Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba
Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba ecstatically explore the spiritual songs, stories, and rhythms of Senegal’s millennia-old Mandé culture. Cissokho comes from a long line of prominent griots entrusted to maintain a West African village’s genealogies and important ceremonial affairs through song. Cissokho and his band, Kaira Ba, effortlessly integrate the kora’s traditional sounds with a modern electric guitar rush and an exuberant rhythm section.
Mickey Mills
Mickey Mills is an exciting, energetic, multi-talented entertainer par excellence. He is a vocalist, songwriter, steel drum soloist, and actor. Born and raised Port-of-Spain, T, Trinidad, West Indies, MICKEY MILLS first started playing the steel drums at the age of 12 as a soloist with the Solo Harmoniteeel Orchestra. In 1970 he moved to New York, where he worked with artists such as Mick Jagger, Ralph McDonald, The Mighty Sparrow, Johnny Mathis and Lord Kitchener.
SPIVOCHI
SPIVOCHI is a group of enthusiasts fascinated by the Ukrainian musical tradition and their mission is to preserve Ukrainian folk music and share it with everyone.
The conductor and leader of SPIVOCHI, Alyona Savchenko (Matvienko), studied traditional Ukrainian songs and was part of a folklore group at the Ivan Honchar Museum (Kyiv, Ukraine) and attended master classes by S. Karpenko, N. Polovynka, U. Horbachevska, and V. Levchenko.
Laura Gonzqui
Laura Gonzqui is a seasoned Latin-Fusion musician with roots in Jazz, Soul, Blues, Salsa and World music. The mesmerizing vocal captivates listeners of all backgrounds and ages, Laura has performed alongside some of the biggest acts in the Region including the UNCSA Jazz Ensemble, Camel City Jazz Orchestra, featuring with other artist and has participated in events such as the annual Fiesta Del Pueblo in North Carolina, Shakori Hills Festival, “El Jam”, and more. Her latest work includes, “In Black” and “Perdoname” performing as singer and songwriter and is currently working on new releases.
DJ Noah
Nnamdi Noah
UNC Chalkaa
UNC Chalkaa (which means “splash” in Hindi) is a competitive co-ed Indian-American Fusion dance team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. They combine a number of eastern and western dance styles (including hip-hop, bhangra, contemporary, jazz, bollywood, and classical styles such as bharatnatyam and kathak) to tell stories from popular culture and engage audiences of all ages in a unique, captivating cultural experience. In addition to performing nationally, Chalkaa aims to foster a richer and deeper understanding of South Asian culture in the Triangle Area, performing at a number of local charity events, festivals, and University showcases.
Sayeh Ensemble
Sayeh is an Iranian music ensemble established in Boston, 2010. The ensemble has performed at different events since then in Boston area. The members all are Iranian professionals dedicated a significant portion of their career in Persian music. The primary mission of Sayeh is to introduce the profound and elegant beauty of Persian music to the both Iranian and non-Iranian audience. Sayeh’s goal is to explore and demonstrate novel ways of performing Persian music. Toward that end, Sayeh’s main focus is dedicated to composing / harmonizing original songs reflecting Sayeh perspective in Persian music.