What's Happening
Stay Connected
Receive the latest news, grant offerings, and community events.
Location
Putney, VT
Project Title
N/A
Fiscal Year Awarded
2023
Grant or Program
New England States Touring (NEST) Grant
Grant Amount
$2,688
This project will be one of the highlighted Bandwagon Summer shows, an outdoor summer series free to children. Balla and Mike will arrive a day early to do a workshop with Putney central School, educating them on African culture and music.
Balla Kouyaté and Mike Block bonded over their shared interest in music from across the world, and their commitment to innovating on their instruments. Balla Kouyate, a balafon player and singer coming out of the Djeli tradition of Mali, was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship from the NEA. Mike Block is an American cellist/singer/composer, and a Grammy Award-winning musician with the Silkroad Ensemble originally trained in Western Classical music. They have teamed up with friends from America and West Africa to create an exciting fusion of musical styles in a 6-piece band that features Sekou Dembele (djembe/vocals), Idrissa Kone (talking drum/calabash/percussion/vocals), Luke Okerlund (electric guitar) and Mike Rivard (bass/sintir).