Nicole Henry

This acclaimed Miami vocalist continues to scramble genres

Written by JOHN THOMASON

Songs come to Nicole Henry in myriad ways. Regarding Joan Armatrading’s “Love and Affection,” “I’ve loved it since 1996, when a boyfriend of mine gave me a mixtape for Christmas,” she recalls. “And that was one of the songs on it. I just remember playing it over and over.”

Her version of Rodgers and Hart’s “I Didn’t Know What Time it Was” owes its origins to “laying at the beach with my mom, and I heard some house-music version of a jazz tune. I heard this tempo, and I thought, where can I apply something like that to another song?”

Maria Muldaur’s “Midnight at the Oasis” was recommended to Henry by her sister some seven years before Henry finally recorded it, as well as the aforementioned tunes, on her celebrated 2021 album Time to Love Again.“It’s fun; it’s like, let’s take a little here, a little there,” she says.“I grew up listening to all kinds of music, from classical to Pointer Sisters to Aretha Franklin. And I’m a child of the ‘80s and MTV, so I was a member of the Wham! fan club. I’ve got everything in my bag.” about our civilization as a whole, not only on the national level but internationally. And I say civilization because I refer to history, and how the world always ebbs and flows, and we just have to be careful where we’re ebbing to. It needs to flow more in the direction of love and humanity. And I know the arts are so helpful in assisting with that. That was really the statement. All of the songs on the album are covers. These are songs that I wanted people to love again. … I love finding lyrics that have been out there and just bringing them back to our ears. It’s like reading a poem at a different time of your life, or watching a movie—you go back and watch it years later, and it means something different to you. ing-arts theaters are struggling in a different way, because [people] seem to be going to smaller venues. People say,“it feels so good to be back out again; you don’t know what we’ve missed, or what you’ve given us.” It’s beautiful to be appreciated.

Henry, a Pennsylvania native, has mostly called South Florida home since she earned her degree, in communications and theatre, at the University of Miami. The North Miami Beach resident has released eight albums since 2004, achieving a national reach. She has performed more than 3,500 concerts in more than 20 countries, and her music regularly wins awards and charts on Billboard.

Though often characterized as a smooth jazz singer, Henry enjoys discovering new arrangements for songs by a wide range of artists, from Sade to Frank Sinatra, Bob Marley to Fleetwood Mac. She will bring these eclectic sensibilities to Festival of the Arts Boca on March 10.

What’s your process for selecting material that works for you?

If You Go

WHAT: Nicole Henry

WHERE : Mizner Park Amphitheater, 590 Plaza Real, Boca Raton

WHEN: March 10, 7:30 p.m. COST: $15-$100 CONTACT: 561/571-5270, festivalboca.org

What will you be performing at Festival of the Arts?

There’s definitely going to be music from Time to Love Again. ... So it’s going to be a fun, big production with the horn section and the percussionists, and my core four-piece band. I also have a new CD coming out in the first quarter of 2023, and it’s a tribute to one of my favorite jazz legends, Nancy Wilson.

Interesting use of the word ‘again’ in your album Time to Love Again. Is that a comment on the strife we’ve all been through the past couple of years? It’s a political statement. It’s a statement

I feel like audiences have come back from the pandemic hungrier for live experiences that move them, and more appreciative of performers such as you. Have you noticed that?

It’s a mix, because I’ve been really fortunate where the shows that I’ve done on a national level have had a good response as far as audience attendance, but on a larger scale, perform-

I have always been a lover of music, and it’s 50/50—the groove or the lyrics. I believe any song can or should be redone. This last album is almost equal parts my band. That’s why I put on Spotify my quartet’s name on the album. These guys know me, we’ve created my sound, and continue to create my sound over the years. Most of the arrangements on Time to Love Again are ones we’ve come up with in our rehearsals or live performances.

What would be the most left-field selection in your catalog—something the average listener might be surprised that you would interpret?

Something rock ‘n’ roll. When I did my live ‘70s album, and I did “Stuck in the Middle With You,” that was really fun.

Now-Feb. 12:

“Anything Goes” at the Wick Theatre, 7901 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton; $95; 561/995-2333, thewick.org. A frothy musical confection set aboard a luxury ocean liner, Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes” premiered as a bubbly balm to a Depression-era Broadway in 1934, and has enjoyed nearly 90 years of revivals and adaptations. Expect madcap characters, witty repartee and such Porter standards as “You’re the Top,” “I Get a Kick Out of You” and the title song.

Now-April 2:

“Washi Transformed: New Expressions in Japanese Paper” at Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, 4000 Morikami Park Road, Delray Beach; $9-$15 museum admission; 561/495-0233, morikami.org. Japan has been a leading nation in paper art for centuries, and “Washi Transformed” connects the past to the present. The exhibition highlights nine contemporary paper artists whose usage of the humble medium includes sculptures and installations as well as two-dimensional works.

Feb. 3-5:

GroundUP Music Festival at Miami Beach Bandshell, 7275 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; $125-$335; 305/672-5202, groundupmusicfestival.com. Veteran Grammy-winning jam-funk fusion band Snarky Puppy headlines this eclectic festival on all three nights. The nearly 20 other acts include genre-hopping electric bassist Meshell Ndegeocello, Jeff Tweedy of indie-rock innovators Wilco, and award-nominated singer-songwriter Madison Cunningham.

Feb. 4-5:

South Florida Garlic Fest at Village Park Athletics Complex, 11700 Pierson Road, Wellington; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun.; $15-$50; 561/2790907, garlicfestfl.com. The annual Garlic Fest welcomes headliner Drake White, who has blended the conventions of country music with a soulful roots-oriented sound. As always, the garlic-infused Gourmet Alley features more than 100 delicacies laced with the titular aromatic herb.

Feb. 6-14:

“Broadway Celebrates the Big Apple—A Musical Memories Concert” at Delray Beach Playhouse, 950 N.W. Ninth St., Delray Beach; various show times; $42; 561/272-1281, delraybeachplayhouse.com. It’s been said that more songs have been written for New York than were written for Frank Sinatra. This locally written and produced musical revue celebrates many of them, including Big Applecentric hits from “Annie,” “West Side Story,” “The Producers” and more.

Feb. 7-12:

“Tootsie” at Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach; various show times; $31-$78; 561/832-7469, kravis.org. Sydney Pollack’s 1982 film “Tootsie” was a watershed moment in American comedy—a modern narrative of gender-bending that lent mainstream credibility to a culture then relegated to the shadows. In this touring, Tonywinning Broadway adaptation, the protagonist auditions for a musical, allowing the story to double as a satirical critique of its own genre’s conventional tropes.

Feb. 3-19:

“The Science of Leaving Omaha” at Palm Beach Dramaworks, 301 Clematis St., West Palm Beach; various show times; $64$84; 561/514-4042, palmbeachdramaworks. org. This latest dramedy by prolific playwright Carter W. Lewis centers on two people who meet in a basement crematorium: the 18-year-old high-school dropout working the night shift, and the widow of the person lying on a slab in front of her. These strangers find shared solace in Lewis’ warm and humanistic play.

Feb. 4-April 2:

“Contemplating Character: Portrait Drawings & Oil Sketches from Jacques-Louis David to Lucian Freud” at Society of the Four Arts, 100 Four Arts Plaza, Palm Beach; $10; 561/655-7226, fourarts. org. This broad survey of portraiture from the 18th century to the present day features 81 works on paper by 68 artists. In addition to the major portraitists of the title, the exhibition includes works by Alfred Hitchcock, William Merritt Chase, George Wesley Bellows and many more.

Feb. 4:

Classic Albums Live: Fleetwood Mac at Wold Performing Arts Center at Lynn University, 3601 N. Military Trail, Boca Raton; 7:30 p.m.; $50-$70; 561/2379000, lynn.edu. Honoring the album era, the tribute project Classic Albums Live plays classic LPs live—note for note, cut for cut. This time, they’ll take on Fleetwood Mac, the band’s eponymous 1975 landmark album, and its first to feature Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.

Feb. 4:

Boyz II Men at Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach; 8 p.m.; $39$139; 561/832-7469, kravis. org. Enormously influential in the velvety sound of 1990s R&B, Boyz II Men’s intricate vocal harmonies, wedded to hip-hop beats, galvanized audiences and critics to the tune of four Grammy Awards and more than 64 million albums sold worldwide.

Founding member Nathan Morris still carries the torch with Shawn Stockman and Wanya Morris.

Feb. 8:

REO Speedwagon at Pompano Beach Amphitheatre, 1806 N.E. Sixth St., Pompano Beach; 7:30 p.m.; $35-$229; pompanobeacharts.org. Still fronted by Kevin Cronin, whose soaring and iconic vocals have led the group since 1972, REO Speedwagon tours its more than 50 years of enduring heartland rock to the amphitheater stage, including Top 40 hits like “Keep On Loving You,” “Can’t Fight This Feeling” and “Take It On the Run.”

Feb. 8:

Delfeayo Marsalis Quintet at Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 S.W. Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale; 7:45 p.m.; $65; 954/4620222, browardcenter.org. Sometimes considered the most fun member of the eminently talented Marsalis family (his brothers are Wynton and Branford), the jovial trombonist Delfeayo has released eight albums under his own name, and has played with such jazz giants as Ray Charles, Art Blakey and Elvin Jones.

Feb. 10:

“The Spirit of Harriet Tubman” at Arts Garage, 94 N.E. Second Ave., Delray Beach; 8 p.m.; $30; 561/4506457, artsgarage.org. Now celebrating its 25th year, this solo show by award-winning actor-playwright Leslie McCurdy channels the spirit of Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman, from childhood to old age, and with nothing but a trunk of costumes on a bare stage to supplement her vision.

Feb. 11:

Laura Bush and Barbara Pierce Bush at Kaye Auditorium at FAU, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton; 4 p.m.; $35-$125; 561/297-6124, fauevents.com. A notable champion for literacy and education during her eightyear tenure as first lady, Laura Bush established the annual National Book Festival in 2001, and also advanced causes for women. In this live discussion, she’ll speak on a range of issues and personal priorities with her daughter, Barbara Pierce Bush.

Feb. 12-26:

“Good People” at Maltz Jupiter Theatre, 1001 E. Indiantown Road, Jupiter; various show times; $71-$96; 561/575-2223, jupitertheatre.org. This play by David Lindsay-Abaire is set in his native blue-collar South Boston, where a newly laid-off single mother, who has just lost her job at a dollar store, contacts an old flame, now a successful doctor, with a scheme to blackmail him. Class and race figure heavily into Lindsay-Abaire’s absorbing and relevant drama.

Feb. 14:

Violinist Simone Porter at Flagler Museum, 1 Whitehall Way, Palm Beach; 7:30 p.m.; $75; 561/655-2833, flaglermuseum. us. This acclaimed and emerging artist made her professional solo debut at age 10 and has since performed with many of the world’s great orchestras and on the Emmy-winning TV show “From the Top: Live From Carnegie Hall.” With minimal accompaniment, she will perform masterworks from Beethoven, Von Biber and Franck.

Feb. 15-19:

“All Things Equal: The Life and Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg” at Delray Beach Playhouse, 950 N.W. Ninth St., Delray Beach; various show times; $49; 561/272-1281, delraybeachplayhouse.com. In Tony-winning playwright Rupert Holmes’ posthumous one-woman show “All Things Equal,” the influential Supreme Court Justice holds court in her chambers, sharing a life of challenges overcome and glass ceilings broken. In the process, Holmes captures his subject’s wit, compassion and directness.

Feb. 24:

America with Al Stewart at Pompano Beach Amphitheatre, 1806 N.E. Sixth St., Pompano Beach; 8 p.m.; $39-$125; pompanobeacharts.org. Though founded in London in 1970, America has spent decades living up to its namesake, with an eclectic sound rooted in the sundry musical threads of the U.S.—pop to jazz, folk to country, Latin to rock. Veteran Scottish folk-rocker Al Stewart will open the show with hits such as “Year of the Cat.”

Feb. 24:

Paul Reiser at the Parker, 707 N.E. Eighth St., Fort Lauderdale; 8 p.m.; $27.50-$47.50; 954/4620222, browardcenter.org. From his formative work in the 1982 cult drama “Diner” to his awardwinning run on the archetypal ‘90s sitcom “Mad About You” to his recent supporting roles on “Stranger Things” and “The Kominsky Method,” Reiser has enjoyed a multifaceted career on screens large and small. At this appearance, he returns to his standup comedy roots.

“Cosi Fan Tutte”

Feb. 24-26:

Palm Beach Opera: “Così Fan Tutte” at Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach; 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun.; $25-$170; 561/832-7469, kravis.org. Mozart’s 18thcentury opera buffa remains one of the signature pieces in the comedic operatic canon, offering farcical high jinks and insights into human nature and the relationships between men and women, through a story of a misogynistic schemer who tries to convince a pair of husbandsto-be that all women betray their partners.

Feb. 15-May 21:

Whitfield Lovell: “Passages” at Boca Raton Museum of Art, 501 Plaza Real, Boca Raton; $12-$16 museum admission; 561/392-2500, bocamuseum. org. “Passages” marks the most comprehensive survey yet of this contemporary artist, including drawings on pencil, oil stick, charcoal or crayon, often paired with found objects salvaged and manipulated from flea markets and antique shops. His art addresses historical brutalities toward AfricanAmericans through the prisms of identity and memory.

Feb. 17:

“Polaroid Stories” at Studio One Theatre at FAU, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton; various show times; $25; 561/297-6124, fauevents. com. Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” helped inspire Naomi Iizuka’s “Polaroid Stories,” which combines themes from classical mythology with real stories from three modern street kids. Poetry and profanity share the stage in Iizuka’s compelling exploration of storytelling’s transcendent, transformational power, in this student production directed by Lee Soroko.

Feb. 18:

Stanley Jordan Plays Jimi at Arts Garage, 94 N.E. Second Ave., Delray Beach; 6 and 8:30 p.m.; $50-$55; 561/450-6457, artsgarage. org. Guitarist Jordan, most famous as a jazz artist—his 1985 breakthrough Magic Touch spent 51 weeks as No. 1 on the Billboard charts— returns to his roots as a rock artist with this searing and inventive tribute to hero Jimi Hendrix, featuring reimagined orchestrations and evocative costumes.

Feb. 18-19:

Downtown Delray Beach Craft Festival at Fourth and Atlantic avenues; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; free; 561/243-1077, artfestival.com. More than 100 of the nation’s most talented artisans will offer a variety of jewelry, pottery, ceramics, photography, painting, clothing and more, all handmade in America, at this third-annual downtown gathering, with price ranges for all budgets.

Feb. 25:

Martha Redbone: “Bone Hill” at Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach; 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 p.m. Sun.; $35 and up; 561/832-7469, kravis.org. Raised largely by Native American grandparents, soul singer Redbone combines the songs of this heritage with the ecstatic grooves of 20th century Black American music. In “Bone Hill” she explores the myriad sonic avenues that have affected her life and work, from Cherokee chants to bluegrass, R&B, gospel, jazz and rock ‘n’ roll.

Feb. 25:

James Taylor and his All-Star Band at Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 S.W. Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale; 7 p.m.; $195 and up; 954/4620222, browardcenter.org. With Grammy Awards spanning 1972 to 2021, James Taylor’s appeal has traversed generations. The consummate singer-songwriter and heartfelt tribune of the troubadour culture, Taylor will play many of his innumerable hits, alongside newer compositions, at this annual fundraising concert for Broward Center.

Feb. 28:

Placido Domingo: “A Life in Music and Song” at Society of the Four Arts, 100 Four Arts Plaza, Palm Beach; 3 p.m.; $50; 561/655-7226, fourarts.org. Opera-fluent in six languages, Domingo is one of the world’s most versatile and accomplished singermusicians, having accrued 14 Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards in a career that has spanned more than 65 years. In this appearance, he will perform as well as share stories and insights from his rich history in music.

Feb. 28:

Cuarteto Latinoamericano at Flagler Museum, 1 Whitehall Way, Palm Beach; 7:30 p.m.; $75; 561/655-2833, flaglermuseum.us. For more than 30 years, this esteemed Mexican quartet has been a leading exponent of Latin American music for the string quartet, winning two Latin Grammy Awards and performing more than 100 commissions written for them. In this program, they play music from Henry Purcell, Heitor Villa-Lobos and others.