Next Stage Arts Project

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Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem feature 4-part vocal harmonies, indelible songs, fiddle, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, and a homemade percussion kit of cardboard boxes, tin cans, caulk tubes, packing-tape tambourines, bottle-cap rattles, Mongolian jaw harps, and a vinyl suitcase. Over the past 20 years, the quartet has toured its uplifting, healing performances to concert halls, festivals, and residency engagements across North America, and has released seven CDs on Signature Sounds. From the Newport Folk Festival to California World Music Festival and beyond, this band's steadfast brew of wit, camaraderie, and musicality leaves audiences everywhere humming and hopeful, spirits renewed.

In the lineage of string bands who blur the boundaries of American roots music, Rani, Andrew Kinsey, Anand Nayak, and Scott Kessel have always been standard-bearers, with a particular knack for pairing words and music. From bluegrass barnstormers to sultry swing, old-time gospel to bluesy folk-rock, they consistently turn in lush arrangements of original songs alongside artful re-workings of a melange of music.

Kanun player and composer Firas Zreik has transformed global perception of the Kanun (Mediterranean harp). His treatment of the instrument preserves its identity as a vital part of the Maqam tradition, and stretches its potential as a cultural chameleon enhancing a range of fresh, evolving sounds. The Palestine-born New Yorker views the Maqam's improvisation-driven legacy as a vessel for unbound creative expression across musical styles. His nuanced approach translates the Kanun's resonant depth of emotion, with a mastery of microtonal soundscaping. In live performance, Zreik conjures a complexity of emotion that shape-shifts throughout his sets. He enters fragile places and sits inside them. This commitment to stark exploration has sent him around the world, performing at storied venues, intimate clubs and international festivals.

This concert will include a selection of original compositions that combine the Arabic Maqam tradition with global influences, as well classical Arabic selections that feature the instrument of Kanun (Mediterranean Harp).

Next Stage Arts presents a special duo collaboration between cellist Mike Block and master kora player Yacouba Sissoko.

Mike Block is a Grammy-winning multi-style cello player, composer, singer, and educator, with a passion for cross-cultural collaborations. Hailed as "one of the bravest, most intriguing musicians on the American fusion scene" by Gramophone, he was acclaimed by the New York Times for his "vital rich-hued solo playing", and "a true artist... a sight to behold" by Salt Lake City Deseret News. In addition to his solo performances and touring bands, since 2005 Mike has been a member of the Silk Road Ensemble, founded by Yo-Yo Ma, with which he has been featured as a cello and vocal soloist, contributed arrangements and compositions, and earned a 2017 Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album.

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 the traditional songs and stories of his forefathers into modern day messages of peace, love, and harmony. Born to a well-known Djeli family in Kita, Mali, Yacouba started learning the kora and the oral traditions associated with it from his grandfather at the age of 9. For centuries, Djelis have been the musical storytellers, a position that is inherited through a family bloodline. Highly respected within their communities, they are the keepers of the factual history and the fictional fables of past rulers, nobles, social groups and families. The kora, a 21-stringed plucked instrument with a gourd resonator, is the traditional instrument accompanying their songs.