Grammy Nominated Singer/Songwriter
ERIC BENÉT
Just Added to the Saturday Lineup
of the 15th Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival
Co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield
September 18 – 21, 2025
Saturday and Sunday Concerts Are Free on Liberty Avenue
in Front of the August Wilson African Cultural Center
PITTSBURGH, PA - June 4, 2025 - Vocalist/songwriter Eric Benét, who has been one of the most soulful and enduring R&B artists since the ‘90s with his chart topping hits, vibrant videos and intriguing collaborations, is newly added to the 15th edition of the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival (PIJF) co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, on Saturday, September 20. The concert is free on Liberty Avenue in front of the August Wilson African American Cultural Center (AWAACC) in downtown Pittsburgh.
Benét comes to the festival hot on the heels of his latest single, “Can’t Wait,” from his new album The Co-Star, his first full length project in eight years on his own JBR Creative Group record label. The album is a series of duets with R&B, pop and world music artists including Ari Lennox, Alex Isley, Chante Moore, Corrine Bailey Rae, Tamar Braxton, Judith Hill, Goapele, India.Arie, Jordin Sparks, Autumn Paige, SalDoce and Pia Toscano.
“If I look back on my entire career, I think my duets were some of the most powerful songs,” Benét tells RatetheRnb.com. “For the past 10 years, it’s always been in the back of my mind, like, ‘Yo, one of these days, I need to do a whole album where it’s all duets.’ This seems the perfect opportunity because I haven’t had a project out in like eight years.”
His singles, “Spend My Life with You” (with Tamia, 2000), “You’re the Only One” (2009), “Love & Life” (2009), and “Sometimes I Cry” (2012) earned Grammy nominations for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or a Group with Vocals, Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best Traditional R&B Performance. Benét’s album Love & Life (2009) garnered four Grammy nominations in the categories of Best R&B Vocal Performance.
Thanks to the generous sponsorship of his performance by The Wilson Group (TWG), Benét will bring his soulful, jazz-fluent R&B artistry to the PIJF stage, bathing downtown Pittsburgh with his dope downbeats.
“The Wilson Group is a steadfast supporter of arts and culture in our region, and we are proud to be the presenting sponsor for internationally celebrated artist Eric Benet’s appearance at the 15th edition of the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival,” said Derrick Wilson, TWG’s CEO/Founder. “We at the Wilson Group look forward to another 15 years of superb music and art coming from the August Wilson African American Cultural Center.”
The 15th edition of the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, produced by the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, takes place September 18 – 21, 2025 inside AWAACC with free concerts on Saturday and Sunday in front of the Center. In addition to the ticketed events featuring a Salute to George Benson with Dan Wilson and Jonathan Butler and the Taste of Jazz Party, the weekend’s artists include Branford Marsalis, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Jazzmeia Horn, Etienne Charles & Creole Soul, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Tarbaby, Bilal, Obed Calvaire, Keith David, Be’la Dona, Kandace Springs, Ella Bric, Nathan-Paul Davis, Michael Mayo, John Shannon, Ekep Nkwelle and more.
SPONSORS
The 2025 Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival is co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, with generous support from the Mellon Foundation. Additional sponsors include The Wilson Group, UPMC and UPMC Health Plan, BMW of Pittsburgh, Visit Pittsburgh, Duolingo, and Carnegie Mellon University. Presenting Sponsor for the Libation Station Tent is Bacardi.
August Wilson African American Cultural Center's presentation of the Jazzmeia Horn Quartet is supported through a Chamber Music America Presenter Consortium for Jazz grant in collaboration with Jazz House Kids and DC Jazz Festival. A component of the Doris Duke Jazz Ensembles Project, Presenter Consortium for Jazz is funded by the Doris Duke Foundation.
Major support for AWAACC’s operations is provided by Richard King Mellon Foundation, Henry L. Hillman Foundation, Heinz Endowments, and the Allegheny Regional Asset District (RAD).
AWAACC’s programming is made possible by generous support from its donors. For a complete list, visit awaacc.org.
ABOUT HIGHMARK INC.
An independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Highmark Inc., together with its Blue-branded affiliates, collectively comprise the fifth largest overall Blue Cross Blue Shield-affiliated organization in the country with approximately 7 million members in Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia and western and northeastern New York. Its diversified businesses serve group customer and individual needs across the United States through dental insurance and other related businesses. For more information, visit www.highmark.com.
The Highmark Bright Blue Futures program‘s goal is to ensure healthier, brighter, stronger futures for all, and it focuses on improving access to care, quality of life, and economic resilience in the communities the enterprise serves. For more information, visit Highmark Bright Blue Futures.
ABOUT AUGUST WILSON AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER
The August Wilson African American Cultural Center is a nonprofit cultural organization located in Pittsburgh’s cultural district that generates artistic, educational, and community initiatives that advance the legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson. One of the largest cultural centers in the country focused exclusively on the African American experience and the celebration of Black culture and the African diaspora, the non-profit organization welcomes more than 100,000 visitors locally and nationally. Through year-round programming across multiple genres, such as the annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, Black Bottom Film Festival, AWCommunity Days, TRUTHSayers speaker series, and rotating art exhibits in its galleries, the Center provides a platform for established and emerging artists of color whose work reflects the universal issues of identity that Wilson tackled, and which still resonate today.
For tickets and more information on the 15th Anniversary edition of the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, log on to https://pittsburghjazzfest.org.
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“If I look back on my entire career, I think my duets were some of the most powerful songs,” Benét tells RatetheRnb.com. “For the past 10 years, it’s always been in the back of my mind, like, ‘Yo, one of these days, I need to do a whole album where it’s all duets.’ This seems the perfect opportunity because I haven’t had a project out in like eight years.”
His singles, “Spend My Life with You” (with Tamia, 2000), “You’re the Only One” (2009), “Love & Life” (2009), and “Sometimes I Cry” (2012) earned Grammy nominations for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or a Group with Vocals, Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best Traditional R&B Performance. Benét’s album Love & Life (2009) garnered four Grammy nominations in the categories of Best R&B Vocal Performance.
Thanks to the generous sponsorship of his performance by The Wilson Group (TWG), Benét will bring his soulful, jazz-fluent R&B artistry to the PIJF stage, bathing downtown Pittsburgh with his dope downbeats.
“The Wilson Group is a steadfast supporter of arts and culture in our region, and we are proud to be the presenting sponsor for internationally celebrated artist Eric Benet’s appearance at the 15th edition of the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival,” said Derrick Wilson, TWG’s CEO/Founder. “We at the Wilson Group look forward to another 15 years of superb music and art coming from the August Wilson African American Cultural Center.”
The 15th edition of the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, produced by the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, takes place September 18 – 21, 2025 inside AWAACC with free concerts on Saturday and Sunday in front of the Center. In addition to the ticketed events featuring a Salute to George Benson with Dan Wilson and Jonathan Butler and the Taste of Jazz Party, the weekend’s artists include Branford Marsalis, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Jazzmeia Horn, Etienne Charles & Creole Soul, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Tarbaby, Bilal, Obed Calvaire, Keith David, Be’la Dona, Kandace Springs, Ella Bric, Nathan-Paul Davis, Michael Mayo, John Shannon, Ekep Nkwelle and more.
SPONSORS
The 2025 Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival is co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, with generous support from the Mellon Foundation. Additional sponsors include The Wilson Group, UPMC and UPMC Health Plan, BMW of Pittsburgh, Visit Pittsburgh, Duolingo, and Carnegie Mellon University. Presenting Sponsor for the Libation Station Tent is Bacardi.
August Wilson African American Cultural Center's presentation of the Jazzmeia Horn Quartet is supported through a Chamber Music America Presenter Consortium for Jazz grant in collaboration with Jazz House Kids and DC Jazz Festival. A component of the Doris Duke Jazz Ensembles Project, Presenter Consortium for Jazz is funded by the Doris Duke Foundation.
Major support for AWAACC’s operations is provided by Richard King Mellon Foundation, Henry L. Hillman Foundation, Heinz Endowments, and the Allegheny Regional Asset District (RAD).
AWAACC’s programming is made possible by generous support from its donors. For a complete list, visit awaacc.org.
ABOUT HIGHMARK INC.
An independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Highmark Inc., together with its Blue-branded affiliates, collectively comprise the fifth largest overall Blue Cross Blue Shield-affiliated organization in the country with approximately 7 million members in Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia and western and northeastern New York. Its diversified businesses serve group customer and individual needs across the United States through dental insurance and other related businesses. For more information, visit www.highmark.com.
The Highmark Bright Blue Futures program‘s goal is to ensure healthier, brighter, stronger futures for all, and it focuses on improving access to care, quality of life, and economic resilience in the communities the enterprise serves. For more information, visit Highmark Bright Blue Futures.
ABOUT AUGUST WILSON AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER
The August Wilson African American Cultural Center is a nonprofit cultural organization located in Pittsburgh’s cultural district that generates artistic, educational, and community initiatives that advance the legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson. One of the largest cultural centers in the country focused exclusively on the African American experience and the celebration of Black culture and the African diaspora, the non-profit organization welcomes more than 100,000 visitors locally and nationally. Through year-round programming across multiple genres, such as the annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, Black Bottom Film Festival, AWCommunity Days, TRUTHSayers speaker series, and rotating art exhibits in its galleries, the Center provides a platform for established and emerging artists of color whose work reflects the universal issues of identity that Wilson tackled, and which still resonate today.
For tickets and more information on the 15th Anniversary edition of the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, log on to https://pittsburghjazzfest.org.
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