The sounds of American roots music – folk ballads, fiddle tunes, early blues, New Orleans second line grooves  – may seem like they belong to another century. But the NY-based collective called Too Sad For The Public takes those old songs and remakes them, often in surprising ways. Too Sad For The Public’s arranger and producer Dick Connette, along with a sextet version of the band featuring vocalist Ana Egge, play some of the tunes from the latest album, Vol. 2, Yet And Still, in-studio.

Set list: 1. Railroad Bill 2. Old Forty 

Watch "Railroad Bill":

Watch "Old Forty":

From Kinshasa, the capital of Congo, comes the band known as Jupiter & Okwess, led by the charismatic singer Jupiter Bokondji. When we last met the band, in 2018, they had just released their second album, a star-studded collection called Kin Sonic. Jupiter & Okwess are touring around to support their latest record, Na Kozonga, which offers a striking mix of high-energy dance, funk, and Afropop, while mixing samba, New Orleans, and soul influences in different languages.

Set list: 1. Solobombe 2. Mieux que ca 3. Muba

Watch "Solobombe":

Watch "Mieux que ca":

Watch "Muba":

Na Kozonga by Jupiter Okwess

Brazilian singer/songwriter Sessa (born Sergio Sayeg in Sao Paolo) is heir to the great tradition of MPB – Brazilian popular music, in the vein of Gilberto Gil or Caetano Veloso. But he favors a stripped down approach that reflects his own love of the German minimalist group Cluster, and his lyrics – often about love, heartbreak, and the power of music – echo themes in Leonard Cohen’s songs and Sun Ra’s cosmic jazz. He plays songs from his latest, Estrela Acesa, or “Burning Star” at the 2023 New York Guitar Festival in the Greene Space. 

Set list: Grandeza, Ponto de Faca, Pele de Estera, Sereia Sentimental, Flor do Real

Watch "Grandeza": 

Watch "Ponto de Faca":

Watch "Pele de Estera":

Watch "Sereia Sentimental":

Watch "Flor do Real":

The Mexican singer Magos Herrera has a distinctive, elegant, and expressive voice, and while she’s usually thought of as a jazz singer, she’s also done a lot of collaborating with artists from the worlds of pop and classical music. Largely based here in New York, Herrera has recently put out a new album, called Aire, which features her own sextet and a full orchestra – a kind of communal response to the isolation of the pandemic, when most of the songs were written. Her own band and members of the Brooklyn-based orchestra called The Knights present some of these jazz-fluid songs, rich with drama and feeling, in-studio.

Set list: 1.Aire 2. The Calling 3. Choro de Lua

Watch "Aire":

Watch "The Calling":

Watch "Choro de Lua":

Classical Korean guitarist and improviser Jiji has a penchant for blowing minds with her playing, improvising, and stage banter. She adapts the stunning and acrobatic Caprice No. 24 by 19th century virtuoso violinist and composer Niccolò Paganini. Plus, she plays a work by the Icelandic composer, guitarist and professor of electronic composition, Gulli Bjornsson. Both performances were recorded live at the 2023 New York Guitar Festival in the Greene Space.  

Set list: Claudia Sessa (arr. Jiji): "Occhi Io Vissi Di Voi"; Gulli Björnsson: "Dynjandi"; Niccolò Paganini (arr. Jiji)- "Caprice No. 24"

Watch "Occhi Io Vissi Di Voi":

Watch "Dynjandi":

Watch "Caprice No. 24":

Black Belt Eagle Scout is the work of the singer and guitarist Katherine Paul, KP for short, whose music is deeply rooted in the culture of the Swinomish community on the coast of Washington. Black Belt Eagle Scout’s latest album is called The Land, The Water, The Sky, and it often pairs Katherine Paul’s quiet musings on land, love, and community with roaring guitars and pounding drums. Black Belt Eagle Scout plays some of these new songs, in-studio. 

Set list: 1. Nobody 2. Don't Give Up 3. My Blood Runs Through This Land

Watch "Nobody":

Watch "Don't Give Up":

Watch "My Blood Runs Through This Land":

The Land, The Water, The Sky by Black Belt Eagle Scout

The band Altin Gün is based in the Netherlands but they’ve gained global attention – and a Grammy nomination – for their psychedelic, glam rock and disco-tinged versions of songs from Turkey in the 1970s. So, in the 70s the folk rock movement racing through the British Isles made its way to Anatolia, inspiring young Turkish musicians to recast old Turkish folk songs with electric guitars, synthesisers and the like. Forty years later,  Altin Gun has been resurrecting the creativity and the energy of this corner of the music world, with their own hi-octane, dance-ready arrangements. Their latest album is called Ask, and they play new tunes, in-studio. AND they play at Brooklyn Steel on Monday, July 31. 

Set list: 1. Su Sızıyor 2. Canim Oy 3. Doktor Civanim

Watch "Su Sızıyor":

Watch "Canim Oy":

Watch "Doktor Civanim":

The chamber pop duo known as Gracie and Rachel have always had a kind of yin and yang quality to them: Gracie Coates, the pop songwriter at the piano; Rachel Ruggles, the classically trained violinist. "Blending baroque elements, ethereal soundscapes, and penetrating vulnerability, the duo creates an emotionally haunting sound" with an electric energy, (Righteous Babe Records.)

The high school friends from Berkeley, California were operating out of Brooklyn, where the duo made its reputation, but Gracie has moved to upstate New York. Rather than signaling an end, though, Gracie’s move has spawned a new collection of songs, called Nowhere Now Here, which focuses on the continued connection between the two. Gracie and Rachel play some of these new songs, in-studio. 

Gracie and Rachel play at Public Records on July 21.

Set list: "Middle Ground", "Sidelines", "Call Away"

Watch "Middle Ground":

Watch "Sidelines":

Watch "Call Away":

Goldfeather is the work of vocalist and composer Sarah Goldfeather and guitarist/producer Mike Tierney. Sarah Goldfeather is also a founding member of the ensemble Excpetet, a group modeled on the instrumentation of Stravinksy's "L'Histoire du Soldat" and created to commission new works by living composers. In fact, all of the band members are classically trained, with experience and interests from bluegrass to experimental pop.

Goldfeather’s new album, Change, is a head-spinning blend of hyperpop filtered through the lens of contemporary classical and electronic music. With its processed voices, sudden shifts in rhythm and harmony, and catchy pop hooks, the new songs are off-kilter fun, even as they tell a serious tale of "uncomfortable self-reflection" The band plays some of these tunes in-studio.  

Set list: "Who Am I When I Am All Alone", "The Animal", "Beautiful Tree"

Watch "Who Am I When I Am All Alone":

Watch "Animal":

Watch "Beautiful Tree":

Singer and songwriter Ondara's story is that of a young person in Kenya falling in love with Bob Dylan songs and winning a green card lottery that let him follow his dream of moving to America. Now Ondara has released his third LP, Spanish Villager #3, and while it has a more produced, electric sound, he’s touring around doing solo acoustic performances. He plays solo acoustic songs in-studio.  

Set list: "A Shakedown in Berlin", "A Nocturnal Heresy", "A Seminar in Tokyo"

Watch "A Shakedown in Berlin":

Watch "A Nocturnal Heresy":

Watch "A Seminar in Tokyo":