Pablo Regis & Cissa Paz
The Brazilian cavaco provides the heart and swing of Brazilian music. There is no greater champion for its soulful sound in the DMV than Pablo Regis de Oliveira. Also known as the cavaquinho, this four-stringed ukulele of Portuguese origin is present in several Brazilian folk genres—most notably samba, Brazil’s national music. Heard throughout the country, samba boasts several regional and...
Samia Mahbub Ahmad Quartet
For Samia Mahbub Ahmad, Hindustani (North Indian) classical music is as much a tradition cemented in master-apprentice learning exchanges as it is a family inheritance. A current resident of Maryland but born and raised in Bangladesh, Samia began her studies of the richly diverse Hindustani expressions over three decades ago, as an apprentice of versed practitioners from both India and...
Big Howdy with special guest Jonathan Vocke
Dede Wyland, guitarist and lead singer of Washington, D.C. bluegrass band Big Howdy, is one of the music’s pioneers, known as much for the inspiration she has provided today’s generation of female bluegrass artists as for her assured and delightful vocals. Fronted by Dede, Big Howdy is rightly considered a Washington, D.C. institution. The nation’s capital was long a hotbed...
Amadou Kouyaté Ensemble
The Kouyaté name is revered among noted West African musicians and performers, regarded as one of the original families of the djeli tradition–a caste of musicians and oral historians found throughout West Africa, more commonly known by the French term griot. Keepers of oral and musical traditions, djeli are also known to play a range of instruments and uphold venerated...
Robert Clarke
Boston street performer Robert Clarke has perfected his trade performing in some of the most well-known venues in New England and beyond. He has the uncanny ability to captivate both young and old with his fun-filled, laugh-out-loud interactive family show. Specializing in juggling and magic, Robert’s talent and sense of humor keeps audiences on the edge of their seat, waiting...
Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas
Representing the crème de la crème of the vibrant Black Creole dance music native to Southwest Louisiana, Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas have delivered the rollicking, accordion-driven sounds of zydeco to audiences around the world for almost 40 years. Led by accordionist Nathan Williams, arguably zydeco accordion’s foremost living practitioner, the group is known for its classic style infused...
Lurking Class Skate Shop
Opened only a few short years ago, Lurking Class Skate Shop quickly became a hub of grassroots activity, from skateboarding to performances to hanging out and trading stories—a homegrown business in the heart of downtown Salisbury that supported the local skating community. From this nerve center, Lurking Class’s skating team helps shop owner Bryan Whipple spread skateboarding’s creative and welcoming...
Gene Tagaban (Guuy Yaau)
“When you’re talking to the people, talk to their spirit,” Gene Tagaban remembers his mentor once telling him. “That’s where you’re going to see miracles happen.” A renowned storyteller and dynamic performer, Gene uses interactive stories, music, and dance as tools to entertain, inspire, and heal. He brings people of all ages and backgrounds into active participation with timeless Indigenous...
Eileen Ivers
Eileen Ivers is one of America’s preeminent Irish fiddlers. Noted Irish American writer Frank McCourt sums up Ivers’s genius eloquently: “Eileen is to Irish music as Michael Flatley is to Irish dance—a pioneer, an innovator, a universalist. She grew up in boom-box Bronx and she carries sounds from childhood that are surely embedded in her musical soul…. Like Whitman she...
Diunna Greenleaf & Blue Mercy
While following in the footsteps of many Texas blues greats, Houston’s Diunna Greenleaf has her own distinctive style, an intense yet playful combination of gospel, jazz, R&B, and soul. Equal parts tremendous power and passion, her voice is also capable of subtlety and nuanced inflections. As she puts it, “If you are a Texas singer, you need to be able...
