMTV, I interviewed celebrities, worked red carpets, and attended a wide variety of movie screenings. In January 2009, I took a leap of faith and started my own entertainment news magazine, The Rogers Revue. Shortly afterward, my life-long journey of studying the silver screen and writing about what I learned finally earned me a place in the Washington Area Film Critics Association.
All of this has led me here, giving you the latest entertainment news for the DMV and the entire nation, and I am truly excited for whatever will come next.
