Queens has never simply listened to the soundtrack of American music. Queens helped create it.
On Thursday, October 22, 2026, at 8 p.m., that extraordinary musical legacy takes center stage when Jamaica Funk: Legends of Queens comes to Colden Auditorium at the Kupferberg Center for the Arts in Flushing. Presented by Queens Crew Productions, the benefit concert will celebrate generations of jazz, funk, R&B and hip-hop artists connected to Jamaica, Queens while helping bring an important piece of that history to the screen.
Queens Music History Comes Home
What makes Jamaica Funk especially exciting is that this isn’t simply a night of great performances. It is a celebration of a community whose musical influence reaches far beyond New York City.
The evening will trace that history from the pioneering Black entertainers associated with Jamaica beginning in the 1930s, through the musicians who came of age during the 1960s and ’70s and became known as the “Jamaica Funk Kats,” and into the hip-hop era that helped introduce artists including Run-DMC, LL Cool J, A Tribe Called Quest and Salt-N-Pepa to the world.
And yes, the lineup has some serious musical firepower.
Confirmed performers include Lenny White, Najee, Barry Johnson, Steve Kroon, Davy DMX, Audrey Wheeler, Hubert Eaves III, Alyson Williams, Mic Murphy and Bernard Fowler, with additional artists and surprise guest hosts expected. Fred Buggs is scheduled to host the celebration. Artists are subject to change.
A Concert With a Bigger Purpose
The concert will also raise funds for the upcoming feature-length documentary Jamaica Funk, which will explore the stories of three generations of musicians from Jamaica, Queens.
The project is being produced by nonprofit Queens Crew Productions and includes original Jamaica Funk Kats Najee and bassist Barry “Sunjohn” Johnson. Award-winning audio engineer Akili Walker, who lived in Jamaica during the 1970s and ’80s and worked within the musical community surrounding Russell Simmons and producer Larry Smith, is spearheading the overall project.
That preservation piece matters. There are so many neighborhoods whose contributions to American culture become famous while the communities behind them slowly disappear from the story. Jamaica Funk is putting Queens back into the narrative with the names, musicians, memories and music intact.
Make It a Night in Queens
Tickets for Jamaica Funk: Legends of Queens begin at $35 plus fees. Queens College students can receive 50% off, groups of 10 or more may save up to 30%, and additional discounts are available for qualifying students, seniors, first responders, healthcare workers and members of the Queens College community.
Jamaica Funk: Legends of Queens
Thursday, October 22, 2026 | 8 p.m.
Colden Auditorium at Kupferberg Center for the Arts
153-49 Reeves Avenue, Flushing, NY 11367
For music lovers, longtime Queens residents and anyone fascinated by the places where cultural movements actually begin, this feels like more than another concert on the calendar.
It’s Queens telling its own musical story, loudly and proudly. 🎷🎶