What are Whoopi Goldberg, The Fugees, and the city of Halifax all about to have in common? The Great Atlantic Twittersphere lit up across the East Coast as news was leaked on Saturday that the illustrious songstress, Ms. Lauryn Hill, will be gracing our shores during the 30th TD Halifax Jazz Festival this summer.

Representatives of the festival remained tight-lipped on any confirmation of the leaked news. Kimberly Sinclair, media contact for the Halifax Jazz Festival, stated only that they were “very excited for a show announcement come Monday,” requiring even less effort to translate than Pig Latin as, “Yes, most certainly this is happening.”

It’s hard to say what the multiple Grammy Award winning jazz/R&B/hip hop artist might be best known for: her memorable performance in Sister Act 2, her dulcet tones in The Fugees’ The Score,  or from her own hit singles like Doo-Wop (That Thing), or constantly being on MuchMusic’s heavy rotation for much of the late ’90s.

Her first solo recording, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, was released in 1998 and promptly skyrocketed, selling almost half a million copies in the first week. It earned her ten Grammy nominations, five of which she won, setting a record as the first woman to win as many Grammy awards in one evening.

After a decade of sporadic touring and upheaval, Hill released her first solo single in 2013. Three years later, Ms. Hill is exciting audiences across North America. She has also been attached to headline at the SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Fest and the TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival. She’ll be joining both City & Colour, and Basia Bulat on the Halifax Jazz Festival‘s billing.

Ms. Hill will be performing on the Main Stage on the Halifax waterfront on Tuesday, July 12, 2016. Tickets go on sale April 7. For more information visit www.halifaxjazzfestival.ca