Video of Live Concert Performed at Nina Simone’s Childhood Home Released

August 21, 2019 by Erica Stewart

In celebration of the National Trust’s ongoing campaign to restore and re-imagine Nina Simone’s childhood home, the National Trust and Come Hear North Carolina have just released a concert video of a live musical performance recorded at her Tryon home last month.

The video features Vanessa Ferguson, a Greensboro artist who gained national fame and fans as a finalist on NBC’s “The Voice,” performing Nina Simone’s classics in the very home where Simone developed her love for the piano.

The concert was produced by Come Hear North Carolina as part of their In The Water program, a live session series that sheds light on the spaces and places that inspire some of North Carolina’s most renowned musicians.

The video’s release follows on the heels of a very successful “Nina Simone Weekend,” organized with the N.C. African American Heritage Commission and the N.C. Arts Council which included a special concert featuring Nina’s daughter, Lisa Simone, on Saturday, August 17. Proceeds from the concert will benefit the campaign to rehabilitate her childhood home.

The public is invited to participate by contributing to a crowdfunding campaign now underway, which has drawn the support of John Legend and Issa Rae. Donations are still being accepted! Don’t miss a chance to be part of history.

More information on the campaign and the concert series may be found here.

This May, our Preservation Month theme is “People Saving Places” to shine the spotlight on everyone doing the work of saving places—in big ways and small—and inspiring others to do the same!

Celebrate!