American Roots

Young Man in blazer and sunglasses sitting cross-legged on plain studio floor, blue sneakers.

El David Aguilar

Grammy-nominated El David Aguilar is one of the most versatile singer-songwriters to emerge from Mexico’s independent music scene.

His music draws from Mexican folk traditions, Latin American and Brazilian influences, and American rock, pop and folk music from the 1960s through the 1990s. Aguilar’s poetic lyrics and rich harmonic sensibility have made him a frequent collaborator with artists including Natalia Lafourcade, Jorge Drexler and Mon Laferte.

Rosanne Cash sits in front of John Leventhal on blue couch in guitar-filled studio

Rosanne Cash with John Leventhal

Blending country music with Americana, folk, rock and blues, Rosanne Cash has shaped American music for more than four decades. One of the most ambitious and literary songwriters of her generation” (Rolling Stone), Cash is America’s foremost musical woman of letters, a literate and incisive artist whose poignant and distinctive vocals turn every song into a revelatory tale.

Pink Martini All-Stars

Thomas Lauderdale’s globe-trotting “little orchestra” Pink Martini is back with an all-new holiday show!

Featuring three of the band’s favorite singers and long-time collaborators, Ari Shapiro, Edna Vazquez, and Jimmie Herrod, the Pink Martini All-Stars bring a festive program blending their beloved holiday classics with sparkling new additions.

Kalani Pe’a in a floral shirt stands in nature, while Taimani in a white dress holds a ukulele by the ocean.

Kalani Pe’a and Taimane

Four-time Grammy Award winner Kalani Pe‘a and ukulele virtuoso Taimane unite for a vibrant celebration of Hawaiian artistry.

Kalani Pe‘a is celebrated for his rich tone, resonant songwriting and dedication to Hawaiian language and culture, while Taimane, a bold and magnetic performer, reimagines the ukulele with commanding technique and striking range.

Split photo: left, Jon Cleary sits on a front stoop with band members sitting around him; right, the three members of Cha Wa two of whom are wearing traditional New Orleans Indian regalia

Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen and Cha Wa

Get ready for a Mardi Gras celebration worthy of the Crescent City. Grammy Award–winning pianist and bandleader Jon Cleary, long at the forefront of the New Orleans musical landscape, ignites the stage with his powerhouse ensemble the Absolute Monster Gentlemen. Joining the celebration is New Orleans–based Afro-Indigenous funk collective Cha Wa, described by PopMatters as “a grand gumbo of singing, intoxicating rhythms, and deep funk grooves.” Together they’ll bring the spirit of New Orleans to Jackson Hall.

Five musicians pose in a music studio with various instruments and equipment in the background.

Jlin + Third Coast Percussion

Grammy Award–winning ensemble Third Coast Percussion joins groundbreaking electronic composer and performer Jlin for a genre-defying melodic celebration of rhythm and melody.

Jlin’s percussion-driven polyrhythms inspire and converse with TCP’s contemporary classical roots, uniting electronic and acoustic forces in a shared musical landscape. This meeting of two musical worlds is much greater than the sum of these remarkable musical forces – it’s a joyous act of discovery and creation.

Shelby Means

Bassist, singer, and songwriter Shelby Means brings a magnetic blend of roots tradition and modern spark as she and her band make their Mondavi Center debut.

Born in Kentucky’s bluegrass country and raised on Wyoming’s high plains, she has become one of today’s standout bass voices. During her years in Nashville, she performed with the Grammy-nominated band Della Mae and later joined Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, earning her first Grammy Award for City of Gold.

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