Vanessa Williams Continues Lincoln Center's 2016 AMERICAN SONGBOOK Season Tonight

Returning for its 17th season, Lincoln Center's acclaimed series American Songbook continues to broaden its scope in celebrating the best in American singing and songwriting as interpreted by top performers and rising stars, with events at three Lincoln Center venues. The Appel Room series opens with Vanessa Williams performing in the breathtaking space in Frederick P. Rose Hall tonight, January 20, 2016.

A vast and varied array of performances continues there through February 27 for 16 nights of great music. On the remarkable roster: a Peggy Lee tribute concert hosted by James Gavin, with Jane Monheit, Nellie McKay, and other special guests; Loudon Wainwright III; Rita Moreno; Craig Finn of The Hold Steady; the songs of Todd Almond, with special guest Courtney Love; Janis Ian; Jerry Dixon and Mario Cantone; an acoustic set by Foreigner; a concert version of Ricky Ian Gordon and Leonard Foglia's chamber opera A Coffin in Egypt featuring the renowned mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade; Laura Jane Grace of the punk band Against Me!; Broadway's Andy Karl and Orfeh; Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, and Bhi Bhiman in Swimming in Dark Waters-Other Voices of the American Experience; Latin fusion band La Santa Cecilia; gender illusionist Charles Busch; and Terri Lyne Carrington's The Mosaic Project: Love & Soul featuringValerie Simpson and Oleta Adams.

On March 16, American Songbook shifts to the intimate Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse in the Samuel B. & David Rose Building for six performances. Brooklyn-based Australian duo Luluc opens the series, followed by folk singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell; Broadway family The Cooper Clan, featuring Tony Award winner Chuck Cooper and his children Lilli, Eddie, and Alex; Liz Callaway singing the songs of Maltby & Shire; composer and vocalist Imani Uzuri; and the multi-talented Grace McLean. With a seating capacity of just 225, the Kaplan Penthouse allows performers to be heard to best advantage. Complimentary glasses of wine and bottled water are available to audience members, who are seated at cocktail tables. The Kaplan Penthouse also offers stunning city views.

For the first time ever and in keeping with its mission of bringing the best of the performing arts to the broadest possible audience, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts will curate an additional American Songbook festival over the course of one long weekend, March 3-5, 2016, at Mesa Arts Center in Mesa, Arizona.

For the third season, American Songbook will partner with Prudential Investment Management with Invest in the Future of American Song, an online competition through which the public chooses a performer for a free American Songbook concert at the David Rubenstein Atrium on January 19. Three performers have been nominated by Lincoln Center. Beginning on November 16, audience members will vote for their favorite artist via social media. The selection of the winner will be announced on December 14.

Tickets may be purchased online at AmericanSongbook.org, via CenterCharge at 212.721.6500, at the Alice Tully Hall and David Geffen Hall Box Offices, or at the Frederick P. Rose Hall Box Office. Premium packages-including wine, dinner, and the best seats in the house.

Artists and performances subject to change.

More About Tonight's Performance:

American Songbook in The Appel Room

Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway at 60th Street

Tonight, January 20, 2016, 8:30 pm

Vanessa Williams

One of America's most versatile performers, Vanessa Williams brings lustrous sophistication to everything from Stevie Wonder to Sondheim, Kander and Ebb to "Colors of the Wind." Her three-decade career expanded from chart-topping pop artist to critically acclaimed Broadway performer with her 1994 debut in Kiss of the Spider Woman, followed by a Tony-nominated performance in the 2002 revival of Into the Woods. She has sold over 7 million records worldwide and starred in last season's impressive concert version of Show Boat with the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center, which aired on PBS on Live From Lincoln Center in October.