St. Louis based artist Brian Owens continues his classic soul series with the music of Ray Charles on Friday, April 18th at the Sheldon Concert Hall. The show is sponsored by The Guitar Junky and proceeds from the show will go directly to The Little Bit Foundation.

The show is part of the 2014 installment of The Masters Series, Brian’s version of a “PhD in classic soul.” Other Masters Series concerts planned for 2014 are Otis Redding, Johnny Cash, Marvin Gaye and a Motown holiday concert. All Masters Series concerts are sponsored by Sterling Bank.

The Ray Charles concert comes on the tail of Brian’s performance at Lincoln Center with pianist Peter Martin and right before Brian leaves on a tour performing his original music in Japan in partnership with Sweet Soul Records and Blue Note. 

On the 18th, Owens will be joined by 15 local musicians - an 8 piece band and additional vocals by Theresa Payne, Sarah Stephens, Tequila Henry and quartet Double Date. Owens will perform some of Ray Charles’ great hits, including “What’d I Say,” “Hit the Road Jack,” “I Got a Woman” and more.

For the entire series, Brian has partnered with the Little Bit Foundation, a non profit that works in the St. Louis public schools to provide basic needs for children at or below the poverty level. Patrons who bring donations of new children's sock and/or underwear for Little Bit inventory will receive a $5-per-ticket voucher for a future Masters Series show. 

On Tuesday, April 15th, Brian will lead a discussion in conjunction with a free screening of the movie "Ray" at The Stage at KDHX. The Sheldon and KDHX have partnered to produce "Master Series Salons" to precede each of the Sheldon Masters Series shows and give audiences a chance to go deeper into the music of each artist. Donations for Little Bit will be accepted at the Salons as well. The Masters Series Salons are free. 

Individual tickets to The Music of Ray Charles are $15 - $50 and are available by visiting the Sheldon online or by calling MetroTix at 314-534-1111

15% discount for groups of 10 or more - contact groups@brianowens.tv

Little Bit donations eligible to receive the $5-per-ticket discount are:
New boys and girls socks sizes small (xxs) through large (xl)
New boys and girls underwear sizes 3/4 through 18/20

More about The Little Bit Foundation
The Little Bit Foundation (Little Bit) was born in 2001 out of a small request from an inner-city teacher and has grown into an organization serving 4,300 elementary and middle school students in 16 St. Louis area schools. Ninety to 100 percent of the students in Little Bit schools are at or near the poverty level. Their 100+ volunteers develop strong partnerships with sponsored schools to offer consistent, empowering hope to children in need. Our presence in the schools, working one-on-one with each child, combined with providing necessities such as clothing, shoes, food, wellness checks and eyeglasses, ensures each child’s personal dignity and has the power to change lives. Visit their website.