Deborah Crooks, Azere Wilson, Aireene Espiritu at the Monkey House

Name: Deborah Crooks, Azere Wilson, Aireene Espiritu at the Monkey House
Start: 2025-08-29T19:00:00-07:00
Location: The Monkey House

Schedule

Fri, 29 Aug, 2025 at 07:00 pm

UTC-07:00

Location

The Monkey House | Berkeley, CA

Doors open at 7:00, shows begin around 7:30,
Sliding scale donation $20-40.
Advance reservations recommended by sending an email to [email protected] with date and number of seats. More info at https://www.themonkeyhouse.org/calendar
DEBORAH CROOKS https://deborahcrooks.com/
Deborah Crooks has released several collections of critically noted original music, including the 2013 release Little Bird (produced by Art Khu and described as "a masterful piece of work"), 2016's 7-song CD Beauty Everywhere, and her latest, the 11-song collection The Department of the West (2019). Born and raised in California, Deborah grew up surrounded by nature, but close enough to San Francisco to be influenced by the city’s history of social, musical and political upheaval. Place-based and rooted in practice, her work has evolved over her years studying natural history at UC Santa Cruz, writing and poetics at The Naropa Institute in Boulder, CO; voice and yoga in Mysore, India, and co-writing and collaborating with her Bay Area peers. Her most recent project is an avian-themed folk opera about Peregrine Falcons and people called ‘Flight Lessons.’
AZERE WILSON https://www.azerewilson.com/
Azere Wilson is a bluesy, roots Americana musician from the hills of central California. Old-time blues, Americana, and Folk music are her volumes of truth. She excavates America's past through the lens of her life experiences as a mixed race Black woman. Her elders are Nina Simone, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and traditional Black music and bluegrass. Azere breathes new life into old music from the early 1900s and melds her originals with a jazzy, folk blues vibe.
AIREENE ESPIRITU (aireeneespiritu.bandcamp.com)
Aireene Espiritu's songs are a mix of stompin', swayin', timeless and soulful Americana reminiscent of front porch storytelling, of ghosts and the living, times of laughter and tears. Aireene was a soloist with the Glide Ensemble in San Francisco, toured nationwide and internationally, and in 2016, was added to the roster of artists under non-profit label, Little Village. She created A Color-Coded Symphony project, a musical experience connecting the audience’s ethnic origins to rhythms of the world and whose aim is to nurture curiosity and openness towards other cultures through music. Her latest project is, The Sampaguitas, singing Filipino folk songs and originals in three-part harmonies.