BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//PYVOBJECT//NONSGML Version 1//EN BEGIN:VEVENT UID:events.uid.2273@www.discovernikkei.org DTSTART:20100328T000000Z DTEND:20100328T000000Z DESCRIPTION:The Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern Californ ia presents the kick-off performance for the first official United States tour of the&nbsp\;<em>enka</em>&nbsp\;singing sensation\, JERO.\n\nTickets go on sale at City Box Office on January 6\, 2010 for JCCCNC members and to the general public on February 4. Tickets can be purchased by contactin g City Box Office by phone at (415) 392-4400 or by visiting their website: \n\n<a href="http://www.cityboxoffice.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=1465&a mp\;c=9&amp\;pg=2">http://www.cityboxoffice.com/eventperformances.asp?evt= 1465&amp\;c=9&amp\;pg=2</a>.\n\nJCCCNC members will have to contact the JC CCNC at (415) 567-5505 x226 to confirm or apply for membership and request the early ticket purchase code on or after Wednesday\, January 6.\n\nGene ral ticket prices will be $100\, $55 and/or $35 plus a minimal ticket and order fee. Special individual premium tickets will be $250. These special premium tickets are located in the first five rows in the center aisle and include a private post-reception immediately following the show.\n\n<stro ng>Jerome Charles White\, Jr. aka Jero</strong>\, makes his long-awaited U .S. concert tour debut with his performance in San Francisco this March. A s the first African American<em>enka</em>&nbsp\;singer in the history of J apanese music\, Jero single-handedly reignited interest in the musical bal lads that emerged in Japan&rsquo\;s post-war era.\n\nJero began singing&nb sp\;<em>enka</em>&nbsp\;actively at the age of six and continued to study the Japanese language all throughout high school and college. He also stud ied Japanese at the Kansai Gaidai University of foreign languages. Jero ma jored in&nbsp\;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_science"> information science</a>&nbsp\;at&nbsp\;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wi ki/University_of_Pittsburgh">University of Pittsburgh</a>&nbsp\;and gradua ted in 2003\, and moved to Japan in the same year. Two months after arrivi ng in Japan\, he entered the&nbsp\;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N HK_Nodo_Jiman">NHK Nodo Jiman</a>&nbsp\;competition broadcast on TV.\n\nJe ro first began pursuing his dream to become an&nbsp\;<em>enka</em>&nbsp\;a rtist because of the influence of his Japanese grandmother Takiko who had met his grandfather\, an African-American serviceman\, at a dance during W orld War II. They married\, had a daughter Harumi\, and eventually moved t o his grandfather's hometown\, Pittsburgh. He was reared amid a strong sen se of Japanese culture and it was through the guidance of his grandmother that he grew to love the genre as a child.\n\nJero worked toward becoming an&nbsp\;<em>enka</em>&nbsp\;singer because he had promised his grandmothe r that one day he would perform at the annual&nbsp\;<a href="http://en.wik ipedia.org/wiki/Kohaku_Uta_Gassen">Kohaku Uta Gassen</a>&nbsp\;song show. As a result\, he actively participated in numerous singing contests and ev entually achieved real success only two months after arriving in Japan. Sa dly\, his grandmother never was able to see her grandson achieve&nbsp\;<em >enka</em>&nbsp\;fame\, as she died in 2005\, three years before he became famous.\n\nHis first single\,&nbsp\;<em>Umiyuki\,</em>&nbsp\;literally&nb sp\;<em>Ocean Snow</em>\, was released in Japan in early 2008 and it enter ed the music charts at number four. This marked the highest-ever debut for a single released by an&nbsp\;<em>enka</em>&nbsp\;singer in Japan. He won the Best New Artist Award in the&nbsp\;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w iki/50th_Japan_Record_Awards">50th Annual Japan Record Awards</a>&nbsp\;in December 2008.\n\nJero was selected to appear on the&nbsp\;<a href="http: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/59th_NHK_K%C5%8Dhaku_Uta_Gassen">59th NHK Kohaku U ta Gassen</a>&nbsp\;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NHK">NHK</a>&nbs p\;New Year's Eve musical spectacular\, on December 31\, 2008. In his part icipation\, he fulfilled a pledge he made to his dying grandmother to appe ar on the yearly competition. Jero appeared wearing a black and white shir t bearing the image of his grandmother. Critics have lauded the way this m eteoric talent has managed to mould an old musical genre around a modern c ontext in a way that appeals to both old and new generations. Looking like a hip-hop star\, with a voice of an angel\, he has redefined the soul of Japan. Jero recently appeared in this year&rsquo\;s 60th Anniversary New Y ear&rsquo\;s Eve show on the White Team.\n\n<strong>Don&rsquo\;t miss this historical SELL-OUT tour as it opens in San Francisco.</strong>\n\nThis U .S. concert tour is co-presented and co-sponsored by the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (based in Los Angeles) and the Japanese Cul tural and Community Center of Northern California.\n\nTo order premium tic kets\, please contact Lori Matoba at (415) 567-5505 x226 or email&nbsp\;<a >lmatoba@jcccnc.org</a>&nbsp\;and for general tickets\, please contact Cit y Box Office at (415) 392-4400.\n\n<strong>Fees:</strong>&nbsp\;$35 - $100 General admission tickets (additional ticket order fee not included in pr ice)\; $250 (includes concert and private post-concert reception)\n\nHow d o I sign up? Call the JCCCNC at 415-567-5505\, email&nbsp\;<a>programseven ts@jcccnc.org.</a> DTSTAMP:20241014T210713Z SUMMARY:Jero in Concert URL:/en/events/2010/03/28/jero-in-concert/ END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR