Emma Briggs Coleman (who performs and releases music under Emma Briggs) is a singer-songwriter, guitarist, drummer, and multi-instrumentalist from Fort Myers whose music is rooted in the timeless spirit of rock, folk, and blues. She performs more than 300 live shows a year throughout Southwest Florida, including being selected to perform at the 2025 Island Hopper Songwriter Fest and she’ll be back again for it in 2026.

Emma says her goal with her music-making is to create meaningful connections with audiences, preserving memories, inspiring others, and reminding people that the most powerful songs are often the ones that make us feel a little less alone.

Song 1: "Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes from their 2003 album Elephant.

Song 2: This is Jeff Buckley's version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" - which Buckley released in 1994 on the album Grace.

Song 3: "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac from the album Life Becoming A Landslide  released in 1975.

Tonya Todd is an author, actress, screenwriter, and director. She is also co-editor and contributor for Comics Lit Volume 1, an essay collection about the value of comic books, and author of 52 Love: Weekly Love Lessons in Bite-Sized Bits. Her latest book, 52 Love: A Year of Romance – Volume One, is a collection of short stories inspired by the first thirteen tips in the original. 

She also serves as co-host of Femme On Podcast and host for Dime Grinds, an author meet-and-greet. Her anti-censorship series Banned Books Conversations champions the freedom to read. She is currently working on a Dracula retelling. 

Song 1: "Shining Star" by Earth, Wind & Fire from the album That's the Way of the World released in 1974.

https://youtu.be/Zu9a29UR2dU?si=HtCUxNotVS0OGmRZ

https://open.spotify.com/track/0RgcOUQg4qYAEt9RIdf3oB?si=db62117d9890446e

Song 2: "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails from their 1994 album The Downward Spiral.

https://open.spotify.com/track/27tX58NOpv1YKQ0abW7EPy?si=706a880562be4cc5

Song 3: "Shake Your Rump" by the Beastie Boys...this came out in 1989 on their album Paul's Boutique.

https://youtu.be/3ofIc3A-weo?si=qOa6V4kleJPk7VoL

https://open.spotify.com/track/2qq0RYYIuQxXcOxQKN0drC?si=c85d0bf5dec74deb

Ryan Lampa is co-founder and CEO of the nonprofit People Loving Nashville - it’s one of the city’s most recognizable grassroots nonprofits. What began as a simple desire to cook a few Thanksgiving meals for some of his unhoused neighbors in 2008 has grown into an organization that has not missed a single Monday night of outreach in the years since.

Over the years, PLN has expanded far beyond emergency food and supplies to offer housing support and other programs. These days they’re providing upwards of 800 meals every single week. And they run Paradeisos Coffee Company in downtown Nashville and through it provide job opportunities and career training for formerly unhoused individuals.

Prior to devoting himself full-time to People Loving Nashville, Ryan spent years on the road managing tour operations for major music acts, including Toby Mac - and Ryan’s sister, Dove Award-winning Christian pop singer and songwriter, Rachael Lampa.

Song 1: "Not the Only One" by Bonnie Raitt from her 1991 album Luck of the Draw. https://youtu.be/A2USNAxj1l4?si=ubZs_Wwx4_hYM8_X

Song 2: "Don't Look So Surprised" by Vicious Vicious released in 2006 n the album of the same name. https://open.spotify.com/album/767eZ6IVXe9cPArvB0zB2

Song 3: "My Song" by Labi Siffre from the album Crying Laughing Loving Lying released in 1972. https://youtu.be/U9ulY90Wy8Y?si=RpLrdx6at9J8VEZh

Sonya McCarter is a teacher, actress, director, singer and lover of all things theatre. For seven years Sonya guided aspiring actors through the CHANGE Acting Program - through it she helped adult actors of color bring their talent to the stage. She also served as Education Director and Community Engagement Coordinator at the Alliance.

About three years ago she founded Bridging the Gap Center for the Arts - a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to arts education by bringing acting and visual arts programming directly into communities through partnerships with local nonprofits, senior centers, schools, and neighborhood hubs. 

Song 1: “Double Dutch Bus” by Frankie Smith from his 1981 album Children of Tomorrow.https://youtu.be/mbOmRlCU3rE?si=va_3GGZuL8XCKkqR

Song 2: “Candy Girl” by New Edition from their 1983 album of the same name.https://youtu.be/yeVUstjxPyU?si=h2cEEplp_eG75beV

Song 3: “Rhythm of the Night” by DeBarge...it also is the title-track off their 1985 album, Rhythm of the Night. https://youtu.be/eFs8FeXXW-k?si=NBlbPspE8uoImrGp

Richard Bravo was born in Colombia but grew up in Jamaica, Queens during the height of 1980s graffiti culture so his earliest artistic instincts were shaped on the streets - and was fueled by the precision he observed in his printer father and patternmaker mother’s work.

Over the next quarter-century, Richard designed fashion campaigns, directed scenic visuals, and crafted iconic imagery for hip-hop legends, including DMX and Busta Rhymes. He did set design for the Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) album cover.

Song 1: “Missing” by Everything But the Girl from their 1994 album Amplified Heart. https://youtu.be/3P3SH2Q7Ri8?si=RodVrvJ68PxJxFVl

Song 2: "People of the Sun" by Rage Against the Machine...it was released in 1996 on their album Evil Empire. https://youtu.be/NRZg4bwtM4Q?si=aI-KQtPMP0vhNRSY

Song 3: "World, Hold On (Children of the Sky)" by Bob Sinclar from his album Western Dream released in 1996. https://youtu.be/T_Jqp0mAMzY?si=vukybqBgbzLAXIMU

Erika Burke Rossa is a writer, director, producer, and actor who, after reading the award-winning young adult novel Rain Reign by Anne M. Martin of Babysitter Club fame to her kid and was so deeply moved she reached out to Ms. Martin via Facebook to see if she could secure the rights to make it into a film…and that worked.

After getting ahold of the rights, one thing started leading to another until last month, when it premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival with Paul Rudd, Felice Kakaletris, and Jeremy Sisto in the starring roles. Erika wrote the screenplay and directed it as her first feature film.

Song 1: "Summer Breeze" by The Main Ingredient off their 1974 album Euphrates River...it's their version of Seals & Crofts' song that came out a couple years before in 1972. https://youtu.be/VS0hp0Ph49k?si=KltaLObaYct1dNwM

Song 2: "Rio" by Duran Duran...it's the title track of, and first track on, their 1982 album Rio...it was their second studio album.  https://youtu.be/celWC4SvxZU?si=9FTZ-QeaIIXRIYw1

Song 3: “Groove Is In The Heart” by Deee-Lite from their album World Clique released in 1990. https://youtu.be/Y4TC2D7uGqs?si=B-M_bVdTOztZsZ6E

Nate Hegyi is host and senior producer of Outside/In from New Hampshire Public Radio…it’s a weekly podcast and radio show that’s been around since 2015…Nate’s hosted it for about four years. They describe it as “A show where curiosity and the natural world collide.” Their team explores a super wide variety of topics, from all around the world. 

Before joining the Outside/In team Nate was a reporter in Utah working for the Mountain West News Bureau, where he covered federal land management agencies, indigenous issues, and the environment. Before that he worked at Yellowstone Public Radio, Montana Public Radio, and he spent some time as an intern with NPR's Morning Edition in their West Coast Bureau in Culver City, California.

Song 1: “Ho Hey” by The Lumineers from their debut self-titled album released in 2012.https://youtu.be/zvCBSSwgtg4?si=NNNtCKtnYaQ5Vetj

Song 2: “The Coyote & The Cowboy” by Colter Wall from his 2023 album Little Songs.https://youtu.be/6tw0LWv61Vo?si=Ft_CceskMI-2wDmB

Song 3: “Cool, Cool River” by Paul Simon...this came out in 1990 on his album The Rhythm of the Saints.https://youtu.be/gFmPrST-GUw?si=DR5opqHMl49fSgJ9

Eric Lee is a middle school psychologist by day and a comic book artist by night. His first publication was a web comic called The Breakup Artist. He did all the artwork and writing himself, releasing an episode of it weekly from 2017 to 2021. He’s written continuously for Dark Knight News for more than 8 years now. It’s a dedicated, fan-run website and media outlet focused entirely on the DC Comics superhero Batman.

Most recently, he contributed to "Comics Lit Vol. 1" - it’s a collection that does a deep analysis of comic books and their connection to deeper stories in literature and religion throughout world history. He holds four collegiate degrees - he says ironically, none of which are actually related to art or writing.

Song 1: “What's Become of the Brokenhearted” ...it was a hit single recorded by Jimmy Ruffin and released on Motown Records Soul label in the summer of 1966. It had Baby, I've Got It on the B-side. 

Song 2: “Starman” by David Bowie off his 1972 album Moonage Daydream.

Song 3: “Suddenly” from the Broadway Cast Recording of Xanadu the Musical.

Lachi Music is a New York City-based recording artist, songwriter, touring performer, record producer, author, and disability culture advocate. She grew up in a Nigerian-American home in Ithaca, New York and was born legally blind. 

She’s now released five albums, including her latest, called Magnificent. It’s a children’s album that invites people of all-ages to embrace difference, and understand neurodiversity and disability as a natural part of human diversity. It features many top artists in the Family Music space, including Lisa Loeb among many others whose names you’d recognize.

Song 1: “Doo Wop” by Lauryn Hill...it was the lead single from her debut solo album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, released in 1998. 

Song 2: “Stay (I Missed You)” by Lisa Loeb...first came out in 1994 on the Reality Bites soundtrack...then she put it out in on her debut album in 1995 with her band Nine Stories, the album was Tails.

Song 3: “Fallen” by Alicia Keys, released in 2001 on her album Songs in A Minor.

Gene Martin co-hosts the ACMA’s songwriters circle, and he’s leader of a 5 member band called The Floridians…they play clubs, adult day care and rehab centers, retirement homes and hospitals. Four of the five band members are in their 80s.

Song 1: “Where Have All The Flowers Gone”...written by Pete Seeger in 1955, this version was recorded by the Kingston Trio and released in 1961. 

https://youtu.be/9hxg3B-1OsA?si=KVq1m2-i5j5Xu54m

Song 2: “Paradise” by John Prine from his self-titled debut album released in 1971.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEy6EuZp9IY

Song 3: “Join Ice” by Jesse Welles from his 2025 album No Kings.

https://youtu.be/2EHkhU1pomM?si=nWdqBjIvcuPLmnjW