Rhett Miller

Rhett Miller is perhaps best known as the front man of the Dallas-based alt-country band the Old 97’s, although he has also pursued a critically acclaimed solo career. Formed in 1993, the Old 97’s built a devoted following with their brash blend of country and power pop influences, making a splash with 1995’s Wreck Your Life, which won the group a brief stay on the roster of Elektra Records, a period kicked off with one of their finest hours, 1997’s Too Far to Care. In his solo career Rhett has captured attention, as a literate songwriter training his eye on such subjects as fatherhood, sex, and love.

David M. Lutken

Originally from Dallas, Texas, David graduated from Duke University with a Bachelor of Arts in Classics. He completed his Acting Degree at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The 92^nd St Y, at Cooper Union (with Ted Sperling’s ‘Master Voices’), Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, with the North Carolina Symphony and the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, on NPR, Polskie Radio, the BBC, Voice Of America, and The Louisiana Hayride. With his original show, “Woody Sez: The Life & Music of Woody Guthrie”, he and his company have toured Europe, the British Isles, the US, the Middle East, and China. David won the Helen Hayes and the Joseph Jefferson Best Actor award for his portrayal of Woody Guthrie.

Miss Maybell

Miss Maybell is a one of a kind contralto singer, musician, and band leader specializing in a classic Vintage Jazz and Blues sound. Miss Maybell has played shows and festivals all around New England, the Mid-West, and in New York City and has been tremendously well received! Her music has also been featured on WMUR-TV an affiliate of ABC. New Hampshire Magazine notes that “Miss Maybell plays banjo and taps her steel brushes on a tricked-out washboard. She also commands an impressive kazoo, but the secret weapon they unleash is Maybell’s vocals — deep and strong enough to join an angel choir with the likes of Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday.”

Helen Sung

Pianist/Composer Helen Sung is a holistic artist who had a jazz epiphany during undergraduate classical studies. An in-demand and acclaimed performer and clinician, she seamlessly integrates the jazz and classical worlds with a soulful, modern sensibility. In addition to her own band, Helen also appears with fine ensembles including the Mingus Big Band and Cecile McLorin Salvant’s “Ogresse,” and has served on the jazz faculties of the Berklee College of Music, Juilliard School, and as the first Jazz Artist-in-Residence at Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute (in 2019). She was named a Steinway Artist in 2020.

Natalie Merchant

Natalie Merchant has toured extensively and collaborated with a diverse array of artists on stage and in the studio including: Billy Bragg, Philip Glass, David Byrne, The Chieftains, Tracy Chapman, Mavis Staples and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Thoughout her entire career Merchant has been dedicated to supporting a variety of non-profit organizations by lending both financial support and raising public awareness. Scenic Hudson, Riverkeeper, Association to Benefit Children, The Fresh Air Fund, The Center for Constitutional Rights, Doctors Without Borders, Tibet House, Greenpeace, and Planned Parenthood are among the social justice groups to which she has been devoted. In 2007, Merchant served a five-year term on New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA). In 2013, she spearheaded an effort to stop the advance of hydraulic fracturing in New York State with a concert-protest film, Dear Governor Cuomo. Merchant used the same format to address the domestic violence crisis in the Hudson Valley with Shelter (2014). She is currently artist-in-residence with Head Start, developing a music and movement curriculum for pre-school aged children in The Hudson Valley.

Scott Robinson

Scott Robinson, one of today’s most wide-ranging instrumentalists, has been heard on tenor saxophone with Buck Clayton’s band, on trumpet with Lionel Hampton’s quintet, on alto clarinet with Paquito D’Rivera’s clarinet quartet, and on bass saxophone with the New York City Opera. His discography now includes more than 190 recordings. Scott has performed in some thirty nations, in such diverse venues as Carnegie Hall, the Village Vanguard, the Library of Congress, and the Vienna Opera House. Scott’s group was selected to be the closing act at the Knitting Factory’s Sun Ra Festival in New York City. Scott has also written magazine articles and liner notes, and was an invited speaker at the Congressional Black Caucus Jazz Forum in Washington, D.C.

Phyllis Chen

Phyllis Chen is a pianist, toy pianist and composer who’s musical interests have led in numerous directions as a soloist and collaborative artist. Described as “a dazzling performer who wrings novel sounds from the humble toy piano,” (NY Times) and “a bold pianist with an excellent sense of color” (LA Times), Phyllis has performed in a large variety of contexts in the US and abroad. Phyllis founded the UnCaged Toy Piano, a composition call-for-scores to further expand the repertoire for toy piano. UnCaged welcomes composers of all ages and backgrounds to consider the many artistic possibilities in the toy piano. The Chicago Reader states that Phyllis has “become one of the world’s leading proponents of the toy piano.” The competition has received works from composers all around the world and these compositions become an integral part of her repertoire. In 2013, Phyllis hosted the 2nd three-day UnCaged Toy Piano Festival in New York City, inviting ten different artists in three different venues.