Akron Civic Theatre, a Knight Arts grantee, has a commitment and a goal of bringing area talent onto its stage. The Civic will be fulfilling that promise once again when it presents singer Jocelyn Grant in its series The Club @ the Civic on Sunday, March 1.

Jocelyn Grant isn’t just a great singer; she also used to be my next-door neighbor before both of us moved on to other addresses. Years ago, I would hear this big soprano voice coming through the windows of her house. I assumed it was her mother singing, for it was such a mature sound. Some years later I found out it was Jocelyn herself, for she was getting ready at the time to be the final singer at the huge event Gospel Meets Symphony (a concert that happens each February).

In a telephone interview, Grant talked about her upcoming appearance. The concert is part of her launch of a new “EP” as she says, or an extended play work called “Hope.” The work is being distributed in hard copy first by her producers Robert and Ishmael Hale of EPHAP before being released via iTunes and Amazon, along with other media outlets for new music.

Jocelyn Grant, singer/songwriter. Photo courtesy of Akron Civic Theatre

“Hope” is Grant’s first EP. In 2012 she released a single, but has since spent most of her time doing background vocals for other national singers. This event is, as she put it, her attempt to launch into the industry in another, and bigger, way.

Grant is both singer and songwriter. For the gig at the Civic, she will be singing all her own works, fully backed up by a small band (keyboard, auxiliary keyboard, bass, drum set and lead guitar, she commented, along with three background singers). That’s quite a big production for this young talent.

Grant says that the music will be Christian music, but not in the traditional vein, since her style incorporates a more modern sound.

Her event at the Civic came through happenstance. Grant said she wanted to have something in the Downtown area. She and some friends discussed the Civic as a possibility, so she called executive director Howard Parr. It turned out they were aware of each other through YEPAW, a Knight Arts grantee, where Grant works as program director of the leadership academy.

As organizers of the concert note, at age three, Jocelyn Grant knew she had been called to sing. With a firm foundation in gospel, Grant was exposed early to the genres of big band, rhythm & blues, classical, jazz, funk, hip-hop and soul. She drew inspiration from legendary artists such as Sarah Vaughan, Doris Day, Frank Sinatra and Donny Hathaway.

Jocelyn Grant will appear as part of The Club @ the Civic series at 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 1 on the main stage of Akron Civic Theatre, 182 S. Main St., Akron; 330-253-2488; www.akroncivic.com. Tickets are $10.