This week brought exciting news for stalwart of the Charlotte music scene, Harvey Cummings II. Harvey announced Tuesday that his ensemble would be playing in front of keynote speaker, Oprah Winfrey, at the 2019 UNCF Maya Angelou Women Who Lead Luncheon in Charlotte this Saturday, Sept. 28.

Harvey referred to this event as a #scratchesoffbucketlist gig on his Instagram post … and we caught up with him for a few more details. (P.S. The bad news is … the event is sold out. But, that’s also good news for UNCF.)

How did you land the gig and what are you doing at the event?

I got the call from the UNCF event/social chair, Tiffany Jones. She asked for my availability and did NOT mention Oprah. (LOL) We’ve done this gig before in the past.

We are playing at the beginning of the program as people enter the ballroom. The setup for this one will be a jazz/hip hop trio (keys, drums, trumpet). We’ll play classic jams from Coltrane all the way to Lizzo. (And, we’ll throw some of my originals in there, too.)

What are you going to do to prep?

I just need to pick up my tux from the cleaners! Everything else just comes naturally. We’ll make sure to set up early for the event and drink lots of water! It should be fun. I can’t wait.

How are you feeling about it?

I feel good! I feel honored! My job is always to create a vibe and ambience for people to chill to. I always want to take people on a musical journey.