The two musicians are the featured artists for the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s inaugural MUSE conference, a two-day summit for industry veterans, aspiring musicians, and the public.

The conference, which runs from Thursday, March 9 to Friday, March 10, will feature a series of talks and clinics from an array of industry professionals as well as two keynote lectures and evening performances from Ndegeocello and Wooten.

[Here’s what to know about MUSE, the inaugural free music conference at UAB]

Ndegeocello, who is the featured MUSE conference artist on March 9, will sit down for a discussion with social justice organizer and film producer T. Marie King at 3 p.m. before taking the stage at the Alys Stephens Center later that evening for a performance at 7 p.m. Wooten, the featured artist on March 10, will give a musician’s workshop at 4:30 p.m. before playing the Alys Stephens stage at 8 p.m. with bassist Steve Bailey and drummer Derico Watson. Both performances will be in the Jemison Concert Hall.

The full schedule and registration information for the MUSE conference is available at alysstephens.org/muse. Registration for the day sessions is free. Tickets for the evening performances from Ndegeocello and Wooten are $39 and available to purchase at alysstephens.org/events.

The MUSE conference, designed by Alys Stephens Center director of programming Eric Essix, is a comprehensive event curated to examine a series of topics including music theory, composition, industry business, and musician health.

Essix says a video from a 2018 interview featuring Ndegeocello inspired his idea for the MUSE conference. The video was a conversation between Ndegeocello and record producer 9th Wonder for Native Sessions, a series of discussions hosted by music technology company Native Instruments. During the interview, moderated by journalist Rachel Hislop, the two luminaries talked about creativity, innovation, and technology’s impact on their careers.

“When I saw that, I said ‘I’m going to see if I can book her for an opportunity to perform and do an interview.’ And then I said, ‘Well, shoot, why don’t we just branch this out and make it a full conference with several artists and create a conference specifically designed to have interviews and have talkback?’” Essix told AL.com.  “So, she was actually the spark for the whole conference.”

When it was time to create the rundown of lectures and workshops, Essix knew he wanted to invite Wooten to return to the Alys Stephens Center to conduct a masterclass. He recalls a session Wooten hosted a few years back. The lecture, said Essix, was one of the best workshops he’d ever seen.

“His session was really well attended [and] he just does a great job breaking music down to any simple form where anybody can understand certain concepts about improvisation and making music, composing, and all that stuff,” said Essix. “He’s essential for this kind of event cause he’s such a great teacher and is recognized as a great teacher, as well as a world-class bass player.”

Ndegeocello, 54, is an acclaimed bass player, composer, and producer. An 11-time Grammy nominee, Ndegeocello received the Grammy for Best R&B Song in 2021 alongside Robert Glasper and H.E.R for the single “Better Than I Imagined.” Ndegeocello has released more than 12 genre-defying albums in her more than 30-year career. She released her most recent album, “Ventriloquism” in 2018. Ndegeocello has also composed scores for numerous television shows and movies, including “The Hair Tales,” “Queen Sugar,”  “Disappearing Acts,” and “Lackawanna Blues.”

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Wooten, 58, is a  five-time Grammy Award winner. The renowned bassist, songwriter, and record producer is a founding member of the supergroup Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. Often called the most influential bassist of the last two decades, Rolling Stone named Wooten to its 2011 list of the “Top Ten Bassists of All Time.” Wooten has released more than 30 albums in his career, including 10 solo albums and fifteen with Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. A noted teacher and lecturer, Wooten has also produced a number of step-by-step guides for learning the bass.