While best known for her skills behind the kit, Sheila E. Is also an accomplished singer and songwriter. She blends genres, mixing funk, some R&B, Latin music, as well as pop and jazz into an eclectic bouillabaisse.
The daughter of well-known Bay Area drummer Pete Escovedo, she first gained some mainstream success with the 1984 release of her album The Glamorous Life. The eponymous single from that record gained Grammy recognition, as she was nominated in four separate categories. Her follow-up album Romance 1600 gave us “A Love Bizarre.”
Chosen as the opening night headliner for the 2026 version of the Tri-C JazzFest, Sheila E. And her band took the stage at the State Theater last night, kicking off a star-studded lineup of music that will last through Saturday night.
Here’s all the action we caught:
