Jake Xerxes Fussell
Jake Xerxes Fussell is a singer, guitarist, and composer based in Durham, NC. His intuitivecreative process often draws from traditional music and archival field recordings-incorporatingelements of songs from the past into new work. He is, according toAnn Powers of NPR, "maybethe leading interpreter of American folk music right now..."Fussell’s most recent albumWhen I’m Calledwas released to critical acclaim by Fat PossumRecords in the summer of 2024. The album was produced by James Elkington and featuresBlake Mills (guitars), Ben Whiteley (bass), and Joe Westerlund (drums), along with additionalvocals from Joan Shelley and Robin Holcomb.Fussell and Elkington also wrote and recorded the music forRebuilding, a new feature filmdirected by Max Walker-Silverman that is set to premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.“Fussell’s music often comes with complex citations; he is a folksinger in the truest sense,collecting ideas and melodies and lyrics from distant and disparate traditions, looking for thethings that unite us in our humanity.”-The New Yorker“(Fussell) is one of the great magpies of American song, collecting forgotten, tarnished gemswith a folklorist’s zeal... his renditions aren’t so much cover versions as composites...”–TheGuardian
Zoh Amba
Zoh Amba is a saxophonist and composer from Tennessee. Devoting her time growing up in the mountains to practicing alone in their forests, she reached for greater depths and soaring heights in sound, her saxophone echoing with raw, searching tones. Blossoming a sound that joins avant-garde, noise, and devotional resonance, her compositions—steeped in folk motifs, hypnotic refrains, and chant-like invocations—seek to reach into listeners’ hearts. Her debut, Bhakti, distills this vision into an immersive, meditative experience. The trio embarked on their first tour across Europe last year, going on to perform also in Brazil and China this past year. Amba was commissioned by Roulette which blossomed her new project Sun Ensemble, which plans on releasing their first record early 2025.Amba has also performed at well respected venues and festivals including Ars Nova Workshop (PA), Vision Festival (NY), Willisau Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Saalfelden (Austria), and Brazil, OCT LOFT China, and Big Ears Festival (TN),.