If Labelle fans grieved the end of an era, Nona Hendryx fans would welcome a new one as the revolutionary art-rock, new-wave goddess embarked upon her own impressive solo career, which spanned eight studio albums and engaged her with an impressive line up of collaborators (from Prince, Peter Gabriel, Talking Heads, Laurie Anderson, Vernon Reid of Living Color, AfrikaBambata, Bono and the soul influenced funk band Cameo), resulting in several top ten hits and a Grammy nomination (“Rock This House,” from her album The Heat, 1985, with Keith Richards on guitar).
(read full bio here_
 
Nona Hendryx official site

Tamar-kali official site | Tamar-kali on Facebook | Tamar-kali on Twitter | Tamar-kali on Bandcamp
 
A Tamar-kali performance is a study in a soul yearning to break free of its earthly bounds. There are moments when her voice soars amidst a flurry of hardcore guitar riffs, earth shaking shimmies and gyrations that you believe you may just witness its escape. Her independent artistry, eclectic sound and versatility have allowed her to perform on variety of domestic and international stages with a diverse list of artists from Paramore and Fishbone to Jean Grae and The Roots.

Arooj Aftab on Facebook |Arooj Aftab on Twitter | Arooj Aftab on Instagram | Arooj Aftab on Bandcamp

Arooj Aftab processes the Sufi tradition through an open-minded approach to sonic matter, reminiscent of jazz improvisation, and a contemporary production that does not shy away from incorporating subtle electronic undertones.

With this method, the Lahore-born, Brooklyn-based artist completely reworks classical Pakistani and North Indian forms, like thumri, khayal, and kafi. With those broad inspirations, she creates a fascinating mix of sounds and cultures.

Aftab’s debut album, “Bird Under Water“, dazzles with detailed arrangements and mesmerizing ambience. The music floats through the air with a particular kind of lightness and poise. Feel its elegant movement and let yourself sink in.

gina Breedlove is a Singer, Songwriter, Sound Healer and Medicine Woman from Brooklyn. She has toured the world with her music she calls Folksoul; a coalescence of rhythm & blues, with storytelling cadences of folk & gospel. gina’s Folksoul is music that seeps into your being, while her message of love and possibility lifts your spirit and opens your heart.
 
Gina Breedlove official site

Innovative vocalist and composer Imani Uzuri is an eclectic artist who travels internationally from Morocco to Moscow creating and performing in world class venues across various genres including concerts, recordings, experimental theater, performance art and sound installations. Uzuri’s work has been called “stunning” by New York Magazine and incorporates her interests in world culture, experimentation and sacred music. She has earned critical acclaim for her debut album, Her Holy Water: A Black Girl’s Rock Opera as well as for her collaborations with diverse artists such as Herbie Hancock, John Legend, Wangechi Mutu, Sandford Biggers and Vijay Iyer. The Village Voices says, “With a voice that would sound equally at home on an opera stage or a disco 12-inch, Imani Uzuri is a constant surprise…seamlessly combining jazz, classical, country and blues motifs into highly personalized compositions.” Uzuri’s new album, The Gypsy Diaries, draws on her rural Southern roots as well as influences ranging from Sufi devotionals to Romany laments and features sitar, acoustic guitar, cello, violin, Japanese shinobue flute and world percussion. It is a vibrant lyrical and spiritual soundscape that was named #2 on Rhapsody’s World Top 10 List Summer 2012. Uzuri is currently composing a new musical GIRL Shakes Lose Her Skin that she is developing with playwright Zakiyyah Alexander inspired by the works of Philadelphia Poet Laureate Sonia Sanchez. “Uzuri never fails to mesmerize audiences with her narcotic blend of…ethereal sounds” (Time Out New York)
 
Imani Uzuri official site

Joan As Police Woman official site | Joan As Police Woman on Facebook | Joan As Police Woman on Twitter | Joan As Police Woman on Instagram | Joan As Police Woman on YouTube

Joan as Police Woman (Joan Wasser) is a world-renowned recording artist, songwriter, performer, producer and multi-talented instrumentalist. First trained as a classical violinist, Wasser was influenced by the music of Jimi Hendrix, Siouxie and the Banshees, Nina Simone, and Black Flag. She went on to perform in a number of alternative rock bands including The Dambuilders, Those Bastard Souls, and Helium. Throughout the early 2000s, Wasser went on to collaborate with artists including John Cale, Lou Reed, David Sylvian, Antony & The Johnsons, and Rufus Wainwright, several of whom went on to be featured on her own records. In 2002, Wasser formed Joan as Police Woman, and her debut album Real Life was released in 2006 to great acclaim. Pitchfork celebrates her songs that “remind us of a time when pop tunes wound up in jazz clubs without losing anything in translation.” She recently returned from an extensive European tour for her 6th studio album, Let it Be You, a collaboration with Benjamin Lazar Davis. Tonight Wasser will play songs from her upcoming unreleased album and is joined by Parker Kindred, Ben Perowsky, Oren Bloedow, Jared Samuel and Thomas Bartlett.

“Soulful adventurism – a voice so wondrous and moving it makes everyone else’s seem ordinary and mundane” THE GUARDIAN

“Ravishing and lovelorn” MOJO

“The coolest woman in pop” THE TIMES

The press, the public and powerful names in the entertainment industry agree. Singer- songwriter Kimberly Nichole is a force to be reckoned with. Exploding on the national scene on season 8 of The Voice, Kimberly Nichole garnered superlative praise from the likes of Pharrell Williams, Christina Aguilera, Lionel Richie, Mark Ronson and Reba McEntire with her show-stopping performances, stylish presence and vocal power. Fans clamored for the rock-and-soul music and led her to the iTunes’ Top 20 three weeks in a row. Born and bred in Seattle, Washington, Kimberly Nichole moved to New York City where she launched her career. National and international performances soon followed, allowing her to share the stage with such artists as Slash, Living Colour, Alice Smith, Janelle Monae, Nona Hendryx, Aloe Blacc, Bilal and English rock band The Heavy
 
KimberlyNicole official site

Miss Redbone’s music flows equally from her own unique, award-winning blend of Native American elements with funk and her deep roots in Appalachian folk and Piedmont blues favored by the matriarchy that raised her on a rich sojourn from Clinch Mountain, Virginia to Harlan County, Kentucky and beyond to Brooklyn’s Dodge City-esque mean streets. Indeed, Garden Of Love seamlessly evokes the mid-20th century old timey gold rush when such artists as her fellow Kentuckians Jim Ford and Jackie DeShannon fearlessly infused their downhome blues between canyon air ballets and retronuevo cabinessence – before their followers developed newgrass and Redbone’s twangy forebears Buffy Sainte-Marie and Rita Coolidge brought Indigenous concerns to the rock & roll arena in the 1970s. Yet don’t call this project bluegrass or the purists might have a fit.

Toshi Reagon official site | Toshi Reagon on Twitter | Toshi Reagon on Facebook | Toshi Reagon on Instagram
 
Described by Vibe magazine as “one helluva rock’n’roller-coaster ride” and by Pop Matters as “a treasure waiting to be found,” Toshi Reagon is a one-woman celebration of all that’s dynamic, progressive and uplifting in American music. Since first taking to the stage at age 17, this versatile singer-songwriter-guitarist has moved audiences of all kinds with her big hearted, hold-nothing-back approach to rock, blues, R&B, country, folk, spirituals and funk. The New York Times described her blend as “…a love of mixing things up…[her] vocal style ranges from a dirty blues moan to a gospel shout to an ethereal croon.” Her live performances, in particular, aren’t just accessible; they’re irresistible. And Toshi Reagon loves her audiences. Leading her renowned band–BIGLovely, launched in 1996–she instantly connects, inspires and empowers.
 
Photo credit: JOMOTO/Molly Rubin and Tony DiPietro

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Be Steadwell: With roots in jazz vocals, acapella and folk-Be composes a soulful blend of genres in what she calls queerpop. In her live performances, she utilizes loop pedal vocal layering and beat boxing to compose her songs on stage.Be Steadwell is a songwriter from Washington DC. Redefining the love song in a modern context-Be’s lyrics focus on love and resistance between women.

 
Be Steadwell official site
Be Steadwell on Facebook
Be Steadwell on Soundcloud
Be Steadwell on Bandcamp