Performers
Scott Ainslie
A songwriter and traditionally trained roots musician, Scott Ainslie learned from senior blues and southern Appalachian old-time musicians, and brings a portion of their legacy to the stage with him.
You may explore and support his work through:
https://Patreon.com/ScottAinslie
https://ScottAinslie.Substack.com
Numerous videos of his teaching and live performances are available online at https://YouTube.com and on https://Vimeo.com.
Patty Carpenter and DFJP
For Patty Carpenter, Melissa Shetler, Scotty Shetler, and Travis Light, it really is a family affair. This foursome stretches their biological connections through to their creative tissue as the Dysfunctional Family Jazz Band (DFJB), an incomparable collective with a Jazz, America, Soul, Folk sound. The way they work, the way they live, and the way they make music is an expression of family, through and through.
https://www.pattyandverandah.com/dfjb
Joel ‘Veena’ Eisenkramer
is an award-winning exponent of the 20-stringed Hindustani slide guitar from southern Vermont in the USA. Deeply steeped in the oral tradition of North Indian classical music, his electrifying performances feature traditional and original repertoire framed by fascinating tales from the lore of Hindustani music. With concert tours that have taken him all over India, Europe and the US, Joel was recognized by the government of India in 2023 for his work preserving and promoting Indian classical music. Locally, Joel and his record label Root Cellar Sound have been vital contributors to the live music scene for many years; recently organizing a free community concert series in Guilford and taking on the role as programs director of the western Massachusetts music & spirituality non-profit, Halcyon Arts New England.
Listen to Joel Veena: https://vibe.to/joelveena
Website: https://joelveena.com/
Samirah Evans
is known for her dynamic, soulful approach to jazz and blues, among other genres. Her style is also heavily influenced by the New Orleans sound where she was one of the city’s in-demand singers. Her 1990 debut at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival began a run of 15 consecutive appearances, either as a leader or featured vocalist, and she was a fixture in clubs and concert venues throughout the Crescent City. She has shared stages with the likes of James Brown, B.B. King, Dr. John, Levon Helm, Aaron Neville, Charles Neville, Terence Blanchard, Donald Harrison, Jr., Irma Thomas, Trombone Shorty and Sheila Jordan. Evans has recorded svereal full-length CDs as a leader, including My Little Bodhisattva (2007) and Hot Club: Live at the Vermont Jazz Center (2009). She has been an Artist Associate in Jazz voice at Williams College for over ten years.
Her band for this event includes Benny Kohn, a Berkshire based pianist, Ronald Smith, Saxophonist, Bassist, and Percussionist,and Jo Sallins, multi-instrumentalist.
Dawoud Kringle (a.k.a, Dawoud the Renegade Sufi)
Visionary iconoclasts don’t just dismantle the old—they rebuild the world with fire and grace.
Dawoud “The Renegade Sufi” Kringle, composer, mystic, and sonic architect, wields his Dautar (a guitar-sitar-cello hybrid of his own vision) like a blueprint for auditory liberation. His music rewires the soul, fusing Sufi devotion, jazz rebellion, and cinematic vastness into a soundtrack for a film only your Third Eye can see. This is disruption with purpose: music that doesn’t entertain, but awakens.
. https://www.dawoudtherenegadesufi.com/
Kwarteto Mambo
plays soulful original music: jazz, Cuban grooves, lovely ballads, oddball pop tunes, and on-the-spot improvisations, mixed together with a twisted sense of humor. We’re four old lefties who enjoy playing together. We think you’ll enjoy listening.
Kwarteto Mambo is John Clark, french horn, Wes brown , bass, Julian Gerstin congas/percussion and Dan DeWalt piano/trombone.
Paul Richmond
was awarded Beat Poet Laureate by National Beat Poetry Foundation for, MA 2017-2019, USA 2019-2020, & Lifetime 2022. Performs nationally and internationally, solo and with “Do It Now.” He has eight books, more info www.humanerrorpublishing.com
Seyir
is a duo who play a wide variety of music from the Middle East. We draw from many genres of Arabic and Turkish music, both old and new. Our repertoire ranges from mainstream Arabic favorites to Ottoman classical music; and to the works of contemporary fusion artists like Anouar Brahem, Yurdal Tokcan, and Simon Shaheen.
We are: Craig Macrae (oud), Valerie Ritter (violin, viola). The name “Seyir” means “journey” and refers to the musical road map for Middle Eastern melodies.
For more info and to contact us, here’s a link to the website where Craig teaches. https://www.sevenstarsarts.org/craig-macrae.html
John Sheldon
is in his 50th year of writing songs, and composing music. Performing credits include a stint as the 17 year old lead guitarist for VAN MORRISON, songwriter for JAMES TAYLOR, and work with his own bands. John has written hundreds of songs and instrumentals, and released 15 CDs of his own music. In the past few years, he has also been busy in theater, including composing music for and performing in “Milosevic at the Hague”, “Ambush on T Street”, “What She Knows”, “Blind Dreamers” ,”Skyscraper” and his own musical monologue, “THE RED GUITAR”, which he took twice to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where it sold out its entire run, earning 4 and 5 star reviews.