Grammy Winner Lila Downs to Perform at Hylton Center in Manassas

After walking away with a Grammy on Sunday evening, singer Lila Downs is set to perform in Manassas at the Hylton Performing Arts Center on May 5

Downs' album "Pecados y Milagros" which means Sin and Miracles in English,  picked up a Grammy for regional Mexican music, according to Huffington Post reports.

The album—her eleventh to date—also picked up a Latin Grammy for Best Folk Album in 2012, according to a Hylton release.

Downs will grace the stage at 7 p.m. as part of a Cinco de Mayo celebration at the Hylton center, located on the Prince William Campus of George Mason University.

There will be a discussion related to the show held about 45 minutes before the performance.  The discussion is at the Hylton center's Buchanan Partners Art Gallery and is free to ticket holders. 

Downs is known among fans and critics for her ability to fuse jazz, blues and soul with her interpretation of indigenous Mexican music, making for a unique and moving sound.

She was born in Oaxaco, Mexico to a singer from the country's Mixtect region, and to a Scottish-American art professor and filmmaker, according to a release issued by the Hylton Performing Arts Center.

Downs grew up in California and in Minnesota where she graduated from the University of Minnesota with degrees in voice and anthropology.

This isn’t the first time a Grammy winner like Downs has taken to the Hylton stage, said Jill Graziano Laiacona, spokeswoman for the performing arts center.

In just three short years, several Grammy-winning acts have performed, Hylton staff said.

Country performers Crystal Gayle and Larry Gatlin, along with Irish-American singer Andy Cooney kicked off the Hylton’s inaugural season in 2010, she said.

Grammy-winning Bluegrass legend Dr. Ralph Stanley performed during the Hylton 2011-2012 season and is slated to perform on May 4, one day before Downs takes to the stage.

The Grammy-winning male chorus Chanticleer also performed at the Hylton. 

Here are some other Grammy-winning talents who have appeared at the Hylton:

•  Latin jazz pianist Chucho Valdés  He is also the winner of a Latin Grammy

• Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner and Children's singer Ella Jenkins
• Maestro Lorin Maazel who conducted Castleton Festival at the Hylton performances in the summer of 2011 and of 2012
• Vienna Boys Choir—two time Grammy winners—performed last year

Several Grammy nominees have also been selected to perform at the Hylton, Graziano Laiacona said.

All performances are chosen by Tom Reynolds, the director of artistic programming for the Hylton Performing Arts Center.

Tickets for Downs' May 5 performance are $26, $36 and $44 and can be purchased at the box office Tuesday-Saturday 10 to 6 p.m. The box office is open until 8 p.m. on Thursdays.

Pay for tickets by credit card by dialing at 888-945-2468 or by logging on to HyltonCenter.org.