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- Date:
- 2020-10-01
- Main contributors:
- Andrae Ambrose
- Summary:
- Andrae Ambrose (Chicago, Illinois) As the President and Lead Producer of Jambrose Music Group, gospel musician Andrae Ambrose is known for his professional overseeing of live recording sessions. Andrae has worked with a number of major recording artists, including Grammy Award-winning producers Kevin Randolph, Donald Lawrence, Kirk Franklin, and Aaron Lindsey, as well as work with artists such as Leslie Ruiz, Brandon Roberson, Atmosphere of Heaven, San Franklin, One 4 Christ, and Reggie Royal & Judah. Andrae has served on the Chicago Board of Governors of the National Association of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS) and was the co-chair for the Gospel Task Force of the Chicago Chapter. He is the composer of the SoundMind Collection, a series of therapeutic instrumental music. As a member of a pastoral family, his perspective on music ministry includes training of worship leaders and choirs around the world. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/01/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-11-02
- Main contributors:
- Andre Johnson
- Summary:
- Andre Johnson (Washington, D.C.) Andre “Whiteboy” Johnson is a singer and guitarist based in Washington, D.C. Johnson is the lead guitarist and founding member of D.C. go-go band Rare Essence. In 1976, Johnson co-founded Rare Essence with friends in elementary school. Originally the Young Dynamos, they later changed their name and expanded their lineup, becoming one of the city’s premiere go-go institutions, putting on marathon shows that ran until 5 a.m. and performing regularly six to seven nights a week. Since the 1980s, the band has released dozens of studio albums, mixtape albums, live albums, compilations, and singles. They have performed with Run DMC, Wale, DJ Kool, LL Cool J, Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie, Ice Cube, Heavy D and the Boyz, Wu Tang Clan, Redman and Method Man, French Montana, Scarface, TLC, Eric B and Rakim, YoYo, Shabba Ranks, The Roots, Erykah Badu, Thievery Corporation, KRS-1, and go-go icons Chuck Brown, Trouble Funk, The Junk Yard Band, and EU. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 11/02/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-24
- Main contributors:
- Andrea Colburn
- Summary:
- Andrea Colburn (Atlanta, Georgia) Singer-songwriter Andrea Colburn is one-half of the musical duo Andrea and Mud, who categorize themselves as “surf western music.” Based in Atlanta, they spent many years operating a very demanding touring schedule. Growing up in St. Louis, Andrea Colburn says she wanted to learn guitar from a young age, but never particularly excelled at the instrument. When she moved to Georgia in 2012, however, a shift happened, and she found herself performing on a new level. When she connected with Kyle “Mud” Moseley, they found the right match. The duo released their album Bad News Darlin’ in 2020. In addition to guitar, Andrea Colburn also plays the musical saw. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/24/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-23
- Main contributors:
- Andrew Heist
- Summary:
- Andrew Heist (Juneau, Alaska) Along with working at the Alaska State Senate and playing bluegrass, Cajun, and old-time music on mandolin, fiddle, guitar, and accordion, Andrew Heist is the president of the Alaska Folk Festival. This festival, central to Juneau’s social life, has become the largest cultural event annually held in Juneau, with participants and attendees numbering over 2,500 and thousands more in the radio audience—and even the internet. KRNN-FM, Juneau's Public radio station, broadcasts all the performances live. Musicians and participants from around the world attend the nine four-hour performances averaging fifteen acts each, fourteen hours of dances plus dance workshops, a family concert and forty-plus hours of teaching workshops devoted to every imaginable folk music skill, plus jamming all week long. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/23/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-05
- Main contributors:
- Andy Ruff
- Summary:
- Andy Ruff (Bloomington, Indiana) Andy Ruff is a lifetime Indiana resident and father of two: Anna and Hank (Hank is the front man for the band Hank Ruff and The Hellbenders). Andy Ruff is a honky tonk country singer, songwriter, bandleader, and mandolin and guitar player. Over the years, he has released two full-length albums of original songs with his local band, the Dew Daddies: Makin’ Good Time and Powered by Twang. Ruff is also a long-time politician, having served twenty years (five terms) on the Bloomington, Indiana, city council. In June 2020, he won a five-way primary to become the Democratic nominee for US Congress in a race he lost in November of 2020. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/5/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-29
- Main contributors:
- Angelica Garcia
- Summary:
- Angelica Garcia (Richmond, Virginia) Angelica Garcia is a songwriter and vocalist based in Richmond, Virginia. Growing up in a musical and multigenerational environment, Garcia recalls Mexican ranchera music always playing throughout her home, which included Garcia’s mother, who was a professional singer of mostly mariachi and Latin pop. Garcia attended the magnet high school LACHSA (Los Angeles County High School for the Arts). In Richmond, she has released studio albums including Medicine For Birds (2016) and Cha Cha Palace (2020), both with Spacebomb Records. She released several music videos, and her song “Jícama” became widely known when Barack Obama selected the track for his 2019 year-end list. Her music explores Latinx identity and her roots in Los Angeles, and she has donated proceeds from her work to regionally based organizations supporting migrant families in the U.S. such as ¡MIRA!, Annunciation House, and Immigrant Families Together. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 10/29/2020
- Date:
- 2020-09-27
- Main contributors:
- Anna Borges
- Summary:
- Anna Borges (Medford, Massachusetts) Anna Borges, originally from Recife, Pernambuco, began her career in Brasília, singing in local nightclubs and theaters. She studied the guitar and enrolled in the Escola de Música de Brasília, where she studied voice with Jane Duboc and sang in choral groups, studying both classical and popular techniques. After many years working closely with Brazilian guitarist Agilson Alcântara, Anna moved to Boston, Massachusetts along with her father, who was stationed there as a vice-consul in the Brazilian Consulate. In Boston, she began a musical collaboration with Bill Ward, with whom she would start the band Receita de Samba. The band performs bossa nova and samba, and well as regional specialties such as forró, ijexá, and coco. Anna is also an event promoter for Brazilian music in the Boston area with her own Sounds of Brazil Anna Borges Productions. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 09/27/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-28
- Main contributors:
- Annalisa Boerner
- Summary:
- Annalisa Boerner (New Haven, Connecticut) Annalisa Boerner is a violist and educator based in New Haven, Connecticut. As Senior Resident Violist at Haven String Quartet/Music Haven, she teaches music to youth in the New Haven community and plays with the resident quartet. Before Music Haven, she held a Community Music Works fellowship in Providence, R.I., where she performed as a member of the Community Music Works Players and taught a full studio. During her time there, Annalisa was part of world premiere performances of music by Gonzalo Grau and Kareem Roustom. She has collaborated with such artists as the Kronos Quartet, the Cavani String Quartet, the Claremont Trio, and members of the Cleveland Orchestra in concert. Annalisa earned her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and has performed with various orchestras throughout New England and Ohio. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 09/28/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-06
- Main contributors:
- Aria Arus
- Summary:
- Aria Arus (Raleigh, North Carolina) Aria Arus is a DJ, producer, and biochemist in Raleigh, North Carolina. Biochemist by day, by night she is Neuron Husky, her psyberpunk canine alter ego. Neuron Husky blends genres of drum and bass, psytrance, hardstyle, and future bass. She has performed in venues ranging from music festivals to burns to anime conventions. She has held several residencies at clubs throughout central North Carolina, has performed in Japan and Thailand, and has played alongside renowned artists such as Jackal & Hyde, Fixx, DJ Irene, DJ Micro, John B, Apashe, Space Jesus, and many others. Starting in 2015, Neuron Husky gained recognition as both electronic musician and installation artist, designing her own performance stages. She is backed up by the artist collaborative Source Code Studios, which specializes in constructing immersive psychedelic landscapes around the dance floor. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 10/06/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-15
- Main contributors:
- Arnaldo Guevara
- Summary:
- Arnaldo Guevara (North Salt Lake, Utah) Born in Ciudad Bolívar, Guayana, Venezuela, Arnaldo Guevara sings Venezuelan Llanero music. He has performed extensively with various groups in radio programs, festivals, and cultural events since he was a child. While attending college in Mérida, he joined the choir Orfeón de la Universidad de Los Andes, the polyphonic group Tepuy 5, and the Cantoría de Mérida, with which he toured Venezuela, the Caribbean Islands, and Colombia. He has performed with important groups such as Stereo Gaita, Diamantes del Sur, and Las Cuerdas de Don Ramón Hurtado. He has participated in numerous TV and radio shows and has released three CDs, Arnaldo Guevara y su canto (2009), Arnaldo Guevara y su canto en Mavidad (2015), and Arnaldo Guevara y Su Canto... Popular y Caribeño (2017). He has shared the stage with prestigious artists and groups such as Cheo Hurtado, Jesús Hidalgo, Gualberto Ibarreto, Serenata Guayanesa, and Huascar Barradas, among others. Currently, he resides in North Salt Lake, Utah, where he is a member of the Hispanic choir Luz de las Naciones. In addition to being a musician, Arnaldo is also a social communicator and works as a professional broadcaster. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/15/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-07
- Main contributors:
- Arnaldo! Drag Chanteuse
- Summary:
- Arnaldo! Drag Chanteuse (Seattle, Washington) Arnaldo started as a soloist with Seattle Men’s Chorus (SMC) and has performed with SMC in some of the major concert halls in the US, Europe, New Zealand, and Australia. In 1995, he started a group called Cabaret Q, where the “drag chanteuse” persona began. In 1999, Arnaldo began his solo cabaret shows in Seattle’s Capitol Hill and has since performed his one-person cabaret in Portland, Las Vegas, Palm Springs, Puerto Vallarta, New York, and Manila. Arnaldo has also collaborated with various directors, choreographers, and songwriters in the Seattle area. In 2005, he completed the Cabaret Summer Conference Workshop at Yale University. In 2006, Arnaldo started the Pacific Northwest Cabaret Association and continues to organize Seattle’s March is Cabaret Month featuring local and visiting artists. 2007 marked Arnaldo’s New York cabaret debut, and in 2008, Arnaldo was honored with a New York Backstage Bistro Award. 2014 was Arnaldo's Manila debut, where he received Most Innovative Concert Artist in Manila Gawad Musika award. In 2016, Arnaldo was presented by the Filipino Community of Seattle with a Lifetime Achievement Award for promoting culture and the arts. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/07/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-08
- Main contributors:
- Arnetta Johnson
- Summary:
- Arnetta Johnson (Camden, New Jersey) Arnetta Johnson is a trumpet player based in Camden, New Jersey. Johnson began playing trumpet at age thirteen with mentors Nasir Dickerson, Jamal Dickerson, and Hassan Sabree. She attended the Creative and Performing Arts High School in Camden, followed by Berklee College of Music. Johnson has performed with Beyoncé at the Super Bowl, as a featured trumpeter on her 2018 On the Run II Tour, and on the Carters’ Grammy-winning album Everything Is Love. She has toured internationally and performed on television shows including Black Girls Rock. Johnson has also studied with saxophonist Tia Fuller and singer-poet Jill Scott, whose Blues Babe Foundation presented Johnson with their Rising Star Award. Johnson has worked with musicians including Terri Lyne Carrington, the Roots, and Chloe x Halle, and leads her own band Arnetta Johnson and SUNNY (Sounds Uplifting Nobility through Notes and Youth). Her goal is to stand jazz on its head: disrupt, uplift, and inspire. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 10/8/2020
- Date:
- 2020-09-16
- Main contributors:
- Artie Mendoza
- Summary:
- Artie Mendoza (Flathead Indian Reservation, Montana) Firefighter by day and rapper by night, Artie Mendoza (Kiid Truth) is a twenty-five-year-old Kootenai and Mexican who has been described as a “performer with a knack for rhythm and poetry.” Artie made the name “Kiid Truth” at the age of eleven based on his age and in his music he spoke the truth. At the age of nineteen, Artie finished up his first mixtape, The truth speaks for itself. Artie's goal in music is to take his talent to the next level while spreading positive messages through his music and speaking about what is going on at present. He says that the reason to do music is to express himself, to spread messages through his music and connect with people struggling in the same way he did. He has been very active in his community during COVID times and has been part of the social media campaign that the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes launched aiming to educate kids about COVID-19. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/16/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-06
- Main contributors:
- Arturo Rodriguez
- Summary:
- Arturo Rodriguez (Seattle, Washington) An accomplished musician, author, teacher, and DJ, Arturo Rodriguez has performed worldwide, sharing the stage with such music legends as Tito Puente; Dave Valentin; Paul Horn; Pete Escovedo; Brandi Carlile; Crosby, Stills and Nash, and many more. Never one to stand still for very long, Arturo is both a familiar face and a powerful force on the local Seattle music scene. While moving through the musical boundaries of salsa, rumba, jazz, pop, rock, and even Afro Cuban ritual music, Arturo has an amazing talent for bringing people together. He currently performs with the Rumba Kings and is working on a new album with his new trio, Weave Poetic, a phenomenal performance group fusing Latin and jazz music together with incredible vocal harmonies. All members in the group sing and write original music. Arturo teaches Latin percussion and drum set and helps salsa dancers with their musicality both virtually and live. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/06/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-11-02
- Main contributors:
- Ashley Frith
- Summary:
- Ashley Frith (Providence, Rhode Island) Ashley Frith is a musician, composer, and educator based in Providence, Rhode Island. Ashley studied viola with Lila Brown at The Boston Conservatory. She was the music director, composer, and lyricist for the Trinity Repertory Company’s 2018-19 season production of Jose Rivera’s Marisol, directed by Brian Mertes. She has composed music for a production on allyship with Off the Page Education in NYC. Ashley has held resident musician and teaching artist positions with Newport String Project, Revolution of Hope, the Greater Miami Youth Symphony, and Community Music Works in Providence, Rhode Island. At Community Music Works, she serves as Director of Racial Equity and Belonging, where she performs, teaches, and develops anti-racism curricula. Ashley also explores the use of sound as a healing modality, in combination with mindfulness practices, and the effect these tools can have on mental health. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 11/02/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-23
- Main contributors:
- Ashley Sankey
- Summary:
- Ashley Sankey (Birmingham, Alabama) Birmingham, Alabama-based musician Ashley Sankey, a classically trained keyboardist and percussionist and a formally trained jazz and opera vocalist, has been performing in the Birmingham area for many years. She taught herself guitar, and although she works in multiple genres, she considers herself a soul musician. Sankey has her own in-home studio, where she also produces music and engineers studio sessions for other up-and-coming Alabama artists. Ashley has a long history in the church and started singing background for traveling gospel acts at the age of thirteen. She released her first studio album, Ashley Sankey Presents “Birmingham’s Here,” in 2013. She also performs as a percussionist at Grant Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Birmingham. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/23/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-29
- Main contributors:
- Aubrey Atwater
- Summary:
- Aubrey Atwater (Warren, Rhode Island) Aubrey Atwater is a musician, vocalist, writer, public radio commentator, and dancer based in Warren, Rhode Island. Atwater presents programs of folk music, dance, and spoken word, and has performed and taught across the United States as well as England, Ireland, and Canada. She sings and plays the mountain dulcimer, old-time banjo, guitar, mandolin, and Irish tin whistle, and also performs with percussive clogging. In both teaching and performance, Aubrey conveys the heritage behind traditional folk music and dance, showing an expertise of folk history and its key players. Part of the acclaimed duo Atwater-Donnelly, Aubrey and her husband Elwood Donnelly perform with up to eight other band members and have thirteen recordings and six books to their credit. Atwater and Donnelly are both on the performing rosters for the Rhode Island State Council of the Arts and the New England Foundation for the Arts. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 10/29/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-14
- Main contributors:
- Aurélien Barnes
- Summary:
- Aurélien Barnes (New Orleans, Louisiana) Aurélien Barnes is a New Orleans trumpet player steeped in the tradition of the city. Born in 1995, he is part of the young generation of musicians carrying on the legacy of the trumpet and the blues in New Orleans. From an early age, he learned from some of the best musicians and teachers in the city, including the Tremé Brass Band, Leroy Jones, Gregg Stafford, Kent Jordan, and many others. He is the son of Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes, a multi-instrumentalist and specialist in blues, zydeco, and Afro-Caribbean musics. Aurélien performs with several brass bands in New Orleans and around the world, including Grammy-nominated Cha Wa, Kings of Brass, the Palmetto Bug Stompers, and more. He has performed with a wide range of artists across several genres, such as Marcus King, Nicholas Payton, Solange, Dr. John, and Carlos Vives. In addition to his musical diversity, Aurélien is a French citizen and speaks French, Spanish, and Portuguese fluently. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/14/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-06
- Main contributors:
- Babar Harrie
- Summary:
- Babar Harrie (Troy, Michigan) Hailing from an American-Pakistani background, artist Babar Harrie combines his identity and experiences with his passion for music. Born in Lansing, Michigan, and raised in Metro Detroit, Babar first began rapping and freestyling at the age of 16. In the fall of 2010, Babar released his first mixtape, Just Let Me, which garnered him increased recognition. Following the mixtape, he released a number of music videos which gained hundreds of thousands of views through different viewing platforms. Releasing two more mixtapes over the course of two years, November and OCD: Opening Closed Doors respectively, Babar began performing at a variety of local venues. In 2013, he started working alongside Takeover Music Group (TOMG) with MTV artists like Trigg da Kidd and Fuco Bunkin. After taking time off and making a pilgrimage to the Holy City of Mecca in 2014, Babar’s music started to further incorporate his culture and religion in order to reach audiences worldwide. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 10/06/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-09
- Main contributors:
- Beau Bledsoe
- Summary:
- Beau Bledsoe (Kansas City, Missouri) Beau Bledsoe studied classical guitar at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music under Douglas Niedt, where he received a Master of Music. There he continued his professional career in the Kansas City music scene playing with jazz musicians, classical chamber musicians, and also participating in the burgeoning Latin music scene. His interest in exploring new repertoire, cultures, and programming ideas led to the creation of a large body of arrangements, transcriptions and compositions for the solo guitar and guitar chamber music. He also founded Ensemble Ibérica, a group that performs the music of Ibéria (Spain and Portugal) and the colonial Americas while educating the public about Iberian cultural influence. His music is regularly programmed on Radio 1 BBC and All Songs Considered on NPR. His recording Yalnız by Alaturka received 4.5 stars and Best Albums of 2013 from Downbeat Magazine. He serves on the music faculty at the UMKC Conservatory of Music. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/09/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-16
- Main contributors:
- Belén Escobedo
- Summary:
- Belén Escobedo (San Antonio, Texas) Belén Escobedo plays rare and beautiful fiddle tunes in the South Texas-Mexican grass roots Tejano Conjunto tradition. Growing up on the south side of San Antonio and working as a professional fiddler since she was a teenager, Belén has preserved a unique style of fiddling that has all but disappeared from the Texas borderlands. Belén has a vast and unique repertoire, including tunes she learned from her grandfather’s whistling and a huge range of borderlands tunes from both sides of the border. The name of her trio, Panfilo’s Güera, honors her grandfather’s influence on her, the grandchild he called his güera, or “blondie.” Panfilo’s Güera is Belén, her husband Ramón Gutierrez (tololoche or double bass), and Stevie R. Vaveges (bajo sexto). Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/16/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-09
- Main contributors:
- Ben Sollee
- Summary:
- Ben Sollee (Louisville, Kentucky) Ben Sollee is a cellist and composer based in Louisville, Kentucky. He has performed with companies including the Charlotte Ballet and the North Carolina Dance Theater, where he wrote original music for the play Dangerous Liaisons. Ben has toured on his bicycle, riding over 4,000 miles. He has been invited to speak on sustainability at festivals including South by Southwest Music (2011) and TEDx San Diego (2012). At home, Ben has raised awareness about Mountain Top Removal Strip Mining in Central Appalachia. His album Dear Companion (Sub Pop, 2010) with artist Daniel Martin Moore and producer Jim James sheds light on the issue. Ben’s music has been featured in film and television, including Mark Steven Johnson’s Killing Season starring John Travolta and Robert De Niro, ABC’s Parenthood, and HBO’s Weeds. Working with experimental technology, Ben has used the Vanishing Point virtual reality app, and created an interactive sculptural installation called Livestream. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 10/09/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-23
- Main contributors:
- Bertram Levy
- Summary:
- Bertram Levy (Port Townsend, Washington) Bertram Levy is one of the few accomplished bandoneonistas in North America. In 1989, Bertram first heard the instrument played live by Astor Piazzolla. He was so moved by Piazzolla’s music that he abandoned all his other musical endeavors to pursue the bandoneón. At that time Bertram was in his late forties and had achieved an international reputation as a banjo and concertina virtuoso. He had been featured on more than a dozen albums, including the Smithsonian CD compilation American Folk Music. He had also authored the definitive concertina tutor The Concertina Demystified, was chosen as banjo player of the year by Frets magazine, and was highlighted in several national broadcasts of The Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. In addition, he created and directed the most prestigious instrumental folk music festival in the United States: the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes. Bertram’s first bandoneón lessons were with Miguel Varvello in Buenos Aires in 1991 and later in Paris with Cesar Stroscio. In 2005, Bertram enrolled in the Conservatorio Manuel de Falla in Buenos Aires to study classical bandoneon with the great Rodolfo Daluisio. He founded Tangoheart in 1999 to introduce Pacific Northwest audiences to authentic Argentine tango. He currently lives both in Washington State and in Buenos Aires, where he continues his studies with Rodolfo Daluisio. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/23/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-05
- Main contributors:
- Bethany Highley
- Summary:
- Bethany Highley (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) Bethany is a professional recording artist and session vocalist with classical vocal training, choir, musical theater, and worship leading experience. She can also dance, play piano/keyboard, and write song lyrics. Bethany just finished co-writing and recording vocals for a chill but dark electronic album written and produced by Yuri Kryzhanivskyy. She defines herself as pretty trance, chill, alternative, alt/dream pop/rock/punk-oriented, but has dynamic singing style abilities. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/5/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-16
- Main contributors:
- Bonnie Montgomery
- Summary:
- Bonnie Montgomery (Wimberley, Texas) Austin-based artist Bonnie Montgomery works in a multitude of genres, including outlaw country, classical, and opera. With her roots in White County, Arkansas, Montgomery is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist who has performed and toured with a number of artists, securing the title of 2020 Entertainer of the Year from the Arkansas Country Music Awards, the ACMA 2019 Americana/Roots Artist of the Year, and the titles of Best Americana Artist and Best Female Vocalist. She has produced singles with rockabilly legend Rosie Flores, toured with Texas troubadour Ray Wylie Hubbard, and composed a 2016 short-length opera about Bill Clinton’s youth in Hot Springs, Arkansas, which earned her accolades from The New Yorker and Huffington Post. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/16/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-25
- Main contributors:
- Bradley Simmons
- Summary:
- Bradley Simmons (Durham, North Carolina) Bradley Simmons is a performer and educator of Afro-Cuban and African percussion based in Durham, North Carolina. A native of New York City, he started playing at age nine, and became a sought after Conguero and shekere player for community and religious events. Bradley has played on Broadway plays including Timbuktu with Eartha Kitt and Melba Moore and Billy Wilson’s version of Guys and Dolls starring Robert Guillame. He has performed in nightclubs with musicians including Eartha Kitt, Gregory and Maurice Hines, and Oba Babatunde, and has recorded and played with the Fatback Band and with drummer Norman Connors. Bradley is the former Music Director of the Chuck Davis African-American Dance Ensemble and has taught throughout the United States. Bradley is a Musical Director at Duke University where he teaches West African and Afro-Cuban music. He is the leader of the percussion ensemble Elements of Percussion, which tours locally and nationally. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 09/25/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-16
- Main contributors:
- Brandon Woody
- Summary:
- Brandon Woody (Baltimore, Maryland) Brandon Woody is a trumpet player, composer, and curator based in Baltimore, Maryland. Growing up in East Baltimore, Woody is an alumnus of the Baltimore School for the Arts, and participated in programs such as the Berklee jazz workshop and Grammy Camp. Woody has studied with Cecile Bridgewater, Ambrose Akinmusire and Theljon Allen. He has performed with musicians including Quincy Phillips, Terri Lyne Carrington, and Tarus Mateen, and has appeared on the projects of several different rappers and singers including Miranda Curtis, Sophie Marks, and Neptune. Woody is also a member of the band of singer Solange. Woody has performed at venues such as Jazz at Lincoln Center Appel Room, the Lyric Opera House, the Kimmel Center, Monterey Jazz Festival, Moma Ps1, and Harlem Stage. After attending the Brubeck Institute on a full scholarship, he moved back to his hometown of Baltimore. In 2015, Woody founded his band UPENDO, which has toured nationally and internationally. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 09/16/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-09
- Main contributors:
- Brian Coleman
- Summary:
- Brian Coleman (Summerville, South Carolina) First Nation drummer Brian Coleman was born in Summerville, South Carolina, where he resides with his wife Shantrice and their daughter, Alijah. Brian is a Tribal member of the Edisto Natchez-Kusso Tribe of South Carolina. He serves as Chairman and Treasurer of the Board for the Tribal Council and the Edisto Indian Free Clinic. As a musician, he is a member of the Edisto River Singers Drum group, with whom he regularly performs at pow wows and other functions. He received his degree in electrical engineering from South Carolina State University and a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from Charleston Southern University, and continues to work as an electrical engineer. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/09/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-14
- Main contributors:
- Brian Marshall
- Summary:
- Brian Marshall (Humble, Texas) Brian Marshall is considered one of the keepers of the unique Texas Polish fiddle tradition. Performers like Brian Marshall have been responsible for a recent revitalization of the rich tradition of Polish fiddling from Texas that declined into obscurity until recent years. In the nineteenth century, Polish bands used fiddles to create a distinctly Texan sound. Brian and His Tex-Slavik Playboys bring back the old Polish Texan sound. A Houston native with Bremond roots, Marshall has a fiddle style redolent of the Old Country while containing elements of Western swing as well. Brian and his band have recorded several CDs including Texas Kapela and Texas Lowlands. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/14/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-05
- Main contributors:
- Brian Walther
- Summary:
- Brian Walther (Bismarck, North Dakota) Brian Walther’s career in music goes all the way back to 1982 and he has played countless styles of music. Whether it be as a polka drummer, a bass player in a country punk band, a keyboard player in a blues rock outfit, or an acoustic solo artist, Brian has a lifetime of experience in the music industry. Brian has recorded two solo albums that are currently available and was a founding member of the seminal 1980s cult country punk band Eddie & The Shitheads. The Shitheads were at the forefront of the DIY independent music movement selling several thousand copies of their classic record Ignorant Prix. Brian is the lead vocalist and guitar player for the American Storytellers. He has also produced multiple independent artists and worked as a live sound engineer for many years. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/05/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-14
- Main contributors:
- Bruce "Sunpie" Barnes
- Summary:
- Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes (New Orleans, Louisiana) Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes is a musician, author, and ethnographic photographer. Sunpie is the Big Chief of the Northside Skull and Bone Gang, one the oldest Afro-Creole carnival groups in the United States, which began its traditions in 1819. He is a member of the Black Men of Labor Social Aid and Pleasure Club and the band leader of Sunpie and the Louisiana Sunspots. His joint book and album project, Le Kèr Creole, was co-authored with Rachel Breunlin and Leroy Etienne. Sunpie is a former National Park Service Ranger, former high school biology teacher, former college football All-American, and former NFL football player for the Kansas City Chiefs. He performs his own style of Afro-Louisiana music, incorporating blues, zydeco, creole jazz, gospel, work songs, and Caribbean and African-influenced rhythms and melodies and is a multi-instrumentalist who plays accordion, harmonica, and piano along with rubboard, talking drum, and dejembe. He is a former member of the Paul Simon Band, and his acting work has appeared in the Hollywood films Point of No Return, Deja Vu, Under Cover Blues, Jonah Hex, Tremé, The Big Easy, Skeleton Key, and many more. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/14/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-30
- Main contributors:
- Buffalo Rogers
- Summary:
- Buffalo Rogers (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) Singer-songwriter Buffalo Rogers’ music has been described as Americana with a heart. Originally from Oklahoma, where he has lived with his wife and child for a number of years, he has spent many years touring extensively throughout the Oklahoma/Texas area with his blend of country/Americana/folk. Known for his showmanship and clever lyrics, his songs have been recorded by the Damn Quails and many others. Buffalo Rogers is also a visual artist. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/30/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-14
- Main contributors:
- Caique Vidal
- Summary:
- Caique Vidal (Greensboro, North Carolina) Caique Vidal is a singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and educator based in Greensboro, North Carolina. Born in Salvador, Bahia, he is steeped in the Afro-Brazilian tradition. One of his first performances took place with the ensemble of the Olodum Mirin project, participating in Michael Jackson’s “They Don’t Care About Us” (1993). Vidal studied at the Liceu de Artes e Oficios da Bahia and toured with the Balé Folclórico da Bahia. He participated in Mikael Mutti’s project Percussivo Mundo Novo. He has performed nationally and internationally, sharing the stage with artists including Suzana Baca, Carlinhos Brown, and Gilberto Gil. In 2012, Vidal moved to North Carolina, where he has taught Afro-Brazilian music and culture to professional musicians, publics school students, and universities. He leads the band Batuque, which uses Afro-Brazilian percussion in various contexts. Batuque has performed at venues including the Art of Cool-NC, Afro-Bahia Festival-NC, and Hardee’s Festival-VA. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 10/14/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-27
- Main contributors:
- Cantor Yvon Shore
- Summary:
- Cantor Yvon Shore (Cincinnati, Ohio) Cantor Yvon F. Shore is a cantor and educator based in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she is the Director of Liturgical Arts and Music at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. She earned a master’s degree in Sacred Music and Ordination through HUC-JIR, New York in 1995. She received a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from West Chester University, College of Visual and Performing Arts with a double major in flute and conducting. Cantor Shore took additional studies in ethnomusicology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York with Bathja Bayer, Amnon Shiloah, Edwin Seroussi, and Johoash Hirshberg. She continued graduate studies with an emphasis in musicology at the University of Cincinnati, College Conservatory of Music. At HUC, she teachers and oversees curricula, as well as leads prayer services. She has taught and lectured on topics from Music of the Moroccan Jewish Community to Classical Reform Jewish Music and Prayer. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 10/27/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-12
- Main contributors:
- Carla Sciaky
- Summary:
- Carla Sciaky (Lakewood, Colorado) Carla Sciaky is a multi-instrumentalist and folk singer-songwriter based in Lakewood, Colorado. As a soloist, she toured the US and Europe throughout the 1980s and 90s, recording first on her own Propinquity Records and later on Green Linnet and Alacazam Records. Her songwriting won her awards and/or recognition in such arenas as the Kerrville New Song Competition, the Louisville (Kentucky) songwriting competition, the Colorado Arts and Humanities Fellowship for Composition, the Billboard Songwriting Competition, and the Colorado, Utah, and Kansas Artist in Residence programs. As a member of the long-standing infamous Denver-area group the Mother Folkers, Carla was recently inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame, and her solo Zoom series, Concept Concerts, has soothed fans worldwide during the sheltering time of COVID. In the classical/early music world, Carla performs on baroque violin with Sémplice, a Denver quartet specializing in baroque music on period/replica instruments, as well as being a member of the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado since their first season. Carla is also active in the holistic and energy healing world, helping people find greater well-being through her practice Doorway to Healing, and is working on two book projects. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/12/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-08
- Main contributors:
- Casey Wayne McCallister
- Summary:
- Casey Wayne McCallister (Charlottesville, Virginia) Originally from Baton Rouge, multi-instrumentalist Casey Wayne McCallister spent years in New Orleans playing with multiple bands in the nuevo roots/country scene, including Hurray for the Riff Raff, before relocating to Charlottesville, Virginia. Over the years, he slowly began to do increasing amounts of composition for film, and now he has multiple feature film scores under his name, including the independent films Ghostbox Cowboy (2018), Western (2015), the Ross Brothers’ Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets (2020), and Socks on Fire (2020. He is also a skilled refurbisher of vintage organs. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/08/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-30
- Main contributors:
- Caz Gardiner
- Summary:
- Caz Gardiner (Washington, D.C.) Caz Gardiner, 2019 Wammie (Washington DC Area Music Association) nominee for best Soul Artist/Group, grew up listening to jazz, Caribbean music, soul, blues, rock, mod, and punk. Caz has shared the stage with Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Lee Fields and the Impressions, the London Souls, the Selecter, Don Bryant, and Nikki Hill. Starting her music career in the 1990s as the front woman of the soul/ska band the Checkered Cabs, Caz was later the lead singer of the rock/soul band the Ambitions, as well as for the rocksteady band Caz and the Day Laborers, before deciding that she wanted to break free of the band dynamic by starting her own self-titled band. In addition to her own current band, Caz Gardiner has performed with the BandHouse Gigs, Newmyer Flyer productions, Beat Hotel, Soul Crackers, Caz Gardiner and the Badasonics, Caz and the Commotions, Victor Rice Octet, and the New York Ska Jazz Ensemble. Caz has recorded and performed throughout the U.S., South America, and parts of Europe. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/30/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-15
- Main contributors:
- César "Jarochelo" Castro
- Summary:
- César “Jarochelo” Castro (Los Angeles, California) A professional son jarocho musician, luthier, and instructor, César Castro has been an active liaison between communities in the US and Veracruz, Mexico, for over fifteen years through Radio Jarochelo, a community-based podcast series he started in 2010, as well as various cultural projects, artist residencies with musicians from Veracruz, and cultural events in local communities, cultural centers, schools, universities, and California state prisons. He is very active as a community activist working to promote community building through music and participatory projects, particularly traditional Mexican son jarocho music. He conveys vast knowledge and experience in son jarocho/fandango musical practices and engages disenfranchised communities in building self-sustaining projects that tap into and build upon cultural knowledge, embodied experience, and memory. He plays requinto, jarana, improvises lyrics, and dance son jarocho. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/15/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-23
- Main contributors:
- Chris Newell
- Summary:
- Chris Newell (Bar Harbor, Maine) Chris Newell (Passamaquoddy) is a musician and educator based in Bar Harbor, Maine. He was born and raised in Motahkmikuhk (Indian Township, ME) and is a proud citizen of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township. Chris has been a member of the Mystic River singers, an award-winning inter-tribal pow wow drum group based in Connecticut. The group traveled across North America singing and learning at community pow wows. Beyond, Chris has served as Education Supervisor for the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center and co-founded the Akomawt Educational Initiative addressing the lack of Native history and social studies in public schools and other institutions. He spearheaded Akomawt’s collaboration with the Leventhal Map Center’s exhibit America Transformed: Mapping the 19th Century, earning the 2019 Excellence Award from the New England Museum Association. Chris serves as Executive Director and Senior Partner to Wabanaki Nations in the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor, Maine. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 10/23/20.
- Date:
- 2020-09-17
- Main contributors:
- Corey Ledet
- Summary:
- Corey Ledet (Parks, Louisiana) Zydeco artist Corey Ledet was born and raised in Houston, Texas, but spent his summers with family in the small town of Parks, Louisiana, immersed in Creole culture and music. An accordion player by training, he studied with many of the originators of zydeco, including Clifton Chenier, John Delafose, and Boozoo Chavis. His performing career began early at the age of ten, playing drums for the Houston-based band Wilbert Thibodeaux and the Zydeco Rascals before picking up the accordion. Ledet relocated to Louisiana and has performed there for years, infusing old and new styles of zydeco into his own unique sound. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/17/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-29
- Main contributors:
- Dakota Karper
- Summary:
- Dakota Karper (Capon Bridge, West Virginia) Dakota Karper is an Appalachian fiddler, vocalist and storyteller based in Capon Bridge, West Virginia. Born and raised in rural West Virginia, Dakota grew up surrounded by old-time Appalachian string band music and began studying the music at a young age. Absorbing as much as possible, she apprenticed under fiddler Joe Herrmann, spent weeks at Augusta Heritage Center, played various music festivals in and around West Virginia, and studied classical violin at the Shenandoah Arts Academy in Winchester, Virginia. After living in Baltimore, Maryland, for seven years, Dakota moved back to her roots in Capon Bridge, West Virginia, where she teaches Appalachian fiddle, as well as performs in the surrounding areas. Dakota was a founding member of the Short Mountain String Band and Hay Fever. In 2019 Dakota opened her own traditional roots music school called The Cat and The Fiddle. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 10/29/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-25
- Main contributors:
- Damein Wash
- Summary:
- Damein Wash (Oxford, Mississippi) Hailing from Oxford, Mississippi, musician, composer and filmmaker Damein Wash has spent a lifetime pursuing music in the Southern gospel tradition. With the addition of classical training (a BM in Choral Music Education and an MM in Music Theory from the University of Mississippi), he is also well versed in choral, gospel, blues, jazz, rock, soul, and funk. Wash is the front man for the Oxford-based party band the Soul Tones. He is also a member of Three Grand, a trio of performers who perform across the United States and Canada, primarily for large corporate events. Wash’s recordings and original scores have made their way into Hallmark films and the long-time running daytime drama The Young and the Restless. Wash also arranged and conducted Deep South Gospel for the Moonshine Music Co., a Sony subsidiary, which was featured on STARZ’s American Gods and in USA Network’s Queen of the South. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/25/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-24
- Main contributors:
- Damyon Jolley
- Summary:
- Damyon Jolley (Florence, Alabama) Originally from Huntsville, Alabama, Damyon Jolley has been playing bass since 2012. He relocated to Muscle Shoals for school in the early 2010s, and starting in 2017, has worked as an engineer, producer, and bassist based in Florence, Alabama. Damyon Jolley is also the band manager for the Muscle Shoals-based band, Coffee Black. Founded by lead vocalist and pianist CJ Anderson, Coffee Black is a retro funk and soul band. Their sound is driven by the rhythm section of Damyon Jolley, Matt Pettie, Michael Rogers, Angelo Sandoval, and Taylor Edwards, and horn section of Nick Watford, Jaimy Murff, Eli Hart, and Chase Fowler. The Black EP, a solo project released by CJ Anderson in 2017, laid the foundation for Coffee Black’s sound and was further expanded with the release of their self-titled debut album in the fall of 2019. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/24/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-06-10
- Main contributors:
- Dan Ansotegui
- Summary:
- Dan Ansotegui (Boise, Idaho) Dan Ansotegui was raised by the scents and tastes of his mother’s cooking and the sound of his father’s music. The music came from the accordion and the aromas that filled the house were brought to this country by his grandmother Epi. His exposure to the traditions of the Basque Country prepared him for a life of immersive study, commitment to preservation, and a talent for performance. Through his role as master, mentor, and entrepreneur, Dan is a bearer of Basque music, dance, and foodways traditions that contribute to the creative growth and sustainability of his cultural community. Dan is a National Heritage Award recipient (2019), performs traditional Basque dance music, and plays in a fusion Basque pop band called Amuma Says No. He is also one of the primary teachers in the Boise trikitixa and pandero teaching program, training new players of Basque music on diatonic accordion and tambourine. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 06/10/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-01
- Main contributors:
- Daniel Christian
- Summary:
- Daniel Christian (Tecumseh, Nebraska) For more than a decade, Nebraska singer-songwriter Daniel Christian has been sharing his songs and stories with audiences nationwide, including at the Bluebird Café in Nashville, the SXSW Festival in Austin, and a coast-to-coast tour of the United States. Daniel has released eight studio albums, a Christmas single, and a live recording. His Coffee & Toast project was released on the South Carolina label, Tremulant Records. He has also collaborated on eight albums of children’s music as a member of the band, the String Beans. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Daniel created the “Empty Spaces Series,” playing online concerts from “empty rooms that shouldn’t be empty,” including opera houses, churches, schools, and more. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/01/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-24
- Main contributors:
- Daniel de Jesús
- Summary:
- Daniel de Jesús (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Daniel de Jesús is a painter, composer, and songwriter versed in the worlds of visual and sonic tapestries. They hold a degree in fine art form the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and have exhibited their work throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Their musical practice includes building beats, ambient sonic spaces, and string arrangements with vocals, and their work has been described as Baroque pop and Neo-Goth, filled with dramatic themes based on mysticism, the occult, and Latin American lore. Daniel de Jesús has nine studio recordings of their original music and performs with orchestras and rock bands in the region and around the world. Their projects include collaborations with painter and performance artist David Antonio Cruz, singer songwriter Courtlyn Carr, and the Bearded Ladies Cabaret. They have performed at venues across the world including the Park Ave. Armory, Millennium Park Theater, and World Café Live. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 09/24/2020
- Date:
- 2020-09-30
- Main contributors:
- Daniel de los Reyes
- Summary:
- Daniel de los Reyes (Fayetteville, Georgia) Born into a musical family, Daniel de los Reyes’ grandfather co-founded the Cuban orchestra Casino de la Playa. His father, Walfredo de los Reyes III, went on to become one of Cuba’s most successful drummers/percussionists prior to moving to Puerto Rico and then to the United States. Daniel de los Reyes himself is a multi-faceted percussionist who has been on tour with the modern country outfit, the Zac Brown Band, for many years. Prior to his touring with the Zac Brown Band, de los Reyes has performed with a long list of major recording artists, including Don Henley, Earth Wind and Fire, Sting, The Killers, Sheryl Crow, Patti LaBelle, Peter Frampton, Jennifer Lopez, Stevie Nicks, and more. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/30/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-24
- Main contributors:
- Daniel Ho
- Summary:
- Daniel Ho (Los Angeles, California/Honolulu, Hawaii) Daniel Ho is an ‘ukulele virtuoso, slack key guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, singer-songwriter, producer, audio engineer, and record company owner. Daniel’s collaborations transcend genres, from Hawaiian regional roots to world music with Mongolian nomads, to duets with Pepe Romero, the maestro of classical guitar, to jazz and rock with Tak Matsumoto of the Japanese supergroup, B’z. Daniel is a six-time GRAMMY Award winner, eleven-time GRAMMY Award nominee, six-time Taiwanese Golden Melody Award winner, and recipient of multiple Hawaiian Music awards. Always on the move, Daniel is an American cultural ambassador, with tours completed to Japan, Thailand, Brunei, and Australia. In infinite pursuit of new musical adventures, he is also the designer of the Romero Creations Tiny Tenor ‘ukulele, Ohana Bongolele, and Shakerlele. His custom-designed six-string ‘ukulele is on exhibit at the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/24/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-15
- Main contributors:
- Danielle "Sug" Johnson
- Summary:
- Danielle “Sug” Johnson (Wilmington, Delaware) Danielle “Sug” Johnson is a singer and bandleader based in Wilmington, Delaware. She is the frontwoman of the Wilmington based funk-soul-blues band Hoochi Coochi. With Hoochi Coochi, Johnson has performed locally at venues ranging from the Gild Hall show, The Rusty Rudder in Dewey Beach, and the Delaware Music Festival. Beyond Delaware, the band has toured in venues and festivals across the Mid-Atlantic Region. Hoochi Coochi has also produced music videos which have received critical acclaim, including the song “Walkin,’” which features Wilmington Black-owned businesses, and addresses the Black Lives Matter Movement in relation to legacies of Black liberation struggles. Johnson is also a published writer, photographer, and guitar player. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 09/15/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-09
- Main contributors:
- Danielle Ponder
- Summary:
- Danielle Ponder (Rochester, New York) Danielle Ponder is a singer and bandleader based in Rochester, New York. Her group was named one of the Top Ten Bands to watch by CityPaper and was a winner of the 2015 and 2016 Roc Awards for Best Band. Danielle has performed opening shows for musicians including George Clinton, Ledisi, and the Roots, and has toured nationally and internationally. Her recorded releases include the EP Blow Out The Sun (2016) and the single “Holding Me Down” (2019). Beyond music, Danielle is a former Public Defender and TEDx speaker, and has organized around issues such as education funding, women’s rights, and criminal justice reform. She has been highlighted by the American Bar Association and has been awarded the Public Interest Law scholarship at Northeastern University, the Teen Empowerment’s PeaceMaker in Action Award, and the Jessica Bain Community Excellence Award. In 2017, she created the multimedia show For the Love of Justice, where she examines the U.S. criminal justice system. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 10/09/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-21
- Main contributors:
- Dave Robinson
- Summary:
- Dave Robinson (Phoenix, Arizona) Dave Robinson is a Phoenix-based classical musician and jazz guitarist who plays everything from classical to contemporary music. He has performed with Stevie Nicks, the Four Tops, Sam Moore, Joni Sledge, the Phoenix Symphony, and many others. He is a National Endowment for the Arts grant recipient and is in demand as a studio and performing guitarist. He has recorded with the Four Tops and appeared with Sam “Soul Man” Moore on the Motown Live TV show. He studied classical guitar and harmony at Arizona State University, as well as getting private instruction from Ted Greene, Joe Diorio, and Chuck Marohnic. He has also produced recordings for the Multimedia Library in NYC. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/21/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-21
- Main contributors:
- David García
- Summary:
- David García (San Antonio del Guache, New Mexico) Lifelong musician and cultural anthropologist David García works at the Center for Regional Studies-University of New Mexico. He calls himself a community musician since he is a multi-instrumentalist who plays in different community settings and in various community ensembles as well as professional ones. He plays violin for the Danza de Matachines, a dance that takes place during a particular festivity on December 27 in northern New Mexico. He plays also in religious settings and funerals. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/21/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-14
- Main contributors:
- David Reihs
- Summary:
- David Reihs (Portland, Oregon) Playing Arabic keyboard and accordion, Middle Eastern percussion, ud, and elektro-saz, David Reihs is a multi-instrumentalist turned producer and educator who currently focuses on music of Turkish and Arabic cultures. He has been studying a wide variety of Middle Eastern genres and instruments since 2001, including four years living in Istanbul, Turkey, where he learned and spent time with many of the country’s finest musicians. Aside from his work with Ritim Egzotik, David’s company produces concerts, workshops and instructional DVDs for Middle Eastern music and dance. He is the artistic director for Ritim Egzotik, a modern Turkish and Arabic music ensemble that respectfully plays classic and popular Arabic and Turkish compositions and tosses in prog rock and psychedelic spices to add their own twist and modernize the songs they love. Added to this feast of sounds are Greek and Turkish Roman favorites. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/14/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-10
- Main contributors:
- David Romtvedt
- Summary:
- David Romtvedt (Buffalo, Wyoming) David Romtvedt was born in Portland, Oregon, and raised in southern Arizona. He is a writer and a musician. A recipient of two NEA fellowships, the Pushcart Prize, and the Wyoming Governor's Arts Award, David served as the poet laureate of the state of Wyoming from 2003 to 2011, his work has appeared in numerous magazines, and he has published books of fiction, poetry, and essays including Gernikako Arbola, translations of the nineteenth century songwriter and poet Joxe Mari Iparragirre, and the 2021 poetry collection No Way, an American Tao Te Ching. He is a multi-instrumentalist and for many years played dance music of the Americas with the Wyoming-based band the Fireants. He is an ambassador of Basque culture and plays trikitixa, a two-row accordion designed specifically for Basque music. Romtvedt served as the program manager for the Centrum Foundation's Festival of American Fiddle Tunes and International Folk Dance and Music Festival and continues to work with the Children's Band Lab program at Fiddle Tunes. He lives in Buffalo, Wyoming, with his wife, the potter Margo Brown. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/10/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-06
- Main contributors:
- DDm
- Summary:
- DDm (Baltimore, Maryland) DDm (Dapper Dan Midas) is a singer, raptivist and social media personality based in Baltimore, Maryland. DDm was born and raised in Baltimore, and participated in the local rap circuit beginning in the mid-2000s before starting his hip hop duo Bond St. District. As a solo artist, DDm has recorded albums including Beautiful Gowns (2019) and The Ballad of Omar (2020), inspired by Michael K. Williams’s portrayal of Omar, an openly gay man raised in West Baltimore, in the series The Wire. DDm has released multiple music videos including “Come Thru,” “He Say She Say,” and “Pull Up.” In addition to rapping at ciphers around Baltimore, he has performed at venues such the Baltimore Soundstage and the LGBTQ mega-party Bent: Back with a Bang. He has performed alongside musicians such as Dan Deacon and collaborated with Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner on her project Dungeonesse. Beyond music, DDm regularly presents social commentary videos under the moniker Secretary of Shade. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 10/06/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-30
- Main contributors:
- Deborah Strauss
- Summary:
- Deborah Strauss (Princeton, New Jersey) Deborah Strauss is a multi-instrumentalist, educator, and dancer of klezmer and Yiddish music. She is a member of the intercontinental group Voices of Ashkenaz and the Yiddish/North German fiddle trio, Figelin. She has performed with the Grammy-winning Klezmatics and appears in the film Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem. Together with Cantor Jeff Warschauer, she is a member of the Strauss/Warschauer Duo, which has performed in venues such as Great Britain’s Fiddles on Fire and the Jewish Culture Festival in Cracow, Poland. Jeff and Deborah were both longtime members of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, one of the premiere groups of the klezmer revival, and have performed with violinist Itzhak Perlman. They lead Yiddish song and dance workshops throughout North America and Europe and have taught at places such as KlezKamp, KlezKanada, and Yiddish Summer Weimar. Deborah and Jeff are Yiddish speakers, and have researched and collected Yiddish and Hebrew songs and melodies since the 1980s. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 09/30/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-25
- Main contributors:
- DeCarlo Tatum, Jr.
- Summary:
- DeCarlo Tatum, Jr. (Atlanta, Georgia) Atlanta-based rapper DeCarlo Tatum, Jr. emerged in 2014 as a member of the Atlanta rap trio, Rebel Forest. The group flourished creatively under the tutelage of southern hip-hop pioneer Rico Wade and released several singles, most notably “More” and “Drugs” in 2015. 2020 marked DeCarlo’s second full-length release on Rare Dope International. The project, titled DEVOTION, introduces listeners to the key principles of DeCarlo’s sound. The album follows the rhythmic pattern of the ceremony that proceeds a church service. In other words, it is meant to sound like the jam session before the main church event. The lead single, “Project Baby,” features Damain.OG. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/25/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-22
- Main contributors:
- Del Rey
- Summary:
- Del Rey (Seattle, Washington) Del Rey started playing guitar when she was four years old. At thirteen, she was immersed in the world of folk music via the San Diego Folk Festival. She has tried to get a whole band onto her solo instrument from the beginning. This gives her music an interesting complexity, especially when applied to the ukulele. Rags, blues, and tunes of the early twentieth century are her specialty, even as she writes new music to add to the tradition. Del Rey also has fashion sense that would make Minnie Pearl smile. Del Rey has taught and played all over the world and brings her distinctive finger-style approach to guitar and ukulele to her teaching. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/22/2020
- Date:
- 2020-09-23
- Main contributors:
- Dena El Saffar
- Summary:
- Dena El Saffar (Bloomington, Indiana) Dena El Saffar is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, teacher, and recording artist who has performed throughout the U.S. as well as in the Middle East and Latin America. Born and raised in a musical family in Chicago, she learned about her Iraqi heritage through stories, music, and recipes. She began violin lessons at the age of six. At the age of seventeen, after winning several concerto competitions and touring Europe with a youth orchestra, she traveled to Iraq and became inspired to learn Iraqi music traditions. After completing a Viola Performance degree at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, she settled in Bloomington. While still a student, she founded the Middle Eastern music group Salaam, which focuses on music of the Arab world. Salaam has recorded nine albums, and has been featured on NPR, including an interview on All Things Considered with Guy Raz. El Saffar plays several traditional Middle Eastern instruments, including oud and joza, as well as violin and viola. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/23/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-05
- Main contributors:
- Dessa
- Summary:
- Dessa (New York City, New York/Minneapolis, Minnesota) Originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota and now splitting time between Minneapolis and New York, singer, rapper, and writer Dessa has made a career of bucking genres and defying expectations—her resume as a musician includes performances at Lollapalooza and Glastonbury, co-compositions for 100-voice choir, performances with the Minnesota Orchestra, and Top 200 entries on the Billboard charts. She contributed to the #1 album The Hamilton Mixtape; her track, “Congratulations,” has notched over 16 million streams. As a writer, she’s been published by The New York Times and National Geographic Traveler, broadcast by Minnesota Public Radio, and published a memoir-in-essays (My Own Devices, 2018) in addition to two literary collections. As a speaker, Dessa has delivered keynote speeches and presentations on art, science, and entrepreneurship; guest lectures at universities and colleges across the US; and a TED talk about her science experiment on how to fall out of love. She’s been covered by Pitchfork, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal among others. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/05/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-31
- Main contributors:
- Dewa Ayu Dewi Larassanti
- Summary:
- Dewa Ayu Dewi Larassanti (Bay Area, California) Dewa Ayu Larassanti is a Balinese dancer, musician, and vocalist who regularly teaches at Sanggar Çudamani, a Balinese performing arts school founded by her parents in Pengosekan, Bali. With Çudamani, she has toured Greece, Japan, Canada, and the United States. Ayu grew up both in the Bay Area and in Bali, experiencing the challenges and the beauty of two worlds. She loves to study different forms of music and dance, including choral music, jazz dance, and hip hop. She is a student at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/31/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-23
- Main contributors:
- Dewa Berata
- Summary:
- Dewa Berata (Los Angeles, California) Bapak I Dewa Putu Berata is an internationally acclaimed Balinese musician, teacher, and composer based out of the San Francisco Bay Area and Pengosekan, Bali. A graduate of STSI Denpasar (Bali’s National Academy of the Arts), he has been an artistic collaborator with dance troupes, theater companies, and music ensembles in multiple countries. He has served as Gamelan Sekar Jaya’s Guest Music Director many times since his first residency in 1994. Berata is the founder and director of Çudamani, one of Bali’s most innovative and acclaimed gamelan ensembles that has toured extensively including appearances at the Cultural Olympiade (Greece), EXPO (Japan), Tong Tong Festival (Holland), and Lincoln Center & Zellerbach Hall (USA). Çudamani has become one of the most vibrant centers of artistic activity in Bali, endeavoring to study rare classic forms of Balinese arts. Berata’s life’s work has been dedicated not only to the arts, but to creating community by providing opportunities for active arts engagement to children, youth, women, and elders. He is also the musical director for Gamelan Sekar Jaya, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering artistic exchange between Bali and the United States and to sharing the excitement of this exchange with diverse audiences in California, the US, and abroad. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/23/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-09
- Main contributors:
- DJ Mahf
- Summary:
- DJ Mahf (St. Louis, Missouri) St. Louis-based DJ and producer Dan Mahfood, better known as DJ Mahf, is the younger brother of famed LA comic-book artist Jim Mahfood, and is the DJ for the local St. Louis group Earthworms. As the official DJ for the New Orleans Super Bowl as well as the official DJ for the St. Louis Blues hockey team, DJ Mahf has spent much time performing at both local and corporate gigs. While he specializes in old and new underground hip-hop records, he spins a wide array of music, from Motown to rhythm and blues, avant-garde, and Top 40. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/09/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-26
- Main contributors:
- DJ Supreme
- Summary:
- DJ Supreme (Birmingham, Alabama) Birmingham, Alabama-based DJ/producer and local radio personality DJ Supreme has held many roles in the entertainment industry over the years. While he works in many genres, his classic sets fuse hip-hop with funk, soul, Motown, and classic rock as well as contemporary Top 40. DJ Supreme was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, but relocated to Birmingham in the late 1980s, when he began making his own beats and doing his own production. He is one half of the hip-hop performing duo Shaheed and DJ Supreme. The Birmingham-based Communicating Vessels record label released the group’s third album, Knowledge Rhythm and Understanding. Together, they’ve performed with major touring acts, including Raekwon the Chef, Stalley, Atmosphere, and Brother Ali. In the summer of 2014, Shaheed and DJ Supreme successfully toured the UK with Jurassic 5 and Dilated Peoples. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/26/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-22
- Main contributors:
- Doris "Lady D" Fields
- Summary:
- Doris "Lady D" Fields (Beckley, West Virginia) Doris Fields, aka “Lady D,” is a singer, bandleader, actress and visual artist based in Beckley, West Virginia. Known as West Virginia’s First Lady of Soul, Lady D has opened for the O’Jays at Charleston’s FestivALL (2007), as well as performed for The HistoryMakers: An Evening With Henry Louis Gates, Jr. in Charleston (2010). Along with her band MI$$ION, she performed her original song “Go Higher,” chosen as the best Obama Inaugural Song, at the Obama for Change Inaugural Ball in 2009. Lady D received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the All Black Schools Sports & Academic Hall of Fame (2014) and has won the DC Blues Society Blues Challenge (2017). As an actress, Lady D has toured with her one-woman show The Lady and the Empress, a musical stage play based on the life and music of Bessie Smith. She has also acted with West Virginia productions of Honey in the Rock, Hatfields, McCoys and various other shows. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 10/22/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-18
- Main contributors:
- Dot Levine
- Summary:
- Dot Levine (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Dot Levine is a Philadelphia-based entertainer, bandleader and producer. As a singer and guitar player, they specialize in many genres, most prominently 1920s jazz music. Dot has performed with their group the Singular Band, as well as with the Mahogany Stompers, a duo with percussionist Julius Masri; the Howling Kettles, an old-timey trio with members spread across the United States; and groups such as the Perseverance Jazz Band. Dot is also a dedicated teacher, an active producer, and has worked extensively as a live sound technician. They build electronic instruments and equipment to use in their recording studio and in their solo experimental project, Fink Tank. In March 2020, Dot founded Dottie’s Serenade Service, which provides individually tailored socially distant performances in the age of pandemic and has expanded beyond Philadelphia to New York City, Boston, New Orleans, and Los Angeles. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 09/18/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-07
- Main contributors:
- Dwynell Roland
- Summary:
- Dwynell Roland (Minneapolis, Minnesota) Dwynell was born and raised in North Minneapolis and has been rapping since the age of 13. During that time when he first started writing, he was part of a collective called TCB (Twin City Boyz). His time with the TCB was spent largely perfecting his craft of freestyling. Dwynell’s first mixtape, Upside, showed his burgeoning songwriting talent. His album 92 and Roland showed ongoing growth as a songwriter, taking on topics of partying and reflection, as well as feel-good jams and deep lyrics. With the release of his Factors EP in 2014, Dwynell started to explore more serious subject matter, such as the track “She” about the quest for love gone awry, and that led him to new territory, such as garnering an opening spot on Prof Outdoors in 2016. Shortly after his performance, he released a project called The Popular Nobody, a project that allowed Dwynell to show why he is one of the standouts of the young new rappers hailing from Minneapolis. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/07/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-06
- Main contributors:
- Eddie Moore
- Summary:
- Eddie Moore (Kansas City, Missouri) Jazz pianist and bandleader Eddie Moore was raised in Houston, Texas, and began his musical journey at Texas Southern University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts and immersed himself in the Houston music scene. As a lifelong musician traversing a number of bands and styles, he then relocated to Kansas City to study under Bobby Watson at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where he received his MA in Jazz Studies. After forming jazz/fusion group Eddie Moore & The Outer Circle in 2012, he released his debut album, The Freedom of Expression, which was given 3.5 stars from Downbeat jazz magazine. Moore’s third album, Kings & Queens, incorporates elements of soul, R&B, rock, and hip-hop into his take on contemporary jazz. Released with Ropeadope Records, Moore’s forward-thinking sounds are part of the rich continuum of African American music that continues to be imbued with indigenous African elements. Moore is also recipient of the 2016 Charlotte Street Generative Performance Award; 2017’s Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art “Artist in Residence” in collaboration with Rashid Johnson; 2018’s work with The Outer Circle was nominated for an Indie Music Award; and his music has also been featured commercially for Sprint, Netflix’s Queer Eye and Morgan Cooper’s short film Room Tone. Moore has shared the stage and recorded with Bobby Watson, Pam, Watson, Logan Richardson, Maurice Brown, Boys II Men, Brian Blade and the Fellowship, John Baptiste, Erykah Badu, Mosdef, Bilal, Ledisi, Chantae Cann, Krystal Warren, Matt Otto, Brandon Draper, Andre Hayward, Tivon Pennicott, Various Blonde, Dominique Sanders, 77 Jefferson, and the Marcus Lewis Big Band. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/06/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-08-31
- Main contributors:
- Eddie Parente
- Summary:
- Eddie Parente (Portland, Oregon) Originally from Jersey City, NJ, Eddie Parente studied violin and four-part harmony at Jersey City State College and played in string orchestra while studying jazz with saxophonist Emile DeCosmo. Eddie also studied with violinist Julie Lyonn Lieberman in NYC and credits trumpeter Ted Curson, who held jam sessions in Hoboken and encouraged Eddie to play jazz in those formative years. In the early 1980s, Eddie lived in Boston, Massachusetts, where he played in a Mexican mariachi band while studying classical Indian music with tabla, attending Irish traditional music sessions, and playing in an international folk dance band. Upon moving to Portland in 1985, Eddie participated in Ron Steen's jam sessions and studied and played with the great jazz violinist/bassist Rob Thomas. Since then, Eddie has played and recorded with a wide variety of musical groups. These days, Eddie is leading his own jazz quartet and plays in Mariachi Viva Mexico, a successful working mariachi group in the large and growing Latino community in the Pacific Northwest. Eddie has a CD of his original jazz and Latin compositions entitled Touraco and a CD entitled Quartet Jazz. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 08/31/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-01
- Main contributors:
- Edem K. Garro
- Summary:
- Edem K. Garro (Lincoln, Nebraska) Edem K. Garro is a Ghanaian-American composer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist from Omaha, Nebraska. In 2017, she won the Omaha Entertainment and Arts Award for Best Soul Artist. As a skilled hand percussionist and vocalist, she incorporates West African aesthetics into her songwriting and performances. Whether performing traditional music or her electronic compositions, Edem’s work primarily focuses on cultural preservation and identity. As a Nebraska Arts Council artist, she routinely performs for universities, schools, and organizations throughout the West. In recent years, she has had ongoing creative partnerships with Lincoln Motors, Minnesota Humanities, and the Denver Public Library. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/01/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-04
- Main contributors:
- Eimear Arkins
- Summary:
- Eimear Arkins (St. Louis, Missouri) Originally from a small village in Ireland’s County Clare, St. Louis-based fiddler Eimear Arkins is also a singer and dancer with eleven Irish music world championship titles. Eimear has toured extensively with Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann throughout Ireland, Britain, North America, and Canada. She has also performed with the show Brú Ború and helped to represent Ireland at World Expo 2010 in Shanghai. In August 2015, she traveled to World Expo in Milan with St. Louis Irish Arts where she promoted Irish culture and the expression of Irish culture worldwide. Eimear has toured with The Paul Brock Band, Cherish the Ladies, Tomaseen Foley’s A Celtic Christmas and often performs with harp player and St. Louis native, Eileen Gannon. Eimear is a qualified Irish music and dance instructor and teaches at St. Louis Irish Arts. In June 2018, she released her debut album, What’s Next?, and was awarded “Best Newcomer” from Live Ireland in 2019. In January 2020, Eimear was awarded an Artist Fellowship from the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/04/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-02
- Main contributors:
- Elexa Dawson
- Summary:
- Elexa Dawson (The Flint Hills, Kansas) First Nation singer-songwriter Elexa Dawson lives in the Flint Hills region of Kansas. As a musical storyteller, Elexa Dawson presents her original music with a voice that is reminiscent of the prairie hills she calls home. She is a citizen of the Potawatomi Nation, she plays guitar and mandolin, and she works as a studio vocalist. Her album Music is Medicine (Lost Cowgirl Records, 2019) debuted Elexa’s solo career with community-centered songs meant to inspire, instigate and heal. Her song “High Place” charted #6 on Indigenous Music Countdown. She was the 2019 First People’s Fund Fellow and the 2020 Western Arts Alliance AIP Fellow. Elexa performs solo as well as with a bluesy folk trio at private and public events, gatherings, festivals, and campfires. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/02/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-24
- Main contributors:
- Ellie Grace
- Summary:
- Ellie Grace (Kansas City, Missouri) Ellie Grace grew up performing in a family band. She is now a singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and dancer who specializes in roots-based Americana and percussive dance. Ellie has performed at prestigious venues across the U.S. and Canada, from the Winnipeg Folk Festival to Lincoln Center to the National Women’s Music Festival. She has appeared as a featured guest with Peter and Paul (of Peter, Paul and Mary) at the Rubicon Theater in California. Ellie Grace is also a teacher, having taught at camps, schools, colleges, and festivals across the country. In addition to her time on faculty at Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, and University of North Carolina-Asheville, Ellie has directed schools of folk music and dance in Missouri and North Carolina. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/24/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-22
- Main contributors:
- Emi Grate
- Summary:
- Emi Grate (New York City, New York) Emi Grate is a drag artist, event producer, and illustrator based in Brooklyn, New York. Emi Grate was born and raised in Mandalay, Burma, and came to the United State in 2011 for college. She is an LGBT asylee in the U.S. Emi Grate is a classically trained tenor vocalist. She holds a liberal arts degree in theatre and is trained as a stage manager. Emi Grate is the producer of A+ the Pan-Asian Drag Revue, and is Mr(s) BK 2018 and Miss Brooklyn Pride 2020. Her drag involves community organizing and is centered around themes of identity politics, looking to her own upbringing and cultural background to validate and celebrate queerness. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 09/22/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-14
- Main contributors:
- Erica Snowden-Rodríguez
- Summary:
- Erica Snowden-Rodríguez (Akron, Ohio) Since moving to Ohio in 2005, Erica has led an active career as a performer and teaching artist in the region of Northeast Ohio. In addition to the Akron Symphony Orchestra, they are the principal cellist of the Erie Philharmonic and former principal cellist of the Canton Symphony. They perform in a variety of chamber music and recital settings within the community and abroad. Erica has toured nationally with Sphinx Virtuosi, a chamber orchestra comprised of the nation’s top Latinx and African-American string players, and has appeared as a performer and lecturer at many of Cleveland’s cultural and medical centers, including the Cleveland Museum of Art, Mixon Hall, and the Cleveland Clinic. In addition to an active performance career, Erica is a music educator, having served on the faculty at The University of Akron School of Music from 2013-14 and at the Cleveland State University Department of Music from 2014-16. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 09/14/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-23
- Main contributors:
- Erin Heist
- Summary:
- Erin Heist (Juneau, Alaska) Born and raised in Juneau, Alaska, Erin Heist plays guitar and sings bluegrass, old-time, Cajun, and country music. She performs in a duo with her husband and in a honky-tonk, old-time band that plays at bars, festivals, or local events. She works for the State of Alaska and considers music a very important part of her life. She is very involved in Juneau’s folk music scene and praises the sense of community music brings to the city, particularly through the Alaska Folk Festival. Interview by Raquel Paraíso, 09/23/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-26
- Main contributors:
- Fawziyya Heart
- Summary:
- Fawziyya Heart (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Fawziyya Heart is a singer/songwriter based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Born and raised in the city, she has been influenced by the Philly music scene. Her music is a funk-infused blend of jazz, blues, and soul with anthemic lyrics calling for social change and self-transformation. Fawziyya has performed, recorded, and written several songs with global house music collective World Town Sound System alongside Grammy award winning percussionist Pablo Batista (Alicia Keys/Grover Washington Jr). In 2020, Fawziyya prepared for the release of her debut EP, featuring her own original songs and an array of Philly talent. The songs on the EP are produced by Philadelphia’s legendary Chuck Treece, who remixed songs for Amy Grant and Sting, and played bass on “The River of Dreams” by Billy Joel. Trap Rabbit’s Logan Roth has co-arranged the songs and added his distinct sound to the tracks. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 09/26/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-14
- Main contributors:
- Fay Victor
- Summary:
- Fay Victor (New York City, New York) Brooklyn based Fay Victor is an improvising vocalist, composer, lyricist, and educator working with musics that are improvisational and conversational in nature. Victor has released critically acclaimed albums as a leader, including Barn Songs (Northern Spy Records, 2019) and SoundNoiseFunk-Wet Robots (ESP-Disk, 2018). She has worked with musicians including William Parker, Roswell Rudd, Nicole Mitchell, Archie Shepp, Marc Ribot, and Tyshawn Sorey. Touring nationally and internationally, she has performed in venues including Whitney Museum and The Museum of Modern Art (NYC), The Kolner Philharmonie (Germany), De Young Museum (SF), The Winter Jazz Festival (NY) and the Bimhuis (Netherlands). She was the 2017 Herb Albert/Yaddo Fellow in Music Composition and a 2018 recipient of a month-long Headlands Center for the Arts residency. As an educator, Victor teaches her own singing classes and workshops and serves on the faculty of the New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 09/14/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-15
- Main contributors:
- Fred Mayorga
- Summary:
- Fred Mayorga (Miami, Florida) Nicaraguan musician Fred Mayorga was born in Nicaragua in 1987. He is now based in Miami, Florida, where he emigrated in June of 2000. At the age of 12, he learned how to play Marimba de Arco, Nicaragua’s iconic traditional instrument. In Miami, Fred performs widely throughout the area and is studying music production. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/15/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-06
- Main contributors:
- Fred Riedel
- Summary:
- Fred Riedel (Gresham, Oregon) A retired schoolteacher, Fred Riedel is the bandleader, guitar player, and singer for the blues band—swing style—Blues Battalion. The group plays cover tunes as well as original tunes mostly written by Fred. Blues Battalion is John Johnston (keyboard), John McKenney (bass), Shelley Lenz (vocals), Cardo Bonjourno (drums), and Fred Riedel (guitar & vocals). Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/06/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-19
- Main contributors:
- Gaelynn Lea
- Summary:
- Gaelynn Lea (Duluth, Minnesota) Musician Gaelynn Lea won NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Contest in 2016, and not long after she hit the road with her husband Paul. So far she has toured in forty-five states and nine countries, performing original songs and traditional fiddle tunes. Gaelynn Lea has appeared in several major festivals over the years, including SXSW, the Winnipeg Folk Festival, and the Reykjavik Arts Festival. She has also opened for well-known bands such as Wilco, the Decemberists, LOW, the Jayhawks, and the industrial rock supergroup Pigface. In addition to performing and recording, Gaelynn also does speaking engagements about Disability Rights and accessibility in the arts. She uses her music as a platform to advocate for disabled people and to promote positive social change. In recent years, she has shared her perspective on PBS News Hour, The Moth Radio Hour, The Science of Happiness Podcast, and through two widely-viewed TEDx Talks. Gaelynn Lea is currently working on a memoir about her touring adventures and disability advocacy. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/19/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-21
- Main contributors:
- Gao Hong
- Summary:
- Gao Hong (Northfield, Minnesota) Gao Hong, a Chinese pipa player and composer, began her career as a professional musician at age twelve. She graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where she studied with pipa master Lin Shicheng. She has received numerous awards and honors. In 2019, Gao Hong became the only musician in any genre to win five McKnight Artist Fellowships for Performing Musicians. In 2018, she became the first Chinese musician to win a Sally Award from the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. She has performed throughout Europe, Australia, Argentina, Japan, Hong Kong, China, and the United States, and has world premiered numerous pipa concerti with important orchestras. She has been featured as both pipa player and composer in important festivals in the U.S. Her composition for solo pipa, “Flying Dragon,” won the 2012 Global Music Award of Excellence-Solo Instrumental (Gold Medal). Since her arrival in the U.S. in 1994, Gao Hong has presented hundreds of educational workshops for elementary through college-age students and has been on the faculty of Metropolitan State University and MacPhail Center for the Arts. Currently, she teaches at Carleton College in Minnesota. During the COVID pandemic, Gao Hong released two CDs, Hunting Eagles Catching Swans (Chinese Pudong pipa music featuring Gao Hong and her master, Lin Shichen) and From Our World to Yours (ARC Music in U.K.). Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/21/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-29
- Main contributors:
- Gerardo Meza
- Summary:
- Gerardo Meza (Lincoln, Nebraska) Gerardo Meza is a first-generation Mexican American, the son of immigrants who settled in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1960. He has been creating art since childhood and has worked professionally as an artist for most of his adult life. As a songwriter and musician, he has performed with his band the Mezcal Brothers for the past twenty-two years as the primary songwriter, lead singer, and rhythm guitarist. In 2016, the Mezcal Brothers were inducted into the Nebraska Music Hall of Fame. He has toured extensively in the U.S. as well as parts of Europe since 2000 with the Mezcal Brothers. For the past ten years, Gerardo Meza has taught art at Lincoln Public Schools’ Arts & Humanities Focus Program High School. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/29/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-07
- Main contributors:
- Germán Marcano
- Summary:
- Germán Marcano (Miami, Florida) Venezuelan cellist Germán Marcano lives in Miami, Florida, with his wife. Marcano has had many roles over the years, including as principal cello with the Simón Bolívar Symphony. He was also a regular guest soloist and conductor with Venezuela’s main orchestras. Marcano has held teaching positions at the Simón Bolívar Conservatory (El Sistema), Emil Friedman School, the Simón Bolívar University, and the Mozarteum School in Caracas. He has given masterclasses at Grand Valley State, Andrews University, the San Diego Youth Orchestra, the University of Iowa, Louisiana State University and the Madison Cello Institute in Wisconsin, Colombia, and Ecuador. He has premiered works from renowned Latin American composers. Among his publications we can count editions of important Venezuelan cello works and three commercial recordings, two of them devoted to folk Venezuelan music. Marcano holds degrees from the University of Surrey and the Guildhall School of Music (England), and a master’s and DMA from the UW-Madison. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/07/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-03
- Main contributors:
- Giani Martinez
- Summary:
- Giani Martinez (Tampa, Florida) Metal/heavy metal musician Gianfranco Martinez De La Torre lives in Tampa, Florida, where he was born and raised. He does promotions and booking for a DIY venue located in a basement called “The Millhaus.” In recent years, he has played in local bands called Spit and Invade as well as filling in for the bands Poster and Bad Human. Most recently, he has been working with local producer Eric Dina on his first demo. The project is planned as a solo four-song self-titled demo tape. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/03/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-16
- Main contributors:
- Gopal Niroula
- Summary:
- Gopal Niroula (Burlington, Vermont) Gopal Niroula is a multi-instrumentalist and singer based in Burlington, Vermont. Born in Bhutan, Niroula was raised in a refugee camp in Nepal before resettling in Burlington. Niroula plays traditional Nepali music, along with other Nepali music genres. He is a multi-instrumentalist and singer, with a specialty in flute, and a particular expertise in the nose flute. In Vermont, he plays with his brother, tabla musician Puru Niroula. Alongside other members, they play in 3rd STEPS, a group they co-founded which gathers bi-weekly for two hours to sing bhajan, or Hindu devotional songs, in Nepali. The name 3rd STEPS refers to the members’ links to three countries: Bhutan where they were born, Nepal where Bhutanese nationals of ethnic Nepali descent fled after stripped of their Bhutanese citizenships in the 1990s, and the U.S. During COVID-19, Niroula produced and performed in a weekly livestream show that attracted many well-known musicians from Nepal, including a winner of the Nepali Idol contest. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 09/16/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-01
- Main contributors:
- Gregory Hodges
- Summary:
- Gregory Hodges (Spartanburg, South Carolina) South Carolina-based blues musician Gregory Hodges has spent years touring with and performing with a number of different acts, including Col. Bruce Hampton and the Code Talkers. He relocated to New Orleans for a number of years and got a chance to perform with a number of his musical heroes, including George Porter, Art Neville, Hubert Sumlin, Aaron Neville, Lenny Kravitz, Charlie Musselwhite, Dr. John, Tom Jones, and more. After more than half a decade in New Orleans, Hodges relocated back to South Carolina, where he is the front man for the Gregory Hodges Band, which features Tez Sherard on drums, Frank Willkie on bass, and Aaron Bowen on keys. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/01/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-22
- Main contributors:
- Hal Ide
- Summary:
- Hal Ide (Iowa City, Iowa) Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1954, flutist Hal Ide grew up in a northern suburb of Detroit. He completed an undergraduate degree in Music Theory and Composition at Central Michigan University as well as a Master in Composition and a Master of Fine Arts in Arts Administration from the University of Iowa. Upon graduation, he served as Assistant Director of Operations for the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, where he would continue to work during summers for the next two decades. During the academic year, he worked as an administrator at Hancher Auditorium on the University of Iowa campus. He has played with many local music groups over the years and has eight records of mostly original compositions. Since retirement, Hal Ide has become a watercolor artist, and served as an Artist in Residence for the National Parks. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/22/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-30
- Main contributors:
- Hasan Khalil
- Summary:
- Hasan Khalil (Lincoln, Nebraska) Hasan Khalil is a Yazidi Syrian immigrant who spent years in a refugee camp in Syria before relocating to Lincoln, Nebraska’s sizeable Yazidi community. Hasan is a multi-instrumentalist who performs throughout the area with his band, the Golden Studio, which performs primarily Arabic, Turkish, and Armenian traditional musics. The Golden Studio are fluent in many styles, including Arabic, Turkish, Kurdish, Persian, and traditional Syrian music, and are much in demand for weddings and other community celebrations in and around Lincoln. Khalil is also the owner of the Lincoln-based barbershop, The Golden Scissor. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/30/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-20
- Main contributors:
- Hasu Patel
- Summary:
- Hasu Patel (Cleveland, Ohio) Hasu Patel is a composer, performer, and educator based in Cleveland, Ohio. Born in Baroda, India, Hasu plays sitar in a style known as Gayaki Ang (vocal style), and has studied with teachers including Prof. N.B. Kikani, and Ustad Anwar Khan Sahib. She has performed nationally and internationally at venues including the Beijing International Congress on Women in Music at the China Conservatory of Music. She has been honored for her achievements in music and public service with awards including the International Peace Ambassadors from the United Nations and the Ohio Heritage Fellowship Award from the Ohio Arts Council. Hasu has recorded and released multiple albums and has composed dozens of compositions in both Indian and Western Classical contexts. She served as a faculty member at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music for over twenty years, teaching students who went on to play professionally across genres. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 10/20/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-22
- Main contributors:
- Hong Wang
- Summary:
- Hong Wang (Las Vegas, Nevada) Hong Wang is an internationally touring multi-instrumentalist. He graduated from Nanjing Normal University’s Music Department, where he mainly studied the erhu (two-string bowed instrument) and composition. He studied oboe at Nanjing Arts Academy, and after graduation, he taught songwriting and oboe at the music department for about five years. Later, he changed his career to music editor at Jiangsu Province Institute of Arts. Hong has been living in the United States since the early 1990s. He has composed several pieces for the Chinese ensembles and contemporary mixed bands, earning him a number of awards. He has recorded for several recording companies, including Sony Classical, Sega, TDK, Sound World, and Water Baby Records. He is also a zhonghu soloist for the album Monk's Moods, which was nominated for a Grammy Award. Hong has performed extensively at many international festivals and with several renowned musicians. As a leading contemporary musician, he has played several concerts in the San Francisco Bay Area, such as Thundering Across the Sky; A Musical Dialogue with Dancing Lions; New Music Concert with the Citywinds; and Three Sound, an experimental music series by composer Carl Stone, sheng master Wu Wei, matouqin master Li Bo, and bass clarinetist and composer Gene Coleman. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/22/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-22
- Main contributors:
- Isaac Callender
- Summary:
- Isaac Callender (Sand Coulee, Montana) Isaac has been a regular in the North American folk music scene for the last twenty years. He has performed with such notable acts as Jeff Scroggins and Colorado, the April Verch Band, Bobby Hicks, John Reischman, Tony Trischka, Tommy Emmanuel, and Peter Rowan, to name a few. Isaac's versatility as a musician has garnered him accolades on fiddle, guitar, mandolin, banjo, and bass. He plays mostly bluegrass and Cajun music. Isaac has performed and taught at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes; the Port Fairy Folk Festival; the Australian National Folk Festival; the International Bluegrass Music Association Festival; the National Old-Time Fiddlers Contest in Weiser, Idaho; the Grand Masters Fiddle Contest in Nashville, Tennessee; and on Irish (RTE), Australian (ABC), Canadian (CBC), and US (NPR) National Radio. Isaac’s current endeavors include playing with duos, trios, and bands throughout North America and Europe, teaching at camps and workshops, building and repairing instruments, recording, and publishing tune books with his wife Louise. He is the president of the Montana Old-Time Fiddlers. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/22/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-14
- Main contributors:
- J. Michael King
- Summary:
- J. Michael King (Greenville, South Carolina) J. Michael King is a composer, writer, and accomplished Piedmont blues musician. He plays in the time-honored style of bluesman Reverend Gary Davis, a Laurens County native who played throughout Greenville and Spartanburg counties during the 1930s and 40s. The guitar stylings of South Carolina bluesmen like Blind Willie Walker, Josh White, and Pink Anderson are central influences. He apprenticed under Ernie Hawkins, who studied with Gary Davis in the mid-1960s. King has composed and performed music for four documentaries by filmmaker Stan Woodward, including Puddin' Pot, a short film produced in 2002 exploring the community-based foodways tradition. He was instrumental in co-producing a recording of Piedmont blues classics entitled Blues Haiku. King also produced his own albums, Carolina Bar-B-Q and Meat and Three, two collections of Piedmont blues and string band music featuring tunes about South Carolina's distinctive cuisine. King plays frequently with fellow musicians and Folk Heritage Award recipients Steve McGaha and Freddie Vanderford and has presented the South Carolina blues story to thousands of students and tourists throughout the state. He conducts educational programs about South Carolina Piedmont blues for Southside High School and the Upcountry History Museum in Greenville, Hagood Mill Historic Site & Folklife Center in Pickens, and the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia. King received the Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award in 2018. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/14/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-10-14
- Main contributors:
- Jada M. Lark
- Summary:
- Jada M. Lark (U.S. Virgin Islands) Originally from Chicago, Illinois, singer Jada M. Lark relocated to the U.S. Virgin Islands, where she met her husband and performs as a singer in the reggae band Inity Reggae Xplosion. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/14/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-04
- Main contributors:
- Jadein Black
- Summary:
- Jadein Black (Ypsilanti, Michigan) Jadein Black is a performing Drag Queen, as well as founder and producer of the Boylesque Drag Show in Ypsilanti, Michigan. In addition to performing locally, she has been on multiple tours around the United States and Canada, from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She has made top-ten at the prestigious Nation Entertainer of the Year competition. In addition to her performance at venues and shows including Boylesque, she also hosts and performs at many universities around the country, private parties, as well as at local Drag Show and Storytime events. The events she produces and performs in with Boylseque Drag Show regularly raise money for various causes ranging from at-risk LGBTQ youth to the Black Lives Matter movement. Boylesque Drag Show features local drag performers such as Maxi Chanel, Hershae Chocolatae, Izaya Cole, and Ani Briated. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 09/04/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-18
- Main contributors:
- Jake Fussell
- Summary:
- Jake Fussell (Durham, North Carolina) Originally from Georgia, Jake Xerxes Fussell is a singer and guitarist who lives in Durham, North Carolina. He has toured extensively as a solo performer and as a guitarist for a number of acts, including The Como Mamas and Joan Shelley. Fussell has released three studio albums of traditional material. He hosts a weekly radio program, Fall Line Radio, which airs every Wednesday afternoon on WHUP FM, a community station in Hillsborough, North Carolina. A long-time folklorist, ethnographer, and student of old songs and traditional repertoire, Fussell brings old repertoire to new generations in his own thoughtful and innovative way, honoring what came before while offering his own unique take on the world through song. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/18/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-18
- Main contributors:
- Jason Hedges
- Summary:
- Jason Hedges (Gainesville, Florida) Jason grew up in Gainesville, Florida, and has been performing since childhood. He is a musician and actor and has been involved in the theater and music scene for many years. Jason has been a musician in residence at the local hospital’s Arts in Medicine program in recent years and has spent time in Haiti playing music for orphanages, as well as performing in nursing homes and hospitals for sick patients. He performs in a range of genres, including country/rock/folk, and is inspired by Elvis Costello and Tom Petty. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/18/2020
- Date:
- 2020-10-02
- Main contributors:
- Javier Garcia
- Summary:
- Javier Garcia (Miami, Florida) Born in Spain to a Cuban father and Irish mother, Javier Garcia is a composer, arranger, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and singer who performs in the realms of funk, reggae, world, funk, and Cuban rhythms. Javier has achieved gold record sales in three countries and has toured Europe and North and South America. He co-produced a recent album with Academy Award winner Gustavo Santaolalla. He has sung with Nelly Furtado and CeeLo Green, among others, and has written songs for Ricky Martin, Paulina Rubio, and many more. Javier is currently working on his first English album. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/02/2020.
- Date:
- 2020-09-25
- Main contributors:
- Jay Burgess
- Summary:
- Jay Burgess (Muscle Shoals, Alabama) Guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Jay Burgess is part of a new generation of Muscle Shoals musicians continuing in the long tradition of the Muscle Shoals sound. Burgess is the founder and front man of the band the Pollies, known for their innovative and unique take on southern rock music. Jay got his start in a band called Sons of Roswell and toured the Southeastern U.S. before forming the Pollies. Together, they have released two albums: Where the Lies Begin on This Is American Music and Not Here on Single Lock Records. Individually, Jay has done session work, and together with the band, they have backed Browan Lollar on an EP as well as the late Chris Porter and currently serve as the backing band for Dylan LeBlanc. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/25/2020.