Wil Baptiste and Kev Marcus may be classically trained but the music they make in Black Violin is far from standard.
The duo’s nationwide tour makes a March 20 stop at Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet with Sinkane as the opening act.
“It’s going to be a very impactful show,” said Baptiste, who plays viola and performs vocals for the Florida-based Black Violin.
“Just think of a rock concert. Instead of guitar you have violin. It’s hip-hop. It’s classical. It’s a lot of different mixtures of different genres in there, but it’s hopeful. It encourages people to move and dance. We encourage people to express themselves because that’s what we’re doing onstage.”
Baptiste and Marcus, who plays violin, perform with DJ SPS on the turntable, Liston Gregory on keyboards and Nat Stokes on drums.
The set list includes songs from 2019’s “Take the Stairs,” which earned Black Violin a Grammy Award nomination for best contemporary instrumental album.
“My favorite song is probably ‘A Way Home.’ It’s off the ‘Take the Stairs’ album,” said Baptiste, who cited the track’s energy and sonic elements.
“It has some African-type drums on there and just sounds really big. Also, it’s talking about ‘Let’s find our way home.’ It’s a really beautiful song.”
Black Violin, which has toured with Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park and opened for Wu-Tang Clan, also was nominated for a Grammy for best Americana performance for being featured on Blind Boys of Alabama’s song “The Message.”
“It feels great to be recognized by peers,” Baptiste said.
“A Grammy is one of those things you think about getting one day. To be nominated was just a really huge honor for us.”
Baptiste and Marcus have come a long way from meeting in a Florida high school orchestra class and playing their classical instruments on top of the tunes they were listening to on the radio in their spare time.
Black Violin has backed Alicia Keys at the 2004 Billboard Music Awards, won the Showtime at the Apollo 2005 Legend title and performed at then-First Lady Michelle Obama and then-Second Lady Jill Biden’s “Kids Inaugural: Our Children, Our Future” in 2013 during two decades of fusing classical and hip-hop.
“We’re able to convey this message and connect and fuse these two things. It almost seems like, ‘How are you able to do that?’ That’s why I think people are drawn to it,” Baptiste said.
“We’re able to do that because we are both of these two influences, both of these two genres at the same time so it’s authentic and it’s real because we are these things.”
Baptiste and Marcus have broken barriers not only through their music but also through their Black Violin Foundation Inc., which they launched in 2019.
The nonprofit organization is billed as being dedicated to empowering youth by working with them in their communities to provide access to quality music programs that encourage creativity and innovation.
“It’s very important. It’s very dear to our hearts to be able to do that,” Baptiste said.
“We had a lot of people that were there for us and guided us. Without these individuals we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
Black Violin
When: 7:30 p.m. March 20
Where: Rialto Square Theatre, 102 N. Chicago St., Joliet
Tickets: $34-$54
Information: 815-726-6600; rialtosquare.com
Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
