Black Violin to headline weekend music festival

Wilner "Wil B" Baptiste (left) and Kevin "Kev Marcus" Sylvester perform as Black Violin.
{Contributed photo}

Grammy-nominated Black Violin is headed to Lexington. On, Saturday, June 12, they will bring their unique fusion of musical genres to the Depot District Music Fest. The festival will begin at 2 p.m. at Breeden Insurance Amphitheatre located at 333 S. Main St. Lexington, NC 27292. Also performing live will be Scythian, Rhett Price and Abigail Dowd.

Black Violin consists of classically trained duo Kevin Sylvester and Wilner Baptiste, known as Kev Marcus and Wil B respectively. The two met in orchestra class at Dillard High School of the Performing Arts in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Baptiste plays the viola while Sylvester’s instrument of choice is the violin.

Eager to grace a stage, after a year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the group was drawn to the Depot Fest because it was “an opportunity to perform live music again.” Black Violin had many virtual performances and the time away from the road allowed them to focus on other projects.

“We had the opportunity to not only work on a Christmas album but also focus a bit more on the Black Violin foundation,” noted Baptiste.

Now that restrictions are being lifted, people are getting vaccinated and the weather is warming consistently, concerts are becoming the norm again. Refusing to box themselves in, Baptiste compares their style to a bowl of gumbo.

“A lot of ingredients in which the main ones are hip-hop and classical. If you like jazz, classical music, hip-hop, folk, pretty much any style of music you will find something that you can vibe to in our music. Our music style has no category to give you something that you’ve probably never seen before.”

For more information about Black Violin, visit www.blackviolin.net. They’re on social media, too.

Depot District Music Fest information can be found here.