Home » Motown legend Smokey Robinson added to celebrity roster at Julep Ball

Motown legend Smokey Robinson added to celebrity roster at Julep Ball

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (May 2, 2013) – Grammy-award-winning singer/songwriter Smokey Robinson will be among the glitterati walking the red carpet at The Julep Ball, Friday at the KFC Yum! Center.

Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson

Known as the “Derby Eve Party with a Purpose,” The Julep Ball is conducted each year on the evening before the Kentucky Derby and supports the work of the James Graham Brown Cancer Center at the University of Louisville. The event kicks off with a 6:30 p.m. cocktail reception, followed by dinner and a live auction at 8 p.m. Sony recording artist Angie Johnson will open the evening’s entertainment at 9 p.m., followed by the World’s Greatest Party Band, the B-52s. Dancing to music provided by DJ Ryan Foxx follows.

The event’s full-evening tickets are sold out while the more plentiful, but going quickly, dance-only tickets are $150 per person. Dance-only tickets allow patrons to see the performances by Johnson and the B-52s and then enjoy the dancing. For further information and to buy tickets, go to The Julep Ball website, julepball.org.

Robinson is not scheduled to perform but is slated to walk the red carpet before enjoying the evening’s festivities. He joins a roster of celebrities taken from cinema, television, music and sports, including:

The B-52s, who will turn the Yum Center into the “Love Shack”!

Conrad Bachman, film and television actor and founder of Louisville’s International Festival of Film

Tiki Barber, NFL legend, former New York Giant, now CBS Sports Radio broadcaster

Big Brother 14 Cast with…

Mike Malin

Ashley Iocco

Janelle Pierzina

Frank Eudy

And Louisville’s favorite housemate, Wil Heuser

Dr. Jeff Bumpous, the 2013 James Graham Brown Cancer Center Physician of the Year

Dr. Brad Chaires, the 2013 James Graham Brown Cancer Center Scientist of the Year

Claudia Coffey, Emmy-winning reporter/anchor at WHAS11 News

Gunnar Deatherage, Louisville’s own who made his mark on “Project Runway,” Seasons 9 and 10

Stephanie Decker, survivor of the 2012 Henryville tornadoes whose inspiring story has been featured on “Ellen,” “Good Morning America” and more

Heather French Henry, fashion designer, Miss America 2000 and the creator of the gown worn at the Ball by Asia Ludlow, the 2013 Julep Ball Survivor Ambassador

Angie Johnson, Sony singer/songwriter; you know her from Team Cee-Lo on “The Voice”

The Kentucky Derby Royal Court, five accomplished college students representing our city and state with grace and charm

Carson Kressley, Emmy-winning television star for “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” stylist, author and fashion designer

Asia Ludlow, the 2013 Julep Ball Survivor Ambassador who has beaten cancer once and is showing us all how to face it once again with courage and hope

Dr. Donald Miller, the director of the James Graham Brown Cancer Center at UofL

Miss America 2013 Mallory Hagan, the National Goodwill Ambassador for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals

President James R. Ramsey of the University of Louisville

Keith Robinson, actor and singer; he was outstanding in “Dreamgirls”

Jai Rodriguez, actor, singer, dancer and culture guide on the Emmy-winning “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy”

J.D. Shelburne, Nashville recording artist known for his single, “Farmboy”

Christian Siriano, the oh-so-fierce winning fashion designer of “Project Runway,” Season 4

Once pronounced by Bob Dylan as America’s “greatest living poet,” Robinson’s career spans over four decades of hits. He has received the Grammy Living Legend Award, NARAS Lifetime Achievement Award, Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts Award from the President of the United States. He has also been inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame.