YahZarah Hayti Heritage Center

YahZarah

Saturday, October 10, 2026, 7 PM
Hayti Heritage Center

YahZarah is a fearless and genre-defying artist whose powerful voice and dynamic stage presence have made her one of the most celebrated figures in contemporary music. Honored at the Kennedy Center Honors: Beyond the Broadcast series, recognized at the Apollo Theater for her 25-year contribution to music, and awarded the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, her influence reaches far beyond the stage. Her acclaimed album The Ballad of Purple St. James received GRAMMY consideration in six categories, cementing her as a singular creative force.

Spanning rock & roll, jazz, R&B, gospel, funk, and cinematic soul, YahZarah creates music that is both futuristic and rooted in ancestral truth. She has toured and recorded with icons including Erykah Badu, Lenny Kravitz, Prince, Anderson .Paak, Bilal Oliver, Elvis Costello, Raheem DeVaughn, the Roots, and the Foreign Exchange. Her song “Running” was handpicked by Spike Lee for his Netflix series She’s Gotta Have It. Most recently, YahZarah produced and scored music for Hulu’s Washington Black, starring Sterling K. Brown.

Whether performing with symphonies, creating in the studio, or scoring for film and television, YahZarah is the rare artist who doesn’t just step onto the stage—she transforms it.

Open Stu: Juneteenth Edition

By Ashley Strahm • June 4, 2026

Open Stu: Juneteenth Edition Saturday, June 20, 2026, 7-11 PM Hayti Heritage Center, Free, Open to all Open Stu is a living documentary project born right here in Durham. Co-created by artists Derrick Beasley and Marcella Zigbuo Camara, it's a space to cultivate and document Black creative community — rooted in the tradition of Scurlock's studio portraiture, the Kamoinge Collective, and the pop-up gatherings of the Harlem Renaissance. On Juneteenth, it comes home to Hayti. Come sit for a portrait with Derrick. Explore archival ephemera curated by Marcella. Let the DJ move you. Grab a drink. Stay a while. This is your invitation to be seen, documented, and celebrated — right where you belong. Free and open to all.