FREE SHOW - Isto

Name: FREE SHOW - Isto
Start: 2025-08-31T18:00:00-04:00
Location: Funk 'n Waffles Syracuse

Schedule

Sun, 31 Aug, 2025 at 06:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

Funk 'n Waffles Syracuse | Syracuse, NY

Christopher Frank White, also known as Isto, is a Guitarist, Singer, Songwriter and Music Teacher based in Syracuse, NY. He is best known for his fingerstyle arrangements of classic American songs, his playful baritone, his humorous and thoughtful original songs, and his dry sense of humor.
As a songwriter and performer, Isto is part philosopher, part dreamer, part trickster—someone who finds depth in the mundane, humor in the profound, and beauty in the absurd. Singing with a warm and playful baritone that falls somewhere between Bing Crosby and Mel Blanc, he delivers his songs with charm, ease, and a deadpan sense of humor. An expert guitarist, he fingerpicks his way through an array of styles, embracing a large harmonic palate, with occasional avant-garde twists. His work ranges from silly to deeply introspective, mystical to mundane, satirical to heartfelt—whether he’s turning a sandwich into a Greek tragedy, a zombie apocalypse into a love story, or an entire political campaign into a fruit-based joke, his blend of wordplay, surreal humor, and existential musings makes his music as thought-provoking as it is entertaining.
Originally from Hamilton, a small town in the Leatherstocking Region of New York State, Isto began studying guitar with local legend Ed Vollmer in 1993 at the age of 9. He studied voice with Susan Schoonmaker and Neva Pilgrim. One highlight of his youth came when he got to play the role of Tevye in his high school production of Fiddler on the Roof. Later, he went on to major in Music at Wesleyan University, with a concentration in composition. While at Wesleyan, he studied under Neely Bruce and Tony Lombardozzi, also taking classes with such musical figures as Anthony Braxton and Alvin Lucier. After graduating in 2006, Isto moved to Brooklyn, where he began teaching guitar and ukulele. He has been a regular performer and teacher at Brooklyn's Jalopy Theatre and School of Music since soon after they opened. He moved to Syracuse in 2023 with his wife and children. He has released 15 albums of original music, and also a Christmas album (I'm Dreaming of a Chris Whitemas).
Isto has over 27,000 subscribers on youtube, where he has been posting music videos since 2006. He has taught music to several hundred people of all ages; composed music, sung, or played guitar for numerous independent films (including one, Pogonophobia, that screened at the Cannes Film Festival); brought early 20th-century Hawaiian music to various Brooklyn and Manhattan venues with King Isto's Tropical String Band; taught group music lessons at Brooklyn's Jalopy Theatre and School of Music since 2012; provided guitar music for part of the video game Red Dead Redemption 2; provided the singing voice for several toys, including a 36-inch Santa Claus that was available in Cracker Barrels across North America. One of his songs ("On the PATH to Newark (You Might Just Fall In Love)") was played in NJ PATH stations every hour on the hour on Valentine's Day, 2020. He has performed on Broadway (in the subway), across the street from CBGB's, and in the office building next to Carnegie Hall. One of his bands was mentioned in the Wall Street Journal (parenthetically), and the back of his head has appeared in the New York Times.