Smithsonian Folkways to Showcase at Association of Performing Arts Professionals Conference on January 6

Smithsonian Folkways is heading to New York City for this year's APAP conference. On January 6, 2019 at the Rockwood Music Hall, APAP members and the public alike can experience the talents of three new, innovative Smithsonian Folkways artists: Kaia Kater, Lula Wiles, and The Bright Siders (featuring Kristen Andreassen)! The Association of Performing Arts Professionals is a national organization with over 1,600 members, servicing agencies, presenters, and producers, as well as giving artists a platform for their work to be seen and heard. 

Kaia Kater's newest album, Grenades, her first for Smithsonian Folkways, released in October 2018, has garnered critical acclaim from Rolling Stone, No Depression, NPR, and CBC. The Montreal-born, Grenadian-Canadian has earned the status of a rising star in the roots music community and beyond, and Grenades , a deeply personal musical odyssey into family history and identity, has been called "a certain contender for folk album of the year" (Folk Alley).

Boston-based Lula Wiles delivers defiant new contributions to the folk ballad canon with timely explorations of what it means to live in America today. Isa Burke, Ellie Buckland, and Mali Obomsawin swap instruments and meld diverse influences to create a harmony-driven, emotionally-resonant sound all their own. Their album, What Will We Do, comes out January 25, 2019. 

The Bright Siders create music that helps children and families have meaningful conversations about emotions. Founded by award-winning songwriter Kristin Andreassen and Brooklyn-based child psychiatrist Dr. Kari Groff, the Bright Siders feature adept musicianship and skillful audience engagement regardless of age and include a rotating cast including members of Punch Brothers, Aoife O'Donovan, Jefferson Hamer, and Cassandra Jenkins. Andreassen has toured world stages as a singer and percussive dancer, and as a member of the renowned string band Uncle Earl. Dr. Kari Groff is well-known in her field for her warm and genuine approach to young patients, drawing on years of experience as both a respected physician and a raging old time fiddler in the joyful music she creates.

The showcase is free and open to APAP attendees and the public.

ABOUT SMITHSONIAN FOLKWAYS RECORDINGS:
Going into its 70th year, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, the "National Museum of Sound," makes available close to 60,000 tracks in physical and digital format as the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian, with a reach of 80 million people per year. A division of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, the non-profit label is dedicated to supporting cultural diversity and increased understanding among people through the documentation, preservation, production and dissemination of sound. Its mission is the legacy of Moses Asch, who founded Folkways Records in 1948 to document "people's music" from around the world. For more information about Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, visit folkways.si.edu.

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