We welcome Middlebury Music Center’s Steel Drum Camp for this Brown Bag concert. Through drumming and singing they will present Caribbean music and culture. Working together as an ensemble they will create thier own musical production on steel drums from Trinidad.
Recorded 7/14/22.
For more info, visit
Producer: MCTV
Known for her powerhouse voice and “fiery, vulnerable songs,” Ripton’s Sarah King creates thought-provoking, versatile Americana music. Her genuine stories about real-life emotions and situations also draw on classic folk-blues themes, balancing songs about the devil and booze with hard-won moments of reflection and acceptance. Her acclaimed 2021 EP The Hour, produced by Simone Felice and David Baron, earned her recognition as the New England Music Awards Songwriter of the Year and performances at the 2022 Folk Alliance International and Philadelphia Folk festivals, as well as supporting slots for acts including Blues Traveler and The Steel Woods.
Recorded 7/14/22.
For more info on the band, visit
Producer: MCTV
With multiple Canadian Folk Music Awards, as well as Juno and ADISQ nominations, GENTICORUM have earned a reputation as a leading voice in the evolution of Québécois traditional music.
For over twenty years, the trio has earned a place of privilege on world, traditional, folk and Celtic music stages. Known for their unbridled energy, their musicianship and their magnetic stage presence, the trio has won over audiences at such prestigious events as Celtic Connections in Scotland, the Tønder Folk Festival in Denmark, the National Folk Festival in Australia, the Independent Music Festival in Alexandria, Egypt, the Rain Forest Festival in Malaysia, as well as countless venues across North America.
Pascal Gemme (fiddle) and Yann Falquet (guitar), the group’s two founding members, are both recognized individually as major contributors to the trad music scene in Québec. Since 2015, they have been joined by accomplished multi-instrumentalist and composer Nicholas Williams (flute, accordion). Weaving intricate fiddle, flute and accordion lines, gorgeous vocal harmonies, subtle guitar textures and exhilarating foot percussion, the pleasure that these three musicians have creating and playing together is palpable, both in the studio and on the concert stage.
“Genticorum have a rightful place amongst the new generation of internationally recognized
Quebequois Bands. Beautifully presented recording….. harmonising brilliantly.
— THE LIVING TRADITION
Recorded 7/13/22.
For more info on the band, visit
Producer: MCTV
The Ruta Beggars infuse traditional bluegrass and early swing to create a timeless act filled with intricate vocal harmonies, fiery instrumentals, and plenty of fun. They have been praised for their creative yet tasteful arrangements and charming performances, winning Thomas Point’s band competition in 2019. The Ruta Beggars have been featured on the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Showcase, Steve Martin’s Unreal Bluegrass, Brian O’Donovan’s A Celtic Sojourn and the main stages of Joe Val, Grey Fox, Thomas Point, and Ossipee Bluegrass Festivals.
Brought together by their passion for bluegrass, The Ruta Beggars are Micah Nicol (guitar), Sofia Chiarandini (fiddle), Ariel Wyner (mandolin), Trevin Nelson (banjo), and Noah Harrington (bass) who met while studying at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in the American Roots Program.
Recorded 7/13/22.
For more info on the band, visit
https://www.therutabeggars.com/
Producer: MCTV
The band consists of the best musicians in the fertile Garifuna music scene. They bring together the deep cultural roots of Garifuna music, mixed with modern grooves, arrangements, and instruments like the unique hand drums, the “primera” and “segunda”, turtle shells and jawbones, guitars and bass. The musicians create a powerful energy on stage, building hypnotizing rhythms that form the backbone for the haunting melodies and powerful vocals that characterize the project.
The Garifuna are the Afro-Amerindians of Central America, the descendants of a group of West African slaves who were shipwrecked off the coast of St. Vincent in the 1600s. They live in small communities in places like Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras, along the Caribbean coast. And their music is an extraordinary blend that layers soulful indigenous and African rhythms with sweet, lyrical melodies.
Singing in Garifuna – an endangered language that blends indigenous Arawak and Carib with French, English and Spanish – they take on a political and social issue that extends far beyond the Garifuna community in “Ubou.”
“The complex rhythms demand attention and quickly resolve themselves into a completely irresistible groove. When the melodies kick in on top of them, the lushness is overwhelming.”— The Wall Street Journal
“Full of surging seaside rhythms and yearning, soulful melodies that hang in the memory,”— BBC Music
Recorded 7/12/23.
For more info on the band, visit
https://www.garifunacollective.com/
Producer: MCTV
The band consists of the best musicians in the fertile Garifuna music scene. They bring together the deep cultural roots of Garifuna music, mixed with modern grooves, arrangements, and instruments like the unique hand drums, the “primera” and “segunda”, turtle shells and jawbones, guitars and bass. The musicians create a powerful energy on stage, building hypnotizing rhythms that form the backbone for the haunting melodies and powerful vocals that characterize the project.
The Garifuna are the Afro-Amerindians of Central America, the descendants of a group of West African slaves who were shipwrecked off the coast of St. Vincent in the 1600s. They live in small communities in places like Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras, along the Caribbean coast. And their music is an extraordinary blend that layers soulful indigenous and African rhythms with sweet, lyrical melodies.
Singing in Garifuna – an endangered language that blends indigenous Arawak and Carib with French, English and Spanish – they take on a political and social issue that extends far beyond the Garifuna community in “Ubou.”
“The complex rhythms demand attention and quickly resolve themselves into a completely irresistible groove. When the melodies kick in on top of them, the lushness is overwhelming.”— The Wall Street Journal
“Full of surging seaside rhythms and yearning, soulful melodies that hang in the memory,”— BBC Music
Recorded 7/12/22.
For more info on the band, visit
https://www.garifunacollective.com/
Producer: MCTV
Bombajazzeando is corazón y alma, heart and soul: the joyous bomba drumming and dancing of Puerto Rico, plus the soulfullness of jazz. Three dancers, four drummers, and five jazz musicians create a big sound that bursts through stylistic boundaries. The band is lively and interactive, teaching the audience song choruses and traditional bomba dance moves.
Based in the large Puerto Rican community of northwestern Massachusetts, Bombajazzeando is led by dancer Brendalíz Cepeda, drummer Saúl Peñalosa and composer/arranger Julian Gerstin. Brendalíz is the granddaughter of Rafael Cepeda, the most important bomba musician of the late 20th century; she started dancing with him at the age of 5, and has herself held hundreds of workshops teaching her island’s heritage.
For the Puerto Rican and North American members of the group alike, it’s all about connection: tradition and creativity, island and mainland, musicians and audience.
Recorded 7/10/22.
For more info on the band, visit
https://canismusic.com/artist/e-t-e/
Producer: MCTV
Master kora player Yacouba Sissoko devotes his musical gift to expand the awareness of West African history and culture, spread the word of peace, and empower his listeners to take charge and realize their imagined futures. His performances have a magical effect on audiences as he skillfully transforms traditional songs and stories that he learned from his forefathers into modern day messages of peace, love, and harmony.
His flexible virtuosity, which enables him to move seamlessly from one musical genre to another, has attracted the attention of an array of musicians who have sought him out as a collaborator.
All the while, Yacoba exposes new audiences to the enchanting sounds of the kora—a 21-stringed instrument that is plucked and produces a distinctive sound that is quickly associated with West Africa.
Rooted to give back to the community, Yacouba regularly performs cultural programs and benefit concerts. He works in partnership with La Maison d’Art Gallery in Harlem as a collaborator inviting other world musicians to take part in the gallery’s events. He regularly performs for the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial, Educational, and Cultural Center. He also provides workshops and presentations to primary school and university students. Recognizing his educational contributions, in 2007 he was selected as a Teaching Artist by the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall and Carnegie’s Musical Explorers program.
Yacouba continues to blend his virtuosity effortlessly with other musical styles, whether in Indian ragas or Appalachian tunes. Currently, Yacouba can be seen performing regularly with Regina Carter and his own band, SIYA.
Recorded 7/11/22.
For more info on the band, visit
Producer: MCTV