The Demarius Hicks Quintet with Vocalist Tracy Smith

Name: The Demarius Hicks Quintet with Vocalist Tracy Smith
Start: 2025-09-28T19:00:00-05:00
Location: Blue Strawberry STL

Schedule

Sun, 28 Sep, 2025 at 07:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

Blue Strawberry STL | St. Louis, MO

Join us for an unforgettable evening at "Soulful Serenade," where the smooth rhythms of jazz by The Demarius Hicks Quintet meet the powerful essence of soul. Featuring the dynamic and captivating female vocalist, Tracy Smith, this show promises to transport you through a musical journey filled with emotion and energy. With her rich, velvety voice and magnetic stage presence, Tracy will breathe new life into classic jazz standards and contemporary soul hits alike. Prepare for a night of soulful melodies, infectious grooves, and heartfelt performances that will leave you humming long after the last note fades. Don’t miss this chance to experience an enchanting night of music that will resonate in your heart and soul!
Band members- Demarius Hicks (Drums), David Hicks (Keys), Jason Swagler (saxophone), Eric Slaughter (guitar) & Bernard Terry (bass) also a few surprise guests!
Demarius Hicks is an exceptional musician whose voice of choice is drum set. As a diverse musician, he has mastered a variety of musical styles such as gospel, straight ahead, funk, fusion, Afro-Cuban, big band, drum and bass, rhythm and blues and hip hop.
A native of East St. Louis, Illinois, Demarius Hicks, or “Heavy D” as his colleagues affectionately call him, began his musical journey playing drum set as a child in church. Pursuing his love for music, Demarius later studied under the leadership of his mentor Marvin Sparks, Director of Percussion studies at UMSL, who introduced him to the wide world of percussion.
Demarius’ artistic uniqueness lies in his distinctive sound, authenticity and creativity. A sensitive, colorful and innovative drummer, Demarius mixes different textures and tones on the drums and cymbals to produce breathtaking colors and images. A versatile musician, Demarius approaches each genre in its’ authentic context, yet compliments it through incorporating various styles in an ingenious manner to create an interesting and innovative sound. His distinctive sound combined with his approach to music compliments his expressive creativity.
Demarius has performed, toured and recorded with many artists from all genres. He has been blessed to travel all over the world: Germany, Italy, Paris, France, London, Honduras, Haiti, Panama, Greece and San Juan just to name a few – performing with artist such as, Grammy award winning Stephon Harris, Marc Cary, Casey Benjamin, Chico Freeman, Hunan Romero, Bucky Pizarrelli, Nicholas Payton, Russell Gunn, J Oliver, Hiton Ruiz, Pibo Marquez. I have performed locally with some phenomenal artists like Denise Thimes, Theo Peoples, Anita Jackson, Ptah Williams, Billy Barnett, Erin Bodi, Kim Massie, the late great Gene Lynn, Kasimu-Tet and many more.
Demarius Hicks is an exceptional musician with a remarkable personality. When not busy with music, he likes to spend time with his beautiful wife, Mayor Emeka Jackson-Hicks and four children; Thomas Paden, Brandon Jackson, Christian Hicks and Daria Hicks. Devoted to his musical development, Demarius continues to enhance his artistic talents. A young talented and dedicated artist with a reputable character, Demarius is the epitome of professionalism and musicianship.