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Pura Fé, an Indigenous activist, singer-songwriter, and storyteller of Tuscarora/Taino descent, is known for her soulful voice. She founded the Native Women’s a cappella trio, Ulali, empowering Native women’s music. Pura Fé explores Native Blues, where she is known for her lap-steel slide guitar recordings. Her music has been featured in many films including the award-winning documentary “RUMBLE: The Indians that Rocked the World” and she engages in social justice events as a speaker and musician. Gwendolen Cates is an award-winning independent documentary filmmaker, photographer, and author.

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Ahead of his performance at the New York Guitar Festival, now in its 25th year, producer, guitarist, and composer Yonatan Gat (Stone Tapes) sat down with the Host of WNYC's New Sounds, John Schaefer, joined by two artists who will also perform as a part of Night Two of the festival - Daryl Black Eagle Jamieson of the Eastern Medicine Singers and Gnawa master Maalem Hassan Benjaafar. Rounding out the Night Two lineup will be Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth), Mamady Kouyaté, and Laraaji, John Schaefer will host both nights - June 14 and 15, 2024 at Kaufman Music Center in Manhattan.

Link to Night One - Marc Ribot & Leyla McCalla, Yasmin Williams, Neel Murgai & Kunal Prakash

Link to Night Two - The Medicine Singers featuring Yonatan Gat and Lee Ranaldo, Maalem Hassan Benjaafar, Mamady Kouyaté, and Laraaji

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Watch Haleh Liza Gafori and Shahzad Ismaily in a conversation about the timeless and universal appeal of the music and poetry of Rumi. Rumi was a Persian Sufi mystic and dervish from the 13th century whose spiritual writings have inspired people across borders and different faiths, making him one of the most beloved poets around the world. He has amassed a celebrity following including Brad Pitt, Chris Martin, Beyoncé, and Jay Z who are drawn to his eternal message of peace and transformation.

Other singers of Rumi's poetry mentioned in the conversation: Homayun Shajarian | Mohammad-Reza Shajarian | Shahram Nazeri | Parisa

Haleh Liza Gafori is a translator, vocalist, poet, and composer born in New York City of Persian descent. Her book of translations, "Gold: Poems by Rumi", was published by New York Review Books in 2022. Supported by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts, Gafori has created a musical, cross-media performance piece based on the book, weaving translations, original text, and compositions sung in Persian and English which she debuted at the New York Public Library.

Shahzad Ismaily is a Brooklyn-based musician, composer, and engineer who founded Figure 8 Recording. Often referred to as the “musician’s favorite musician”, he has collaborated with many avant-garde artists and composers including Laurie Anderson, Anthony Coleman, and Marc Ribot. WMI presented Love In Exile, his collaboration with Arooj Aftab and Vijay Iyer based on their Grammy Award-nominated album, at Town Hall in 2023.

More about Haleh Liza Gafori - https://www.halehliza.com
More about Shahzad Ismaily and Figure 8 Recording - https://www.figure8recording.com

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