Pop icon Sheila E. — also known as the “Queen of Percussion” — will perform a free concert at Southeast Portland’s Ventura Park on Sunday evening, and organizers are saying the show will go on even as Oregon braces for a heat wave.
The performance will start at 6 p.m. Sunday and is part of the third annual East Portland Summer Arts Festival, which will begin Saturday.
Sheila Escovedo, known under the stage name Sheila E., started her career in the 1970s as a percussionist with Alphonso Johnson — then collaborated with artists such as George Duke, Lionel Richie, Marvin Gaye, Herbie Hancock and Diana Ross.
But she is best known for her work with Prince. In 1984, she launched a solo career with her album “The Glamorous Life,” which featured a hit single of the same name and garnered two Grammy Award nominations.
Other festival headliners include Allen Stone, an R&B and soul singer and musician who will perform at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Temperatures are expected to soar above 100 degrees Saturday and Sunday, and Portland Parks & Recreation organizers said they are preparing for the heat.
“Everything right now is still slated to go as planned,” said Jarrell Hosley, a supervisor with the Parks Bureau.
Hosley said he expects temperatures to dip both evenings, and organizers are prepared to delay Stone’s concert and Sheila E.’s concert if it’s still too hot around 6 p.m. both nights.
If anything does change, he said updates will be posted on the Parks Bureau website by noon of the concert.
— Andrew Miller covers business news. Reach him at [email protected] or 971-803-2954.
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