Andrew Alli has forged his path within the world of blues harmonica. He stumbled across the instrument by hearing a street busker, and the harmonica completely changed Alli’s life trajectory. Over the years, Alli has developed a unique sound which strikes a balance of traditional styles with fresh approaches thanks to his swing, tone, and heart.
Corey Harris is a guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and band leader who has carved out his own niche in blues. A powerful singer and accomplished guitarist, he has appeared at venues throughout the North America, Europe, Brazil, The Caribbean, East and West Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
Dena Jennings is a physician and artist in Central Virginia. She was born in Akron, Ohio during its booming years of ingenuity as the rubber capital of the world. Her father was an executive at Goodyear International; her mother, a banker at a hometown savings and loan. On her mother’s side, Jennings can trace her ancestry in Appalachia back five generations.
No matter your age or background, the spirit and the openness of the Elegba Folklore Society will enchant you. In a way that perhaps you will expect or in a way that is totally spontaneous, your energy will blend beautifully with ours, closing the gap between performer and audience. Participants find themselves swept up in a universal cultural energy that links them with the global significance of this timeless art form.
Kamala Bhagat is an artistic cultivator dedicated to the practice of regenerative design. She channels creative storytelling through her Afro Leisure designs, serving as a canvas weaving together threads of creative expression, ancestral homage, and ethical principles. Focusing beyond mere craftsmanship, she delves into a realm of textile aesthetics inspired by the narratives of the earth — creating pieces that resonate with cultural depth and environmental consciousness.
Ethel Barnett-Johnson, known to most as De Lady E, Lady E, or simply Lady, was born in Pensacola, Florida. She was raised in a family of singers, her mother was a preacher and her father, a promoter, sang in a gospel group for many years. Lady E started singing gospel in the church when she was only five—her mother often invited her to sing before or after a sermon.
Lamont Jack Pearley is the executive director and founder of Jack Dappa Blues Heritage Preservation Foundation and the African American Folklorist Magazine. He is an applied folklorist, African American traditional music historian, and a traditional country blues practitioner inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame as a Great Blues Historian and TV/Radio Producer, and Great Blues Artist.
Mamoudou Nango is master craftsman from a large indigo dyeing family in the Bandiagara region of Central Mali, a region known as “Dogon Country.” For years he worked as a government-certified tour guide and as a village facilitator for the NGO Delta Survie, which serves rural communities and promotes gender equality in Mali.
Since Martha Jones-Carter’s early childhood in the closely knit Northside Washington Park neighborhood, her art has always been a strong part of who she is. In her words: “For as long as I can remember I have been very creative with my hands. I drew and made whatever I visualized in my head, which allowed me to learn and develop many art techniques using various art mediums.
Priyah Bhagat is a self-taught black doll artist who is passionate about doll making, including its history and its traditions. For over ten years, she has worked from her home in Chesterfield to create cloth dolls and doll crafts that empower and celebrate the beauty and resiliency of black culture.
Samaria Marley is a mother, musician, a farmer, and an herbalist. Born in Texas, and raised in Massachusetts, her family can trace their maternal roots to Virginia and Kentucky, which perhaps explains why Samaria was drawn to play and perform Afro- folk music with VeVe & Tha Rebels in Washington, DC.
Having worked as a cashier, a prep cook, an administrative assistant, a teacher’s assistant, a graphic designer, an art specialist, an art teacher and, currently, a program manager, Unicia R. Buster created a personal modality to making art. She utilizes her different skill sets to not only perform a job, but to do create as a part of life, and she plays her part using all of her abilities.
