Joy Askew has enjoyed an embellished career playing alongside music icons such as Peter Gabriel, Laurie
Anderson, Joe Jackson, Rodney Crowell, Jack Bruce and Quincy Jones. She has performed with her own band on stages from NYC’s CBGBs to festivals in UK, USA, Japan and Europe and opened for David Bowie and David Byrne among others.

Now as a re-invented musical poet she has been a dedicated songwriter since the late nineties and her ninth album as an artist, Everything Is Different, was released in May 2022.

She also sings in a choir that was featured on a Sufjan Stevens EP, collaborated with a British brass band and
released a downtempo jazz electronica album along the way.

Janet Feld, Esther Friedman and Jackie Damsky have joined forces as The Secret Sauce, performing tasty originals and choice covers, with lots of sweet 3-part harmony, plus guitar, mandolin, and violin. They came together over a love of each other’s songs, great friendship, and fun and that’s how the Secret Sauce rolls!

Janet Feld is an award-winning performing songwriter, appearing at folk festivals and coffeehouses from coast to coast throughout a nearly three-decade career.  She teaches private lessons and offers video lesson programs to people of all ages. She teaches guitar and songwriting atThe Passim School of Music and is the founder and Chief Music Officer at Janet’s Planet: Music Lessons for Humanoids, Inc.

Esther Friedman is a Boston-based acoustic singer & songwriter. She started writing songs in the mid-nineties after moving to the area from Cleveland, for Lesley University’s Expressive Art Therapy, Master’s Degree program. Inspired by buskers who braved street corners and t-stops she started writing and performing. Today, she provides therapy in a private practice, counseling those in recovery from trauma, while performing and song writing as much as humanly possible.

Jackie Damsky was originally trained as a classical violinist, and has developed a unique improvisational style over a range of genres including jazz, folk, blues, acoustic rock, and popular music. From halls and clubs to the recording studio, Jackie’s warm and sweet, passionate and evocative violin playing leaves listeners profoundly affected and deeply moved. Jackie weaves a harmonic tapestry with her fellow musicians, adding depth, color, richness… and a little magic.

Paul Izak was born and raised on the Hawaiian Islands and currently lives it up on the Island of Oahu. Paul has been discovering his own voice and unique sound as a singer/songwriter since 2004.

As a young boy, Paul was no stranger to the main stage, performing as a vocal soloist in choruses since 2nd grade. He then became an impersonator of famous artists like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Louis, and Neil Diamond. He performed around the island with the Honolulu Boys Choir for two years. Through Intermediate and High school years, he began to shift interests towards acting, photography, sports, and film production and his vocal talent was put aside. During these years, he began to find a new voice through his Harmonica. His inspiration came from his uncle Brian, a local blues harmonica player, and other blues musicians around the island. He quickly found a new sense of freedom through the harmonica.

During his first year of college, Paul began learning guitar and finding his own sound, which can best be described as a Folk, Blues, Rock, Reggae combination. In 2006, while living on the Island of Lana’i, Paul began playing hand drums. This later led him to establishing a drum circle on Kailua Beach for three years. These drum circles allowed Paul to connect with the community through the freedom of unlimited creative expression weekly. Bringing together the community in a conscious way led to the monthly Yogarden Music Gatherings, an all ages, artistic/music event. Paul’s passion for yoga, gardening, and music set the foundation for these gatherings.

Since 2005-2013, Paul was the lead singer/harmonica/percussion player for local Hawaiian reggae band Pressure Drop, winners of the Mai Tai Rumble in 2010.  Paul’s full length albums include, Peaceful Words (2010), Seeds of Love (2011), Everlasting Light (2013), Campfire Anthems (2013), Back to the Roots (2017).