Hannah Mayree and Michael Kebede

Hannah Mayree (they/them) is an artist and musician whose work as a banjoist, multi-instrumentalist, producer and vocalist has made cultural waves over the last decade, as a conduit for music and craft expansion in Black folk expression. Hannah has a body of work that highlights original and traditional banjo compositions as well as harmonies through acoustic live vocal looping and involves audiences in community singing.

On the dawn of releasing their second studio album following the 2017, Thoughts of the Night, Hannah’s evolution as a musician has included holding down solo performances as well as duo, trio and full band configurations and highlights both the Black string and tradition as well as innovating between genres, expressing the conditions of our world and sparking change through culturally stewarded experiences they curate for music loving communities.

They founded and creatively direct the Black Banjo Reclamation Project which is currently creating musical, cultural and land-based opportunities for Black, Afro-Diasporic communities around the world to work with the banjo as a tool for reclaiming ancestral wisdom & creating Afro-futures.

https://www.rowboatmusic.com/hannah-mayree

Raised in Ethiopia, Michael Kebede draws from American banjo traditions and East African music to create a sound and style uniquely his own. To Michael, the banjo is the most resonant link between Black life in the Western hemisphere and the African continent. He has played his interpretations of folk songs and his own instrumental compositions in music halls, churches, cafes, gazebos, street corners, farmers’ markets, carceral facilities, and various porches and dooryards throughout Maine.

https://indigoartsalliance.me/artists/micheal-kebede/

Live at The Apohadion Theater 107 Hanover St Portland ME

July 15 - 7pm - all ages

$12 adv / $15 day of show

This event made possible with the support of Maine Initiatives