Song of the Soul

Despite having spent 6 years in Nashville, Kirsten Manville's true home is in the Boston area of MA. Raised with important influences from old-time, classical, folk, & rock music, country music has been foremost in Kirsten's heart since she was 8.

Sage Leary has a gift & a passion for music that blossomed early and impressively, such that he released his first album of all-original music at the age of 14, his second at 16. He can rock it, he can blues it, and he can definitely acoustic Americana it. Raised in the outdoors and the woods, his music touches the Earth but reaches celestial heights, powered by a visible and almost symbiotic communion between Sage and his guitar, enhanced by his looping, vocal, and beat-boxing skills.

For 20 years Frank Dutsh (AKA François Duchesne) has been a top-notch competitor in strongman competitions, but he's turned to another discipline over the past 5 years. Having started on violin at 4 years old, adding piano after that, Frank gave a few decades to other work before coming back to music. Besides his physical strength & endurance, Frank is gifted linguistically & has written songs in 4 languages already.

Who do you know who speaks at least 3 languages, has lived in several countries, performed between Renaissance Fairs year-round for 10 years, writes & sings profoundly deep & moving songs, and can play the harp & the 12-string guitar simultaneously? Ariane Lydon and no one else (to my knowlege)! Living in the Midwest for a couple decades now, Ariane brings a world of beautiful music to our land.

David and Jenny Heitler-Klevans have been doing music together as Two of a Kind for around 3 decades. Rooted mostly in the Folk-Americana genre, they have focused on children & family music, 9 albums of it, in addition to a CD for grown-ups. They've garnered 6 Parents' Choice and 3 Creative Child Magazine awards, and a lot more.

Matthew French's singing & songs unlock hearts. An Ohio transplant to the Twin Cities of Minnesota, Matthew segged from a vibrant church music life to a musical passion stirred by personal trials & growth, finding deep community within the Twin Cities music scene. His voice & lyrics combine to find hope & strength out of our challenges and uplift us together.

Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Non-denominational Christian, Assembly of God

Marci Geller can be sweet, has a gift of poetry & melody, sings and writes beautifully, but most of all she weaves a web of magic and inclusion through her music, taking us on a journey of both depth and elevation.

Giulia Millanta is the best Americana singer from Italy you could ever hope to encounter. She's been in the USA, in Austin, TX, for the past 10 years or so, and she seems to be producing endless riches of music, 8 albums to-date. While her talent & craft are impeccable, it is her heart-and-soul touching lyrics and voice that make her a memorable treat for all who are blessed to hear her perform.

Autumn Sky Hall is an amazing and astounding - and young - folk/Americana singer/songwriter hailing from Sacramento, CA, complete with an enchanting & versatile voice, dancing guitar fingers, and emotionally compelling lyrics. Autumn pours her inner experience and growth through her songs so that to hear her is to know her and the human condition better.

Leslie Smith has shined as part of all the great folk locales, the Newport, Kerrville, and South By Southwest music festivals, and her songs have been done by many folk-greats, like Lucy Kaplansky and Dar Williams, although I think they are best out of Leslie's own mouth and guitar. Along the way to now she did a stint as part of a New York bluegrass band called Arabesque, but then she headed back to Pittsburgh, back to her center.