Zak Bunce has been playing music his whole life. He has been highly sought after by many Michigan bands and artists alike with his keen intellect and flexibility as a vocalist and an instrumentalist, playing everything from guitar to bass, banjo, ukulele, keys, spoons, trash cans, street signs, whatever he can get his hands on. His credits include fronting for both the rock band Bodega with Denny Richards, Chuck Light of Kung Fu Rodeo, Joe Germano, and Jack Jensen. He was also the lead vocalist and bass player of Detour Bluegrass Recording two Albums and playing all over including Kendallville and The Lincoln Theatre. He has also played with his sister Rachael Davis, The Starlight Six, Steppin’ In It, Seth Bernard and May Erlewine, Josh Davis, Samantha Crawford, Hawks and Owls, Duck Soup, doug henthorn Chris Winkleman of Soul Patch and more. Zak’s spot on and powerful vocals send chills down the spine of audiences of all ages, shapes and sizes.
Artist Category: Folk
R.O. Shapiro
He’s a townie from the East End of Long Island; a lifelong performer with Shakespeare and rhythm tap dancing in his past and Americana music in his present; a one-time resident of Austin, TX, now combing the beaches of sunny San Diego; a Soul Singer and a Song Writer; a slow writer and a dog owner; a founding member of Odell Fox; a defensive driver, a highway regular, a ghost; a low-mood monster and a mediocre meditator; a food nut; a DylanPrineWelchBrowneYoungWaits wannabe, soon-to-be. Wait and see.
Melo Green
Melo has appeared all over the New England music scene across nearly two decades with Kids On A Hill, The Umass Doo Wop Shop, The Frotations, The Velcro Soul, Freddy and The Yeti’s, and The C.O.M.P.
Melo’s debut album Laminar Flow is all about ease, love, living in the present moment and accepting that just because it looks like we’re frozen in time doesn’t mean we’re not moving through life gracefully.
Aisha Burns
Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, and currently residing in Western Massachusetts, violinist and singer-songwriter Aisha Burns began playing violin when she was 10 years old. Soon after moving to Austin in 2005, she gained her start with a Texas folk-rock band, began touring and recording, and later joined the instrumental ensemble Balmorhea on violin in 2007. After years of secret singing, she released her solo debut Life in the Midwater in 2013. Called “”twisting, ethereal…arresting”” by Dazed Magazine, and praised for its “”delicate intimacy”” by NPR, Life in the Midwater explored mortality and relationships with candor and wisdom.
Her newest album Argonauta, is a collection of songs about her struggle with the grief of losing her mother, while also navigating a new relationship, and ultimately trying to discern the new normal for her life. “”Argonauta takes her vocal prowess to a new level—more confident and operatic,” Bandcamp wrote. “She evokes Thom Yorke’s plaintive cry…and occasionally, she delivers the album’s most poignant messages with an air of almost stately detachment, bringing to mind the German cult singer Nico, acting as a foil for the rich string arrangements, equally cinematic and mournful…”” Called “A poignant album” by Pitchfork, Aisha wrote Argonauta to quiet a weary mind. Taking its name from a book by Anne Morrow Lindbergh called Gift From the Sea, the record picks up where Life in the Midwater left us, this time with even more strength and light. Aisha has performed at the SXSW festival in Austin, NXNE festival in Toronto, as well as the Reeperbahn festival in Hamburg, Germany, among others.”
Anjimile
Last fall, Anjimile Chithambo, better known as Anjimile, announced his new album, The King, his first full-length since 2020’s breakthrough Giver Taker.
Highlighting the artistic shift from Giver Taker to now, ‘The King’ opens with a lofty, melodic choir, an intro that belies the song’s motives. Suddenly, sinister arpeggios interrupt the reverie, and the voices grow darkly serious. Deeply steeped in the confusion, grief, and rage of being Black in America, ‘The King’ pushes back against the tired adage, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” hissing, “What don ’t kill you almost killed you// What don’t fill you//pains you// drains you.”
“If Giver Taker was an album of prayers, The King is an album of curses.” In his second album, Anjimile continues exploring what it means to be a Black trans person in America. The brutally honest reflection of 2020’s deadly summer is less reminiscent of the pink cloud of early sobriety and more rooted in the reality of seeing brutality with clear eyes. Drawing from influences ranging from religion, Phillip Glass, and lived experiences, the album is a grand step forward for Anjimile. Nearly every sound you hear on The King comes from two instruments: an acoustic guitar and Anjimile’s own voice. Other than a few beautiful contributions from Justine
Bowe, Brad Allen Williams, Sam Gendel, and James Krivchenia (Big Thief), the album is the result of a year in LA working intimately with Grammy and Juno winner Shawn Everett.
Eva Gertz
Eclectic singer-songwriter and pianist Eva Gertz hails from Melrose, MA, and was raised by artsy parents. Introspective, honest lyrics and a moody Joni Mitchell-informed writing style flow expressively like the characteristic Jewish curls atop her head. As a graduate of Berklee College of Music and now a professor of arranging at the college, her arrangements alone can move you.
Don’t miss her Club Passim debut- a rare occasion to hear the full arrangements live with a band! This show celebrates her second album and the culmination of a 3-year life chapter: Worth the Drive is the title of the album, written during her 5-month solo road trip in 2021. The pandemic and a breakup and The Artist’s Way were all catalysts in her leaving New York and taking off into indefinite travel abyss to find herself and learn to be the rock she needed- also Eva’s Saturn return years. She has woven these stories and emotions into beautiful music that she self-produced and arranged. Please join us for this extra special Eva Gertz Passim debut.
Alex Cumming
Alex Cumming is a traditional Singer, Accordionist, Pianist and dance caller hailing from Somerset, England, now living in Brattleboro VT, USA. He performs songs and tunes from around the United Kingdom and America with a great depth of knowledge of the tradition. Alex has made his mark on the folk scene with his rhythmic dance-able accordion style, strong voice and his fun and engaging stage presence. After over a decade of recording albums and touring with various bands, 2023 sees Alex record and release his debut solo album, ‘Homecoming’, featuring fiddler Audrey Jaber (Wake Up Robin, Free Raisins), guitarist Max Newman (Stringrays, Nor’Easter) and regular recording collaborator Pete Ord (Haystack Records).Alex is a member of Celtic trio Bellwether (with Louise Bichan, Eric McDonald), award winning a capella quartet The Teacups and critically acclaimed duo Alex Cumming & Nicola Beazley. You may also catch him playing for dances in many combos, including Stuart Kenney’s Red Case Band and trio Crossover. Alex is also Artistic Director for Revels North.
You know Audrey Jaber is performing if the room is buzzing at a higher level. Her fiddling, featured in bands including The Free Raisins, The Gaslight Tinkers, Audacious (with Larry Unger), and Wake Up Robin, has electrified dance and concert halls across the US and Europe. Hailing from Honolulu and now living in California, she cut her folk teeth in the Boston area, attending Berklee College of Music and spending years exploring the thriving New England folk scene. Audrey’s fiddle playing is rhythmically lively and spontaneous; she’s guaranteed to get you up and dancing. She specializes in English dance, New England, Celtic, and Old Time tunes (and did we mention she’s also an audio engineer?!). You might also have taken a workshop with Audrey, as she’s been on staff at various camps including various weeks at Pinewoods, Ashokan Northern Week, BACDS American week, New London Assembly and Halsway Manor. For more on Audrey, visit her at audreyknuth.com
Max Newman has spent a good portion of his life playing dances great and small across the continent. His guitar playing is refreshing, fun, and creative, and has allowed him to collaborate with a great variety of traditional musicians. In the Stringrays, he often alternates between hammering down rhythms and trading licks with Rodney Miller. His attention to detail with pairing music and dance is almost as well known as his love for a fresh cup of coffee. His playing has been profiled in Flatpicking Guitar Magazine.
When not with the band, he can often be found at his local dance in Concord, Massachusetts.
Deb Talan
Deb Talan has been writing songs since she was 14 years old. As a teen, she played clarinet, wrote songs on piano, later taught
herself to play guitar in college, was a vegetarian for 4 years, ended that with a hotdog and a swim in lake Michigan, taught
skiing to kids in Colorado, played cover songs at night, started a band in Portland, OR with her friend Mark, named it Hummingfish, wrote a lot of fun songs that people danced to ‘til they were all sweaty in that hipster/grungy/geeky Northwest kind of way, moved back to the east coast 6 years and a divorce later and began playing solo in Boston coffee houses, met up with Steve Tannen and formed The Weepies, played shows all over North America, toured in a real tour bus! moved to LA, got married to Steve, made 5 records and 3 amazing boy-children together with him, had songs placed in loads of movies and tv shows, moved to Iowa, got diagnosed with breast cancer received treatment in 2014, made a solo album, struggled with mental health (CPTSD from childhood incest abuse) and relationship issues for 6 years, divorced from Steve in 2020.
Presently, Deb tours the country with her guitar-playing friend Dan Padley, bringing her music to people who need it. Her songs are equal parts prayer, meditation, medicine. But, rather like the medicine in Mary Poppins: tasty, colorful, and full of the bittersweet joy of being fully alive.
Chao Tian
CHAO TIAN is a Chinese dulcimer virtuoso, improviser, sound designer, and visual artist. Her dexterity has led to her breaking down barriers and working across creative genres. In her work, she explores the distinct sounds and techniques of the Chinese dulcimer in order to create a multidimensional sensation of improvisation. Her creative interest is mainly in intercultural improvisation study: applications of Chinese musical aesthetics and vocabulary, creative synthesis in cross-disciplinary improvisation: interactions among music, dance, and visual art, and improvisation in folk music. Her latest project Unheard Sounds is dedicated to better exploring the practice of the immigration arts: artistic language reshaped by immigrant artists in cross-disciplinary collaboration.
Ira Wolf
With more than 100 million plays on Spotify, Nashville-based singer/songwriter Ira Wolf connects with her audience through intentional vocals and vulnerable lyrics. Ira’s writing is intended to connect listeners to their emotions while creating a space for introspection.
Since she began touring in 2014, Ira has performed on stages across six continents and continues to travel the U.S. while living full time in her beloved camper van.
After stepping away from music for a few years to prioritize her mental health, Ira returned to the studio in 2022 to record her highly anticipated fourth album. Rock Bottom was released in October of 2023 and Ira continues to tour across the U.S. and internationally.
