Sweet Petunia

• Alt Folk

Sweet Petunia, composed of Mairead Guy and Maddy Simpson, are an alt folk duo based in Boston. Over the years, the duo have grown into their own as both powerful songwriters and harmonizers as well as lightning quick players, beginning every set with explosive double banjo action. Unapologetically queer and unafraid to get loud and angry, they craft music that is informed just as much by their contemporaries in Boston’s punk & DIY scene as it is steeped in rich folk tradition.

Alma Vatya

• Blues
• Folk

ALMA VATYA is a twenty-one-year-old guitarist, singer, and banjo player who performs American vernacular music inspired and informed by a lifelong exploration of pre-war country blues, ballads, and spirituals. ALMA grew up in the high desert of Bisbee, Arizona. Her love for country blues began when a neighbor gave her a small handmade fretless banjo along with cassettes of Mance Lipscomb and Mississippi Fred McDowell. During formative travels to Mississippi, she learned the Bentonian blues style from Jimmy “Duck” Holmes at his Blue Front Cafe, and the trance blues of Robert Belfour in Clarksdale juke joints. Her polyrhythmic guitar and banjo stylings and nuanced vocals have been honed through hundreds of performances to national and international audiences.

In Death’s Little Black Train, ALMA VATYAs singularity as a performer of acoustic blues and Southern mountain music is on full display. Her intricate fingerpicking propels renditions of idiosyncratic 1920’s blues gems Cairo Blues and Down On Me; her virtuosic bottleneck slide animates soul-stirring recompositions of the Southern spirituals Death’s Little Black Train and Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning. ALMA breathes new life into unreleased Southwestern field recordings encountered during her years of friendship and collaboration with Tucson folklorist and musician “Big Jim” Griffith, exemplified in a vibrant rendition of Gila River Valley tune Lonesome Live Oak. As a trans woman, ALMA foregrounds the brilliance of historically obscured black female blues and gospel musicians Geeshie Wiley, Sister O.M. Terrell, and Rosalie Hill.

Writes AV: “In Death’s Little Black Train, I hope to honor the radical creative legacy of black folk musicians who brought American music into being through beautifully intricate acts of cultural cross-pollination. In these thirteen songs, I synthesize geographically, historically, and culturally disparate traditions, with the hope that they reflect the necessity of American vernacular music in the 21st century as a living, vital, expression of the fundamental humanity that connects us all”

Almira Ara

• R&B
• Rock
• Singer/Songwriter

Columbus, Ohio-raised, Boston-based Frankenstein of genres Almira Ara uses elements of folk, rock, and rnb to create music that is most honest to their soul. They look into their emotions & experiences, those of others, and the going ons of the world cultivate a musical experience that is moving and can resonate not only with their community of trans queer people of color who influence their music, but with anyone who listens. Ara’s goal through their music is to be a mirror for listeners as well as the world.

Jessye DeSilva

• Folk Rock
• Singer/Songwriter

Jessye DeSilva seamlessly blends theatrical pop elements with traditional folk and roots music to form her piano-driven alt-americana sound. She infuses hope into songs about religious alienation, mental health struggles, and societal injustice to create a uniquely queer and unholy ruckus. Jessye’s latest album Renovations (July 2023) follows her ‘70s-rock-influenced 2022 release Landscapes, which earned them a nomination for Americana Artist of the Year at the 2022 Boston Music Awards. No Depression says “Comparisons to Elton John and Brandi Carlile are easy — DeSilva clearly takes a page from these idols, anchoring [her] songs in pop melody juggernauts, gauzy textures, and vocal bravado.” American Songwriter has said Jessye’s “catalog doesn’t skimp on razor-sharp lyrics, paired frequently with an almost ethereal vocal,” and Nashville Scene named her a 2023 Artist To Watch, saying “DeSilva could inject new life into a genre that could definitely use a little more pretzel logic.”

C.J. Red Mouth

• Indie Folk

Raised musically in a corner of Boston’s DIY music scene, C.J. Red Mouth is a singer-songwriter who makes folk music to tell herself the truths she needs to hear. Her raw, torrential performances are marked by dynamic vocals and blooming instrumental climaxes, inspired by artists like Adrianne Lenker and Mitski.

June Isenhart

• Alt Folk

June Isenhart is a songwriter who records music at her house in Somerville, MA. She enjoys playing the guitar and drums, and sings in local rock-and-roll band Miss Bones. She has two cats, and there is a good chance she is already showing you pictures of them right now. If you ask her to mix your album she will probably do it.