Montana Tucker

Award-winning singer-songwriter, dancer, actress and social influencer Montana Tucker will headline a multi-arts Concert-4-KindnessÔ on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023 at 4 p.m. in the Carole and Barry Kaye Auditorium, FAU Student Union, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton campus. Tickets range from $10 to $20 and can be purchased at www.fauevents.com or by calling 561-297-6124. The concert is presented by Marilyn and Jay Weinberg.

In her first hometown concert, Tucker, along with dancers, FAU students and various community groups, will take part in a number of performances which include singing, dancing, instrumental music, spoken poetry and video play. This will be intermingled with “kindness” cameos by Tucker’s friends in the arts and entertainment industry meant to inspire unity and peace.

“To amplify kindness in South Florida and beyond, I look forward to headlining this concert,” said Tucker. “I hope each of you will help out by bringing all your friends from all walks of life to this incredible program.”

The event will also include performances by the following:

• Clarence Brooks, director of dance at FAU, will perform “Sweet in the Morning,” choreographed by Leni Williams with music by Bobby McFerrin. Brooks has performed with more than 60 American companies and toured the United States, Europe, and Asia. 
• BriGuel, the internationally renowned bilingual artistic duo from Spain and New York, are on a mission to “harmonize humanity” one note, one film at a time. Brianne and Miguel will perform their own music and share award-winning film shorts they created. Both grandchildren of Holocaust survivors, they support Ukrainian displaced persons finding refuge at the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation in Poland.
• Florida Singing Sons and Chorale Soleil, a new high school student ensemble, will join forces vocally to cultivate arts-aware youth as leaders of tomorrow. Florida Singing Sons has been showcased with prestigious local companies such as Florida Grand Opera and New World Symphony and toured in the United States and major cities in Europe.
• Nat King Cole Generation Hope, named for their famous father by his twin daughters who live in Palm Beach County, provides a legacy of music education, mentoring and resources for youth with the greatest need and fewest resources. Local students and their mentors will perform instrumental music.

The performers all are donating their talents to support the future Kurt and Marilyn Wallach Holocaust and Jewish Studies building at FAU’s Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters. While serving as the hub for Holocaust and Jewish Studies on campus, the Wallach building will bring together under one roof all multidisciplinary education that focuses on human rights’ education, conflict de-escalation, ethics and diplomacy, leadership training and peacemaking. The building also will house FAU’s Peace, Justice and Human Rights Center, a university-wide effort that unites scholars, students, practitioners and community leaders engaged in the themes of social justice, human rights, and peace and nonviolence. All proceeds from the concert will be directed into the “Make a Difference Fund” at FAU to support scholarships and programs within the building.  

“FAU is honored to have Montana bring her talent and reach to our campus, as we share the belief that education is our best hope against hatred in building a better world for all,” said Michael Horswell, Ph.D., dean of the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters. “This concert will help raise awareness and funding to make this a world-class education center in the middle of South Florida.”

Tucker, who has a total of more than 14 million social media followers combined on TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, has opened for icons like Jennifer Lopez, Flo Rida, Ciara and Pitbull. She will perform her popular original song “Be Myself” and present her video “I’m Not Alone,”  also known as “the song that saves lives.” Tucker wrote these songs for her music videos to inspire young people to respect their own and others’ inclusion and diversity.

Extending her message beyond her music, Tucker is using her vast social platform for change. She was recently featured for retracing her roots to Poland for a once-in-a-lifetime exploration of her maternal grandparents’ experience during the Holocaust on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and other national media outlets. This experience was captured on-camera for her followers in a recently released “How to: Never Forget” Holocaust education docuseries. The series of short episodes can be found on all of Tucker’s social platforms to educate and enlighten her audience, who a national survey recently revealed may not even be aware of the Holocaust.

“As we lose the generations from all backgrounds who bore witness and survived injustice, bigotry and watershed events in history in their lifetime, who better than their grandchildren to stand up and speak out against hate, bullying and discrimination, and advocate for better education and understanding,” said Bonnie Kaye, of Kaye Communications, Inc., co-chair and sponsor of the event, along with her husband, Jon Kaye.

For more information about the concert, visit www.fau.edu/artsandletters/concert-4-kindness/. For information on sponsorship opportunities, contact Laurie Carney at 561-297-3606 or lcarney@fau.edu.

-FAU-