special guests of the fest
Adrienne Braswell
Adrienne Braswell, from Taos, N.M., is multi-genre vocal artist and award-winning singer-songwriter for her Blues song "Scrawny Little White Girl" at the New Mexico Music Awards.
She has shared the stage with B.B. King, Lyle Lovett and Jimmy la Fave - to name a few.
The Second wind endeavor
THE SECOND WIND ENDEAVOR is the music of composer/singer/guitarist Michael Virga. He is joined by Isaiah Kortright on guitar/bass, Evan Sanchez on drums/percussion, and Rose Dragoo on viola/vocals. Michael and Isaiah began playing music together in Tucson, AZ in 2015, and upon moving to Taos in the spring of 2017, subsequently joined forces with Evan and Rose who had recently relocated from Austin, Texas.
Garbed in the outer stylings of the folk singer-songwriter groove, the group’s music is deeply informed by blues, soul, classical, and good ol’ rock & roll. While an as-of-yet young band, each musician in The Second Wind Endeavor carries years of experience and gained proficiency on their respective instruments and collectively, are excited to grow together as a creative unit on this next leg of the adventure.
Before officially forming as a group, Michael released a self-recorded first album on Bandcamp in June of this year, titled “When The Birds Return.”
tony mason
TONY MASON re-defines the term “One Man Band”! A singer/song writer, who traveled to Vermont by way of New York City basket houses in Greenwich Village, the 1960's folk revival, and tours of New England in clubs and schools as well as the College Coffee House circuit. Tony gets excited with the new electronics that enable him to play all the parts – and then sing, too! It has been said of him - “His barrage of charm, skill, syncopation and exuberance completely captivates the audience.”
During this time, he was part of couple of bands, the Mojo Four and Children of God. Performing in Boston, Tony played in a duo called Tony and Eddie opening club shows for Odetta, Chuck Berry, J. Giles Blues Band and Kenny Rogers and the First Edition.
During the 1990's, while living in Portland, Oregon, Tony developed an interest in MIDI and synthesizers. He worked and developed arrangements for many of his songs and the one-man band grew out of these creations.