Ranky Tanky and Ms. Lisa Fischer Turn Up the Heat at App Summer

Ranky Tanky and Ms. Lisa Fischer Turn Up the Heat at App Summer

Two sets of Grammy-winning artists perform a stirring blend of jazz, gospel, funk, and soul on Sunday, July 6 at 7:30pm.

BOONE, NC — Appalachian State University’s annual summer arts celebration, An Appalachian Summer, presents Ranky Tanky with very special guest Ms. Lisa Fischer, Sunday, July 6 at 7:30pm at the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts. The Charleston, South Carolina-based Ranky Tanky (a Gullah phrase for “get funky”), whose jazz-meets-gospel-soul-and-funk-influenced arrangements of traditional Gullah music NPR calls “lively, soulful honey to the ears,” joins forces with fellow Grammy winner Lisa Fischer, who the Minneapolis Star Tribune says brings “soul, jazz, rock, gospel, folk, pop, and classical …  [and] cuts loose with funk and fierceness and rocks with abandon.” Tickets are $15-$45 with discounts for App State faculty/staff and local residents. To purchase, visit appsummer.org or call the box office at 828-262-4046.

App Summer runs June 28-July 26 and features a diverse lineup of music, dance, theatre, film and visual arts programming. This season’s artists include Amos Lee, Ranky Tanky with Ms. Lisa Fischer, Tessa Lark, Joshua Roman and Edgar Meyer, Joan Osborne and Lisa Loeb, Heather Headley with Western Piedmont Symphony, Peabo Bryson, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, The 5 Browns, as well as more music, visual arts, and international films. Visit AppSummer.org to explore the full season and purchase tickets.

Ranky Tanky with Ms. Lisa Fischer Tickets
$45 Tier 1, $35 Tier 2, $25 Tier 3, $15 children 12 and younger. Discounts: 10% off Tiers 1, 2 & 3 for App State faculty/staff and local residents of Ashe, Avery, Caldwell, Watauga, and Wilkes counties. To purchase, visit appsummer.org or call the box office at 828-262-4046.

About Ranky Tanky

Ranky Tanky have established themselves as passionate global ambassadors for their local culture and community, helping to faithfully preserve the traditions originated by African Americans in the coastal South during slavery that are kept alive through the present day. In 2023, Ranky Tanky took home the Grammy Award for Best Regional Roots Music Album, celebrating their second Grammy win in a four-year span. Celebrating the music of their West African-rooted Gullah community, Ranky Tanky were honored in 2023 for their first-ever live album — Live at the 2022 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival — which was captured during their debut at the iconic festival. Ranky Tanky previously took home Best Regional Roots Music Album in 2020 for their studio album Good Time, marking the first-ever Grammy Award win for an album of Gullah music. The five-piece have now won Best Regional Roots Album for two consecutive releases and become the most awarded group in the history of the category.

 The 2023 Grammy win is the latest accolade in a long line of “firsts” that Ranky Tanky has achieved for the music of the Gullah community. The five-piece also reached #1 on each of the Billboard, Amazon and iTunes jazz charts, brought their songs and stories to national television on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, TODAY, and PBS Newshour.

 About Lisa Fischer

After four decades of featured background singing with icons like Luther Vandross, The Rolling

Stones, Chaka Khan, Tina Turner, and Nine Inch Nails, Lisa Fischer — who incidentally is a music collaborator on Alonzo King LINES Ballet’s Deep River, which will also be presented by App Summer on July 19 — set out to take centerstage with her own humble, heartfelt song. The 2013 Best Documentary Oscar-winning film Twenty Feet from Stardom altered the course of Lisa’s musical journey, telling her story, with clips of her legendary duets with Sting or with Mick Jagger on “Gimme Shelter,” left audiences eager to see and hear more, so Lisa took the chance to set out on her own reinventing classic songs with her co-conspirators JC Maillard and Grand Baton. Their organic fusion of Caribbean psychedelic soul and jazzy progressive rock ignited Lisa’s flexibility and freedom of expression, awakening her lifelong desire to make music that heals but still rocks the house.

While Lisa’s range is legendary, her greatest gift is the ability to connect, to reach the hearts of

her listeners. Raised in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn, she emerged from New York’s fervent studio scene in the early 1980s, sang for two decades with legendary vocalist Luther Vandross, and released “So Intense,” earning her first Best R&B Performance Grammy with “How Can I Ease the Pain.” She joined the Rolling Stones for their 1989 Steel Wheels tour, and continued to grace their stage for the next 26 years. Lisa’s passion for constant growth and experimentation with different styles included recent collaborations with jazz pianist Taylor Eigsti, Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Michael McDonald, Eric Krasno, Talib Kweli, Billy Childs and YoYo Ma, the BBC Proms / Jules Buckley and the Metropole Orkest, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, and Anna Deavere Smith’s Notes from the Field for HBO.

“There are some artists that bring a certain magic to their live performances that engage you in a way that is far beyond just listening to a record. Lisa Fischer is definitely one of these artists. Her voice alone demands your full and undivided attention. You can see it in the faces of the packed-out audiences, as every eye in the venue is transfixed by her incredible, yet effortless-looking performance. The range of her voice is quite frankly unbelievable. Add to that the control, the power, the delicateness, and the crystalline clarity, and you truly have a one-in-a-million performer on your hands. Whilst you might come across a singer with some of these attributes, to find one who has all of them in abundance is something unique and special.” – Kirstine Walton / Loud Hailer Magazine

About All Tickets for An Appalachian Summer

With ticket prices ranging from $5-$65, as well as several free events and discounts for both children, students, and App State faculty/staff, App Summer offers unique opportunities for residents and visitors to create arts experiences suited to their individual artistic tastes and budgets. Purchase in person at the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts Box Office (733 Rivers St), online at AppSummer.org, or by phone at 828-262-4046.

App State Faculty/Staff: 10% off Tiers 1, 2 & 3. Contact Box Office for discount code.

Local Residents (Ashe, Avery, Caldwell, Watauga, and Wilkes counties): 10% off Tiers 1, 2 & 3 for select events. Enter zip code before selecting tickets online.

About An Appalachian Summer

Presented by Appalachian State University’s Office of Arts Engagement and Cultural Resources, this annual celebration of the performing and visual arts is held every summer in venues across the university campus, and features a diverse mix of music, dance, theatre, visual arts, and film programming. An Appalachian Summer began in 1984 as a chamber music series and retains strong roots in classical music, combined with a variety of other programming geared to varied artistic tastes, preferences, and price points. The series has become one of the region’s leading arts events, attracting more than 27,000 visitors to the High Country each summer. App Summer has been named one of the “Top Twenty Events in the Southeast” by the Southeast Tourism Society.

For more information, call the Schaefer Center Box Office at 828-262-4046, visit in person at 733 Rivers Street, or explore AppSummer.org.

Corporate Sponsors

Bonnie and Jamie Schaefer, App State Campus Store, Broyhill Family Foundation, Appalachian Home Care LLC, Art Cellar Gallery, Explore Boone, Goodnight Brothers, Highstreet Insurance Partners, Mast General Store, SkyBest Communications, Creekside Electronics, Grandview Events & Catering, Peabody’s Wine & Beer Merchants, Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, Rosemyr Corporation, Courtyard by Marriott, Graystone Lodge, Hampton Inn & Suites, and Holiday Inn Express-Boone

 Media Sponsors

WBTV, WCYB, PBS North Carolina, Our State Magazine, The Mountain Times, Watauga Democrat, WNC Magazine, Creative Loafing Charlotte, Yes! Weekly, Winston-Salem Journal, Greensboro News & Record, WZJS 100.7 and WATA 96.5, WHKY 1290AM and 102.3FM, WDAV 89.9FM, WFDD 88.5FM, WASU 90.5FM, and WKSK The Farm

 Restaurant Sponsors

Coyote Kitchen, The Local, Lost Province, Pepper’s, and Timberlake’s Restaurant

 COMPLETE 2025 SCHEDULE

Amos Lee
Saturday, June 28 at 7:30pm

Rosen-Schaffel Competition & Winner’s Recital
Sunday, June 29 at 10am & 3pm

Touch (film)
Tuesday, July 1 at 7:30pm

Summer Exhibition Celebration
Thursday, July 3 at 5pm

Celebrating Our Country and Community Through Music
Thursday, July 3 at 7:30pm

Ranky Tanky with Ms. Lisa Fischer
Sunday, July 6 at 7:30pm

Arzé (film)
Tuesday, July 8 at 7:30pm

Tessa Lark (violin), Joshua Roman (cello), and Edgar Meyer (double bass)
Wednesday, July 9 at 7:30pm

 Joan Osborne & Lisa Loeb
Friday, July 11 at 7:30pm

Rosen Sculpture Walk
Saturday, July 12 at 10am

Heather Headley with Western Piedmont Symphony
Sunday, July 13 at 7:30pm

How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (film)
Tuesday, July 15 at 7:30pm

 Peabo Bryson
Wednesday, July 16 at 7:30pm

Alonzo King LINES Ballet: “Deep River”
Saturday, July 19 at 7:30pm

The Last Journey
Tuesday, July 22 at 7:30pm

The 5 Browns
Wednesday, July 23 at 7:30pm

 Pink Martini featuring China Forbes
Saturday, July 26 at 7:30pm

 ARTTALK

July 3, 9, 18 & 23