Pamela Sneed’s Tribute to Big Mama Thornton

With a world class band including Viva De Concini, Bernice “Boom Boom” Brooks, Mara Joy Rosenbloom, and David A Barnes, Pamela Sneed’s Tribute to Big Mama Thornton sheds light on one of the most influential yet underrecognized voices contributing to the foundation of Rock and Roll. Along a first-person account of the difficult events that shaped Thornton's life, Sneed performs outstanding renditions of her original songs as Hound Dog Ball and Chain-- famously interpreted by Elvis Presley and Janis Joplin respectively.

The show premiered at the Armory in New York in March 2023, breaking the venue’s record for the earliest a performance ever sold out, and has since also sold out at Joe’s Pub/Public Theater in the spring of 2024 and 2025. Merging stelar musical performances with storytelling and humor, it focuses on the joy of living on your own terms and remaining true to your voice independently of the circumstances. 

Link to Pamela Sneed Bio at the Poetry Foundation