Bloodlines Interwoven Updates - National Sawdust and Big Ears Festival

Bloodlines Interwoven Ensemble for Big Ears Festival

Bloodlines Interwoven, something I started in 2024, is a collaborative commissioning and performance project that brings together groups of artists from diverse cultural backgrounds to share their family histories, compose music that engages with these collective histories, and premiere the resulting new works for the public.

The culminating event for the current cohort of artists will be a residency at the famed Big Ears Festival, celebrated for its eclectic curation of experimental, jazz, classical, rock, and folk music.

One month out from our debut at Big Ears, the musicians have been gathering in small groups to continue developing the compositions and our musical chemistry. Last week, Kweku showed Yuniya and me his new composition, entitled Scream, which features rhythms, melodies, and structures drawn from traditional music from West Africa. He wrote a part for me that, while on paper is very simple, for me to be able to embody the groove- to make it my own-  takes time. There are songs and counter melodies, and I need to get to the point where I can sing and play effortlessly and instinctively- likely breathing or dreaming.

Ahead of our Big Ears residency in March, we are in a mini-residency at National Sawdust - we performed there in January and will perform there again on February 25th. I love National Sawdust for many reasons. Not only is it a gorgeously designed space with a state-of-the-art sound system, but it was founded by Paula Prestini, a high school classmate (!), whose husband, the renowned cellist Jeffrey Zeigler, was in the first iteration of Bloodlines Interwoven. It is truly a family affair.

This will be our final work-in-progress show in NY before heading off to Knoxville in March. I will be joined by this incredible all-star cast: Kweku Sumbry, Mafer Bandola, Yuniya Edi Kwon, Marika Hughes, Gamin, Fay Victor, Sunny Jain, and Shahzad Ismaily. With the incredible Cyro Baptista joining us at Big Ears, I can't wait to share this music with everyone!

Bloodlines Interwoven at National Sawdust, January 2026