April 2024 Sonbbirds
Tori Elliott, Guest Host
Victoria Victoria is the North Carolina based brain child of singer-songwriter-producer, Tori Elliott.
2016 saw the release of Victoria Victoria’s debut album, Coastal Beast. From there, Elliott’s songs have been featured on reality tv shows such as Love Island, the 2020 thriller Getaway, Spotify editorial playlists and more. Most recently, Elliott teamed up with guitarist/producer Charlie Hunter, and together they wrote and released their nine song album, To the Wayside, followed by their live EP, Victoria Victoria & Charlie Hunter: The Live Sessions.
Compared to the likes of modern songwriting giants, Maggie Rogers, Regina Spektor and Carole King, Elliott leans into lusciously stacked harmonies and entrancing melodies. Her songs speak to the relatability and nuances of love, relationship and growing older.
Tori resides in Winston Salem, North Carolina, where she can often be found writing and recording her songs in her home studio, Strange Kid Studios.
Amy Badgett
Amy Badgett is a film photographer based in winston-salem, north carolina. she likes to collaborate with other humans using her peering delight and keen attention to create new and meaningful images and experiences.
Allison Carlisle
Allison gets excited by finding harmonies, even with car alarms, and noticing rhythms around her. With hundreds of voice memos that capture blips of random song ideas (silly and serious), it’s a big deal when she actually sits down to work on those blips into completion. She would like to make time for this more, via curiosity and enjoyment. Allison is thankful for the ability to carry her instrument wherever she goes, and thankful to her parents for a background of choir and Whitney Houston at a young age; this changed everything. Find Allison singing backup for anyone, with the choir in town, harmonies for church, her own melodies, or random diddies, and you’ve got one swept up, happy camper.
Halle Elliott
Halle Elliott is a singer-songwriter originally from Ohio and currently based in Winston-Salem. She is currently recording her debut EP, “Carry Me Home”, blending folk and indie pop to explore the complexities of her early twenties and the longing for home.
@hal.elliottt
Rebecca Davis
Professor Rebecca Davis teaches creative writing in the English and Writing Studies program and is co-director of the Health Humanities program at Salem College, where she also serves as director the Center for Women Writers. Professor Davis earned her BA from Salem College in creative writing, English, and history, and then earned a MA in English Literature from Wake Forest University and a MFA in creative writing from UNCG. Her debut novel, Amidst this Fading Light (SFK Press, 2018), won several awards, and her short fiction has been published widely in regional literary magazines, as well as nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Currently, Professor Davis is finishing the manuscript of her second novel, which she hopes to publish next year, as well as earning a graduate certificate in narrative healthcare.
March 2024 Songbirds
Amanda Lynn James is a NC native inspired by her time working as a journalist in New York, her experience working in wilderness therapy with teens, and her deep love of nature and farming. Her recent artwork is created as a way to honor and acknowledge the small losses and disappointments we all face but often go ignored. She is passionate about her two dogs Petri and Pumpkin and she lives in Asheville.
Instagram: @amandolinjames
Venmo: Amanda-James-8
Chanice Withers is a poet who just moved back to her home state North Carolina. She has been writing most of her life, but poetry is her main focus. She has been reading her work at readings, and spoken word nights. Along with attending workshops whenever she gets the chance. She is looking to expand and perform outside of NC. Her poetry reflects observations of nature, people, and experiences. Her hope is to shape a new perspective when hearing or reading her work. At some point this year she wants to add instrumentals and voice into her work. She is currently working on a manuscript and is currently wrapping up her time in a cohort with the Good Listening Project.
Instagram: @chanicewithers; @Withers_poetry
Venmo: Chanicew26
Skylar Gudasz (she/her) is a musician, writer, filmmaker and actress. She has written and produced three full length studio albums: Oleander (2016), Cinema (2020) and a forthcoming LP (2024). Her songs are currently featured in NPR Music Live Sessions, Billboard, Pitchfork, MOJO, Uncut Magazine and Rolling Stone. In addition to her own music, she has made guest appearances on numerous albums and toured internationally as a vocalist, pianist, guitarist and flutist with bands including Big Star’s Third and Hiss Golden Messenger, playing notably at Australia’s Sydney Festival, London’s Barbican Hall and in a TV appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers. Recent placements of her songs include “Femme Fatale”, which was prominently sampled in French Montana’s track Blue Chills, and “Rider” in the Sundance Film Festival’s selected short Place. She is the music video producer and creative director for many of her songs: “I’m So Happy I Could Die”, “Mother’s Daughter” as well as covers of classics “Wichita Lineman” and “Wild Mountain Thyme”. On stage, she originated the role of Joan in the Monica Byrne play What Every Girl Should Know; other recent regional acting credits include Macbeth in Macbeth and Sasha in Orlando (Delta Boys productions). She is the author of essay "Wild Heirloom" which was published by Southern Cultures, and currently she is writing a poetry collection Letters from a Muse, with selections showcased in the Concern Reading Series. Skylar was raised Quaker in Ashland, VA in a musical family.
Instagram: @skylargudasz
Website: skylargudasz.com
Venmo: @skylargudaszofficial
Amy Taylor North is a curious, energetic, and gritty creator. For the past 22+ years, she’s been an active Winston-Salem connector, arts innovator, fierce advocate for women and small businesses, and the mother of two brilliant boys. When her first son was born in 2001, she started a listserv for new mothers to share local information (before Facebook!), and has been pioneering NEW ways of connecting people and doing good in our community since. Her historic, 1873 Old Salem house is an innovative hospitality and community enterprise whose mission is to revitalize the struggling, post-Covid living museum, and to support all things WOMEN. Local artists, fashion designers, filmmakers, candidates, UNCSA students, and nonprofits (including RiverRun Film Festival, Out at the Movies, Authoring Action, Dress for Success and more) are encouraged to use the historic space to grow, gather, and make BIG (and small) plans.
She is past-president of the Piedmont Wind Symphony, and a member of REACH Women’s Network, National Organization of Women, Women of Action, The Women’s Fund, Preservation Forsyth, and Community for Public Schools. In 2007, she started a healthcare magazine for acute, chronic and cancer pain patients and their caregivers, and served as its senior managing editor for a decade.
Elegantly dressed in rage after the 2016 American election, she shifted her focus to supporting local Democrat women running for office. She volunteered as the campaign manager for Winston-Salem's current mayor pro tem DD Adams's congressional race against Virginia Foxx in 2018, and is still standing in the gap for North Carolina women.
In December 2023, she set out to break the NC House Republican supermajority by filing for candidacy, and on March 5, 2024, Taylor North won the Democratic primary for the North Carolina House of Representatives in a landslide victory. She is eager to continue her campaign to Do.More.Good in Forsyth County and North Carolina by defeating extremist incumbent Jeff Zenger who wants to restrict women's rights, doesn't support public schools, and has already introduced anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. (North for NC has been endorsed by the NC Democratic Progressive Caucus, the Carolina Federation, Carolina Forward, Lillian’s List, Vote Mama, and the AFL-CIO.More at NORTHforNC.com and the Socials.)
Taylor North is proud to be one of ten 2024 Winston-Salem women Champions raising support and awareness for Dress for Success.
She’s grateful for Songbird Supper Club and its founder Cashavelly Morrison for creating a safe space for women to use their VOICES; and is over the moon to be a SONGBIRD in March, Women’s History Month.
February 2024 Songbirds
Julia Golden is a singer/songwriter and North Carolina native, but sings and performs all over the east coast and Nashville, Tennessee. She has been playing for live audiences and performing since a very young age. She sings and writes country music with 70s rock flare. This unique sound is reflected in her debut single “Cupid,” which is available on all music platforms beginning February 14!
Instagram: @juliagoldenmusic
Wesbsite: www.juliagoldenmusic.com
Cashapp: $juliaarmitage
Lazuli's trio is made up of Lazuli Ortiz (vocals) Ryan Mole (guitar), and Chloe White (saxophone). They have backgrounds in jazz and classical music. Their music is a culmination of many different genres. They take inspiration from artists like Herbie Hancock, King Krule, Duster, Ichiko Aoba, Cocteau Twins, Pat Metheny, and Deftones. Together they’ve combined all of their favorite sounds into a romantic and nostalgic soundscape of introspection.
Instagram: @bedrumor @lazulitchi @ryanmole10
TikTok: @bedrumor
Venmo: lazuli-ortiz
QUEEN BEES is a musical collaboration between three North Carolina-based multimedia artists: award-winning musician and journalist, Molly McGinn; renowned electronic music producer and songwriter, Quilla; and esteemed musician and creative producer Kate Musselwhite Tobey. They use a unique blend of traditional acoustic instruments, modern electronic components, vocal harmonies and the folk tradition of storytelling to bring people together and shed light on current issues. Their music emphasizes a strong beat, meticulous stringed arrangements, delightful harmonies and bright rhythm guitar—uplifting audiences and dancing to the rhythm of social change.
Instagram: @katemtobey @molly.mcginn.song.writer @quillamusic
Venmo: @Kate-Tobey
Shawna Arnold is a Winston-Salem-based oil and watercolor landscape painter. She has a BFA in art education and worked as an elementary art teacher before committing full time to her own studio art. Her work predominantly focuses on expressive mark making and light to express the wonder and nostalgia of our experiences outdoors.
Instagram: @shawnaarnoldart
Website: www.Shawnaarnoldart.com
Venmo: Shawna-Arnold-2
January 2024 Songbirds
Abigail Dowd
Abigail Dowd is a Greensboro-based singer/songwriter/guitarist. She grew up under the longleaf pines in the Sandhills region of North Carolina and is known for her storytelling and command of an audience. Abigail has been called "a writer of the highest caliber” with a soulful voice and unique classical guitar style that dance between folk, rock and blues. Pulling from her heritage of storytelling and determination, she weaves hints of Celtic melodies with the soulful gospel of the south and can be at once both uplifting and haunting.
Abigail is wrapping up the recording of her fourth album, anticipated out later this year.
Instagram: @abigail.dowd
Website: www.abigaildowd.com
Teri Hairston
I use writing as a means of advocacy for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence with hopes to start conversations, and lessen stigmas that keep victims silenced and in shame.
I took my first poetry class at Salem College instructed by Professor Pamela Uschuk, a world renowned Russian Poet. Writing has led me to adventures like studying poetry abroad in Prague at the Charles University under the tutelage of Arnost Lustig, a Holocaust survivor. I have shared stages with poets Galway Kinnell, Joy Harjo, William Pitt Root, Pamela Uschuk, Martin Espada, and met a few of my favorite poets whose writing I studied at Salem College, Lucille Clifton, Sonia Sanchez and Maya Angelou.
I have read my poems in the Historic Jewish Synagogue in Washington DC, and have had my poems published in Truth to Power: Writers Respond to the Rhetoric of Hate and Fear, published by Cutthroat, A Journal of the Arts as a special collection of poetry, fiction and nonfiction. My poem "Illiterate" from that collection has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
Laura Carisa Gardea
Holding vision of a more sustainable and dignified world for all, Proxevita is a solar punk+synth house+dream pop band from Winston-Salem, NC, USA. Recently having the honor of being seen performing at Climate Live Pavilion in Dubai for the UN COP28 Conference on the Climate; and Live in London, alongside multi-grammy award-winning artist Imogen Heap as part of the Endlesss Esssfest, Laura of Proxevita is a operatically trained soprano, performer & multi-instrumentalist & native to Winston-Salem, NC, USA, who has a talent for championing communities locally, globally & ecologically bringing together diverse artists of many backgrounds through the infusion of the arts with sustainability. Laura works with Create 2030 international artist network & serves as a UN youth-artist delegate for the first ever Arts and Culture Working Group, alongside being a nonprofit board member to 4 local area nonprofits, festival production of the Tree Tree Six Music & Arts Benefit Festival, as well as the Food To Fashion Sustainable Fashion Showcase at the Southside Food Forest.
Instagram: @laugardea @proxevita @southsidefoodforestwsnc
Lisa Stockton Howell
As a photographer based in Charlotte, North Carolina, I have spent a great deal of time documenting a disappearing neighborhood here that was built in the early 1950’s as an affordable rental community for Black families. Through building relationships with residents there I have been privileged to hear and document their stories with photography. I also enjoy photographing this beautiful world during my travels and love spending time in the mountains of western NC. My passion is documentary photography and I use that approach to create images of my travel journeys, shine a light on injustice, give life to personal projects, and document events. When making images I use a collaborative approach with intentionality around how each story is told, whose story is it to tell, and how my viewpoint influences the photos I take. Recently I have been documenting my own family’s stories by researching and then photographing places and things of significance.
Instagram: @lisastocktonhowell
Website: https://www.lisastocktonhowell.com/
December 2023 Songbirds
Alexis Overstreet
Alexis Overstreet is the Founder and President of Metaspace Counseling & Metaspace Wellness where she offers traditional therapy and Resilience Coaching for corporate care & wellness. She is a bonafide Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a passion to gift others in optimizing their energy, avoiding burnout, and showing up as their bestest, happiest, fullest selves. It is her JAM to encourage daily practices of self-maintenance and care – especially for post-pandemic wellness and techniques using body-based approaches. She incorporates Brainspotting, Internal Family Systems, Trauma & Stress Release Exercises (TRE), MELT Method and connective tissue exercises into her offerings. She is a wife, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend to mutually loving humans; and she is over the moon about salsa dancing, making meditative mala necklaces, green smoothies, and sunshine!
Instagram: @hey.alexis.o
Toni Becker
Toni Becker is a mixed media, intuitive artist, and creative facilitator who offers a therapeutic art service with gentle guidance that opens the door to healing through creative expression. This space allows us to care for ourselves differently and provides self-love through art services. Through this tender facilitation, a portal is opened to move inward to emotionally process, heal, and reconnect to your inner self. Creating art has provided a loving space for her to connect with herself, transform, and process life's pain.
As a self-taught, multi-media artist she is guided by her intuition and allows the flow of creation to pour out onto the canvas. She creates whimsy art inspired by everyday life, nature, and the events of the present moment. Art is her way of interpreting and processing life's situations, a way to navigate her emotions, and an interpretation of her connection with the world around her. She intuitively interprets the answers she seeks with her creative process. She is inspired most by nature which can be seen in her art. Her other sources of inspiration are music, culture, people, and bright vibrant colors. She believes color is a powerful vehicle for healing and a lot of her work has bold, bright colors with the intention of invoking feelings of empowerment, happiness, and inspiration. When creating art and her healing art tools (self-love boxes and hand-bound journals) she utilizes the colors of the chakra system with the intention of healing. Each love box contains messages of empowerment or actions to deepen self-care and self-love. The bright colors of the chakra system are painted around the self-love box and are paired with the empowering messages and actions of self-love inside the love box which provide the beginning of healing for the individual. The hand-bound journals she creates have colorful papers, each color of the chakra system, mixed media, and acrylic paper to facilitate dreaming and healing through various art forms- painting, drawing, collaging, and writing.
Instagram: @empowerment21
Laura Jane Vincent
Laura Jane Vincent is a performer, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter. Vincent is a country girl both at heart, and literally, as reflected in her down-home, introspective songwriting. Raised in rural southeast North Carolina, she writes ballads of strength, loss, and triumph featuring stories of those who should know better but just simply can't help themselves. She cut her teeth in various music scenes living in Charleston, sc, Asheville, nc & Nashville, tn, briefly but has performed at countless notable venues all over the southeast, northeast, and Midwest. Warbling with red-clay-’tween-the-toes lyrics, her compositions are deeply rooted in Southern musical traditions. She now resides in Glendon, North Carolina, where she is the creator and curator of the twice annual music festival, Glendonfest.
Her latest album “All These Machines” was released in February 2020, and it is available everywhere you stream music. Due to a successful Kickstarter campaign in august of 2023, LJV is currently working on her 3rd full length album with Black Rabbit Audio; which is slated for release in winter 2023. Her release will be followed by a regional U.S. Tour of the East Coast and Mid-West.
In addition to performing and curating, Laura Jane Vincent is the CEO of Street Place entertainment. Vincent takes enormous pride and pleasure in sharing with the community her wisdom gained through years of her work as a professional musician. Specializing in artist representation and career growth, Street Place Entertainment provides assistance with PR, booking, management, events, promotions, and more!
Instagram: @LauraJVincent
November 2023 Songbirds
Scarlet Tantrum
Scarlet Tantrum is a 19 year old fiery redhead that has a very dark, yet punchy alternative pop sound. She is very expressive through her lyrics and as music is therapy for her, she hopes her music can be therapy for her listeners. She’s writes a lot about hard topics, things a lot of people don’t want to open up about. She hopes to be that voice for people who need help expressing themselves.
Instagram: @scarlettantrum
Facebook: Scarlet Tantrum
TikTok: scarlettantrum
Website: www.scarlettantrum.com
YouTube: Scarlet Tantrum
Venmo: scarlettantrum
Sharo
Sharo is an multidisciplinary artist, activist, and mother with a boundless creative spirit. Growing up among folk musicians of Appalachia she developed an early and profound affection for the world of music. She chose to follow her own musical path later in life and has chosen to use songwriting as a tool for uncovering what it means to be a woman and an artist in a changing world. She currently nests in the hills of southern Appalachia but her wanderlust and passion for understanding the human experience takes all over the world.
Instagram: @ladysharo
Venmo: @sharo-88
Kelly Abbe
Kelly Abbe is a local business owner and musician who resides in Winston Salem. She has always had a passion for expressing herself through music ever since a young age. Her early singing and songwriting was steeped in her church upbringing. When she was 17 she was kicked out of church for being gay and with that she put aside writing music and singing. Now over 20 years later, she is healing her church trauma and coming back to her soul work, by picking up her guitar once again and claiming her power. She also conducts sound baths and is the co-owner of Sacred Harmony: Center for Wellbeing, where she facilitates Harmonic Egg sessions. A wellness device that uses sound, light, and color to balance the body, mind, and spirit. She has been to many of the Songbird events and is so excited to be part of this one!
Instagram: @Kelly_sacredharmony / @sacredharmonycenter
Facebook: kelly.abbe.7/ sacredharmonycenter
Website: www.sacredharmonycenter.com
Venmo: @kelly-abbe-1
Tikva Kingrea
Taylor "Tikva" Kingrea is a creator, art teacher, and meaning-maker. She believes in the mysterious spirit of creativity as a bridge between worlds: a limitless, wild movement that lives within us as a way to bring ourselves to life and into deeper connection with each other. Her favorite art practice is doodling little creatures on scraps of paper. She also dedicates herself to writing, painting, movement practices, facilitation, and hosting creative performances--her most recent show was a collaborative performance exploring death and dying, hosted at Story Parlor in Asheville, NC. She thinks she'd like to write a kid's book next, knowing that deep wisdom is best served with a side of delight.
Instragram: @getta_heart_on
Venmo: @taylor-kingrea
October 2023 Songbirds
Mary Haglund
My cooking career started about 35 years ago right here in WSNC. I have no formal culinary training but learned a lot from my Grandmothers, reading cookbooks & experimenting on my family & friends. I was given some great opportunities at such places as the Rainbow News & Cafe, Compleat Feast & The Horse’s Mouth. I finally opened my own place in 2000, Mary’s, Of Course on Brookstown Ave. We quickly became THE place for weekend brunch! There were lines out the door every Saturday & Sunday. We outgrew that space & moved to Trade St in 2010. Mary’s Gourmet Diner opened in 2010 & closed in 2020. I’m happily retired now & enjoy teaching cooking classes & once again, cooking for friends & family. My current passion is being a Crone & spreading the word about how fabulous it is to be living at this age. I carefully curated a group of Crones & we meet together every month but also stay very connected daily. Our current culture worships youth & has all sorts of beauty standards that don’t include a lot of us!! Even women don’t talk about post-menopause & I’m working hard to change that. We need open dialogue about aging & death.
My other passion is an art documentary that we’re working on called How To Feed An Artist :
I came to Winston-Salem in 1978 from Gary Indiana. A housewife with my second child on the way. Little did I know the adventure that awaited me here in this southern town. When I opened my café in 2000 the course of my life was forever altered in ways that I could never anticipate. Feeding people made me very happy and fulfilled. The unexpected story that evolved was my relationship with the artists in this community. I became very connected and active in their lives, and they in mine. We had an art show once a month. We sold more art in that little restaurant than most art galleries. Little did I know how enriched my life would be, and still is to this day. This film is the story of my journey. It is my legacy and my love gift to this community who welcomed me with open arms and made me a native daughter. I am not a wealthy woman, but I am rich in love and friendship and memories and cherished life experiences. All of our lives have been impacted by art. This film is truly my gift and my legacy to this community. I’ve got a lot of people who love me, and a few people who hate me. I’m kind of like beets. Yeah either love them or hate them. But this story is way bigger than me or any single artist. It’s about a community. It’s about the future. It’s about generational work. It’s about how our lives are impacted by art on a daily basis. It’s about how grateful I am for every artist that I’ve met and all the art that hangs in my house. It’s about my grandson who went to UNCSA. It’s about how I can never repay everything that I’ve been given. But I’m gonna try, and it starts with this film “How To Feed An Artist”.
Instagram: @breakfastqueen; @marybethhaglund
Venmo: Mary-Haglund
Joy Rivers
“Hi, it’s Joy here. As an international vocalist and lead singer of Souljam, a local party and wedding band, those who have witnessed know I truly leave it all out on the stage. But the truth is, there’s more and it gets real. Life has taken me on quite a journey y’all. While it’s fun singing those songs, It’s time I share my own. My heart. The songs of MY soul.
Let’s take this journey- this experience, along with my brothas, Trevor Keitt (Keys) and Ranzy Moore (Drums). Can we encourage you to love on yourself or take a moment to let you know that this path you’re on, you’re not the only one? Remind you of how damn worthy you are or maybe even ignite some joy within? It’s not just a feeling- it’s an experience! It may get wild, it may be calm but we’re stayin’ in motion. The music will put us where we need to be. Let’s ride...”
Instagram: @joyandtheexperience
TuKool Tiff
TuKool Tiff is an artist from Charlotte North Carolina who is known for her lyricism, incredible flows, and unique approach to hip hop! TuKool Tiff strives to not only be great at what she does from rap, to singing; songwriting to producing but point the listeners to Jesus while doing so.
Instagram & Twitter: @tukooltiff
TikTok: @_tukooltiff_
Cash app: $tukooltiff
Elora Dash
At the nexus of R&B and neo-soul emerges Chapel Hill artist, Elora Dash. Her stunning voice hits the highs and feels the lows; her music shows off an adventurous spirit. Taking inspiration from Hiatus Kaiyote, Erykah Badu, and Lauryn Hill, Dash appreciates the syncopation of spirit. Elora Dash is a musician, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist who is breaking into the regional neo-soul scene. Elora and her band aim to blend elements of jazz fusion, neo-soul, and R&B in their collaborative art. Her music is characterized by eclectic instrumentals and soulful vocals.
Instagram & TikTok: @elora.wav
Facebook: @eloradashmusic
Website: www.Eloradash.com
Tori Elliott
Tori Elliott is a producer, songwriter and musician who performs most often as Victoria Victoria, her soul-pop musical alias. Her craft in songwriting is the seedbed for intricate vocal arrangements, creating a layered, ethereal experience; one that translates dynamically from her albums to her live shows. 2022 saw the release of her album, To the Wayside, which was a collaborative effort with guitarist/producer Charlie Hunter. She and her husband, Ethan Gingerich, recently recorded her fourth studio album, Sweetest Ache, in their 1920s attic-renovated studio. The album is set to release in early 2024.
Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Youtube: @victoriavictoriamusic
Website: www.victoriavictoriamusic.com
Venmo: @victoriavictoriamusic
September 2023 Songbirds
Tiffany Thompson, guest host
Tiffany Thompson is an award-winning songwriter, singer, speaker, and community leader whose mission is to promote human flourishing. She has performed in front over 200,000 people people on 200+ unique stages. Her passion for helping people unlock their full creative potential is contagious.
As a singer/songwriter, Tiffany is the definition of a “lifer.” The daughter of a preacher, Tiffany began singing church solos at five years old. Her father’s work took her and the family from Iowa to Russia in the early 1990s and then over to Austin and Chicago in the 2000s. All the while, Tiffany was playing piano, learning guitar, and crafting songs from her journal entries. Over the past two decades, Tiffany has released over 50 songs and performed hundreds of shows.
As a speaker, Tiffany creates experiences that are engaging and transformational for audiences! Each attendee feels as if Tiffany is speaking to them individually; and when they leave, it is like their soul is filled up and ready to live more fully. Tiffany emotionally connects with audiences by vulnerably sharing stories of her personal struggles and pain, while deeply impacting audiences with inspiration and hope.
Tiffany is also a teaching artist in the modalities of songwriting and Kintsugi. She has instructed 100s of people in the Japanese art of mending broken items with gold and leads workshops using songwriting as a modality for team-building and problem-solving. Tiffany was the Director of an invite-only executive community in New York City and Growth Captain of that organization. She has collaborated with New York Times best-selling authors David Brooks, Mark Manson, Arthur Brooks, Beth Comstock, Makoto Fujimura, and many more. “Direction,” her collaboration with producer SARIN, was a semi-finalist in the Song of the Year contest, and her inspirational balled “We are the Dreamers” became a cult classic in the show “Dance Moms,” earning almost 500K streams on Spotify. In 2022, Tiffany won first place in the Be Still Media Awards for her collaboration with spoken word poet Spencer Aubrey and Jenn Bostic. She has opened for the legendary rock band America and played at national venues like The Birchmere, The Listening Room, Rockwood Music Hall, and more.
Website: www.tiffanythompsonmusic.com
Instagram: @tiffanythompsonmusic
Love’ Lemon
Love’ Lemon ia a native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, born in Salem Gardens and raised in Happy Hill Gardens. She received her education in Forsyth County Public schools, furthered her education graduating in 2012 as Student Government Association President from Salem College earning a Bachelor of Arts as a Communications major. Rev. Lemon collected her masters from Wake Forest University: School of Divinity. Love’ is a creative social justice practitioner and educator with experience in engaging community members in local, state, and national organizing activities addressing poverty-related issues. She is currently operating as Founder/CEO of Healing Heights, a trauma-informed training that bridges social justice and healing. Love’ is the new Executive Director of 18 Springs Community Healing Center, where Healing Justice is the focus. Love’ describes herself with these words: “I am my great-grandmother’s grandbaby; they carry me in all my spiritual work. I am herbs and crystal healing; I am a living Earth. I am full moon charged rainwater; I am Spirit Water. I am sage and Palo Santo breathing; I am a breath of fresh Air. I am the flame burning the candle for my ancestors; I am soul food Fire. My superpower is cultured patterns.” She loves anything bell hooks, House of Gryffindor, Leo the roaring Lion, The Protector of enneagram, Disorganized attachment style, love brunch with mimosas, balanced chakras, love gansta rap music, buying BLACK and absolutely love prophetically preaching the Gospel truth!
Personal Instagram: @loventhings
Founder/CEO Instagram: @healingheightsunltd
Executive Director Instagram: @18springshealing
Venmo: @lovelemon2015
Emily Ling
Emily Ling is an interdisciplinary practitioner and native Texan whose work centers on actively creating the Beloved Community she longs to see. She currently serves as the Farm Educator at Threshold Farm in East Bend, NC where she guides volunteers in growing organic food for marginalized families while nurturing relationships across the rural-urban divide. Her passion for building community includes hosting storytelling salons and curating special events that bridge conversations between justice, ecology, creativity and spirituality. Prior to moving to Winston-Salem in 2022, her work included serving as the Social Justice editor at the EcoTheo Review, teaching workshops for clergy on regenerative design & public policy, managing a farm that employed refugees through sustainable agriculture, and over six years in criminal justice reform and advocating on behalf of those who are incarcerated.
Instagram: @eling82
Facebook: @ERLing82
Venmo: @Emily-Ling-3
Jacinta V. White
Jacinta V. White is a poet, facilitator and coach. She’s the founder of The Word Project, where she has spent more than 20 years facilitating creative workshops for those looking to use poetry and art as catalysts for healing; and she is the publisher of the international quarterly, Snapdragon: A Journal of Art & Healing. She is often called upon as a speaker on such topics, and as it relates to her most recent collection of poetry, Resurrecting the Bones: Born from a Journey through African American Churches & Cemeteries of the Rural South, (Press 53, 2019). She is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, has work featured in many publications, and has sat on artistic boards and committees such as the NEA Literary Arts Grant Panel. Jacinta believes in protecting her relationship with the muse and listening to voices beyond the veil. Her creative work speaks to this mystery.
Website: www.JacintaWhite.com
Instagram: @JacintaVWhite
Venmo: @Jacinta-White
Laura Jane Vincent
Laura Jane Vincent is a performer, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter. Vincent is a country girl both at heart, and literally, as reflected in her down-home, introspective songwriting. Raised in rural southeast North Carolina, she writes ballads of strength, loss, and triumph featuring stories of those who should know better but just simply can't help themselves. She cut her teeth in various music scenes living in Charleston, sc, Asheville, nc & Nashville, tn, briefly but has performed at countless notable venues all over the southeast, northeast, and Midwest. Warbling with red-clay-’tween-the-toes lyrics, her compositions are deeply rooted in Southern musical traditions. She now resides in Glendon, North Carolina, where she is the creator and curator of the twice annual music festival, Glendonfest.
Her latest album “All These Machines” was released in February 2020, and it is available everywhere you stream music. Due to a successful Kickstarter campaign in august of 2023, LJV is currently working on her 3rd full length album with Black Rabbit Audio; which is slated for release in winter 2023. Her release will be followed by a regional U.S. Tour of the East Coast and Mid-West.
In addition to performing and curating, Laura Jane Vincent is the CEO of Street Place entertainment. Vincent takes enormous pride and pleasure in sharing with the community her wisdom gained through years of her work as a professional musician. Specializing in artist representation and career growth, Street Place Entertainment provides assistance with PR, booking, management, events, promotions, and more!
Instagram: @LaurajVincent
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraJaneVincent?mibextid=haYZDX
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@LaurajVincent?si=i9X20FcHgSA2D4uL
August 2023 Songbirds
Jess Klein
Singer-songwriter Jess Klein – whom the New York Times calls "a songwriter with a voice of unblinking tenacity" – has always used music to dream her way forward. Over multiple decades and 11 albums, Klein has pursued a creative evolution that has seen her delve into her own empowerment for emotional insights, while continuing to refine her eloquently melodic, effortlessly accessible song–craft.
The Bluegrass Situation hails her work as “one part grassroots social activism, two parts alt-country guitar rock — a combo we can certainly get behind.” Klein's new album, When We Rise, harnesses this potent combination with themes of empowerment and the joy of overcoming set to a dynamic and deeply introspective roots-inflected soundtrack.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/msjessklein
Website: https://jessklein.com
Instagram: @msjessklein
Facebook: Jess Klein Music
Venmo: @Jessica-Klein-73
Tamika Wells
Tamika Wells is an American author, poet and multi-passionate creative, gifted in prophetic empathy. Her written and spoken word superpower lies in her innate ability to empower women who are powerful in public but face life circumstances that make them feel pitiful in private. While managing several budding entrepreneurial ventures, Tamika is the CEO and Master Certified Life Coach of Elevate Her Coaching Program. In addition, she is an Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Practitioner; through her firm, Honey Tree Healing, Tamika helps clients heal the love relationship with self and others, breaking recurring cycles of abusive and unhealthy relationship patterns including those of sexual trauma. Her programs are rooted in clients’ abilities to experience new transformations, mutually beneficial relationships and even better financial outcomes. Tamika is mother to her adult son and resides in North Carolina with her two kittens, Joy and Mercy.
Website: www.tamikawells.com
Instagram: @Sheistamikawells
TikTok: @sheistamikawells
Facebook: @sheistamikawells
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPI4swBCJKnNHiQKwNWisdA
Venmo: @Soulbook
Cashapp: $Honeybeemika
Taja Seafus
Taja Seafus is a designer and curator based in Winston-Salem, NC. They are the founder and president of DOSE Artist Collective, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that strives to provide opportunities for local creatives to experiment, collaborate and connect to why the community. She curates “The Lab” an underground artist event that allows up and coming musicians and creatives to showcase their work. They are currently an Artist in Residence with the Forsyth County Library System, works at Arts Council of Winston-Salem part time as a production associate, Vice Chair of Arts District Winston-Salem, and is working on opening INBTWN: A Community Art Space in mid September!
Instagram: @tajamahal101 / @dose.inbtwn.ws
Venmo: Taja_Seafus
CashApp: $TajMahal8
PayPal: taj811
Abby Catoe
“I have been playing guitar and writing songs for many years and have always dreamed of being a performer on stage. Most, but not all, of my songs reflect my life experiences which of course, include heartache and pain. No Fear, the album I just released is a compilation of songs written in years past but also more recent songs. My hope is that each of the songs on the album will inspire women to be strong, confident and bold and to believe that they are worthy of love that is beautiful in every way.”
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abby.catoe.
Venmo: @Abby Catoe
July 2023 Songbirds
Dalia Razo
“I started writing songs as a teenager while studying classical piano at the former School of the Arts, and have been singing on and off with bilingual, alternative rock bands since. Following an almost two year creative hiatus, I’m looking to reconnect permanently with my songwriting and perform again. Last summer, I returned to Winston-Salem in order to fulfill a graduate assistantship at UNCG on behalf of completing my PhD in music education. During that move, I also picked back up my journalism career and currently freelance for Yes! Weekly covering topics including the arts, our local community, and social justice.”
Instagram: @singing_dalia
PayPal: Dalia Razo
Kari Foster Allison
Equipped with a seekers curiosity, a background in psychology, reiki training and gifts for navigating the unseen realms, Kari Foster Allison creates safe containers for healing and inner work. Her greatest desire is to help humans rekindle their intuition in order to reclaim their sovereignty and live from a heart-led place. She offers healing opportunities through one-on-one energy work sessions, cacao ceremonies, guided meditations, light language transmissions + activations, classes and more.
“I've always been a realm walker; very comfortable in the ethers, asking the weird uncomfortable questions and dipping in between the clouds and the earth. So it felt natural to embrace being an intuitive channel and energy worker, which I have done formally for about the past 7 years.
I have always found words so limiting and often prayed for telepathy to come to me so I could communicate better. Ha! About 3 years ago, I started spontaneously speaking what many call "Light Language". It feels like a bridge between spoken language and telepathy. Light language, soul language or the old, mother tongue language seems to be a language or expression that comes from the heart. As such, it bypasses the conscious thinking mind...it's something that is just felt. It was a powerful way to express and heal myself when it came to me. And since sound and vibration is medicine, I adopted using light language in my energy healing sessions and events as well. Discovering the power of light language + vocal toning to shift peoples energy and emotional state during sessions has led me to this newer iteration of sound alchemy that I've begun sharing. I've heard from one recipient of the experience "this is the biggest trip I have ever had while sober". So that's fun!
I hope to support others becoming more comfortable with their own authentic self expression by getting back in touch with their intuition. Experiencing light language vocal alchemy may be one way to do that. I hope you'll enjoy experiencing something new with me!”
Instagram: @befreerooted
Nishah Dimeo
“Performance-wise, I mainly sing. I also book artists & musicians for other's events. I had an all original jam band in the early 2000's and an all female jazz group right before the pandemic. In partnerships, I mostly align with businesses committed to servitude, individuals pursuing an artistic passion and/or those who are advocating for the betterment of women, minorities, the LGBTQ+ community, children, seniors, immigrants, mental health or affordable housing.”
Instragram: @nishahmusic
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@nishahmusic
CashApp: $Nishah
Venmo: @NishahD
Lydia Berger
“I am 16 years old and a rising junior at Reagan High School. I was born and raised in Winston- Salem and music has surrounded me since I was a toddler. I have continued to persue it through school, a jazz band of my own, the Winston Salem Youth Symphony, and a band at my church. I started my journey with music when I was 4 years old and first picked up violin. I continued playing for 10 years, but along the way I picked up trumpet, guitar, and singing (I no longer play violin). When I was in the sixth grade, I began singing in a band at my church, and shortly after that, I picked up the guitar. At some point in late middle school, I started writing my own songs with the guitar in order to process all of the weird emotions 13 year olds deal with and keep my sanity during the pandemic. I’ve continued writing almost every day, and I’ve started to teach myself some piano as well. It went from something I thought was fun to an integral part of my life, as I spend far more hours than my parents are probably okay with writing songs on my bedroom floor. My music varies in genre, sometimes leaning towards country and other times towards pop. This will be my first time showcasing my own songs, as I have written some songs for church, but we have not had a chance to sing any yet. I play trumpet in a jazz/blues/rock band called The Blue Hat Group, and I play in my church band called Simplify. Other than music, I enjoy playing tennis and running track for Reagan.”
Instagram: @lydiabergermusic
Venmo: @lydiaberger21
June 2023 Songbirds
Tamra Simone is the lead singer of Tamra Simone + the Finnas, a Funk, Blues, Reggae, soul band based in Charlotte, NC. Think James Brown, Andre 3000 with an Amy Winehouse flare. Tamra Simone is a singer songwriter who writes songs about love, loss, sass and having fun. Things that bring everyone together. The raw energy of the band is apparent and a sight to see. Tamra Simone and the Finnas, Finna bring you music for the soul. What does finna mean? Finna, a contraction of “fixing to”, means “getting ready to do something" SO GET READY!
I grew up singing in a pentecostal church . I have opened for Jill Scott , Mali Music, Jamison Ross and one of her childhood favorites Arrested Development. I have performed in Europe and West Africa. I released my first EP Big Hair in 2016 and releasing another EP "Soul cry" this year or early next year.
CashApp: $Onelove83
North Carolina singer/songwriter Ashley Virginia’s style synthesizes an eclectic spread, somewhere between Indie-Folk, 70s Country cool, West Coast cosmic Americana, and 60s Rock n’ Roll. Beyond an obvious artistic aptitude, complete with ear-catching melodies and soul-baring lyricism, Ashley Virginia’s music conveys a deeply intimate ability to share the most terrifying pieces of herself. In August 2021, she released her debut album, “And Life Just Goes On Living”, which leans into themes of mental health, healing, and socio-political commentary.
I'm sliding through the finish lines on an 11 track record, funded in part through support from the NC Arts Council / Arts Council of Greater Greensboro. I started the recording process of that last April, and just got the second round of mastering back. The recording process was pretty spectacular. I got to retreat for 8 days and live in a 200 year old farm house in Glendon, North Carolina. During that time I had 15 different musicians/friends/collaborators hanging out and tracking the recordings with me. We purposely did not rehearse the arrangements ahead of time, as to rely on our musical instincts and keep the collaborations organic. I'm insanely proud of this work and I can't wait to share it with the world. I haven't announced a release date yet, as I am working on making pitches and promo plans to hopefully pick up some indie-label support on it, but will be releasing tracks as singles in the coming months. A lot of my writing centers around themes of mental health, healing, spirituality, and the intersections of those themes while trying to survive capitalism. I have one record already out, which was self produced and recorded during the pandemic from my home studio.
Venmo: @ashleyvirginia
Mary Margaret Johnson is a musician, composer and counselor living in Winston-Salem, NC. After 20 years of classical piano study, including study at UNCSA and Appalachian State University, she now finds herself weaving together minimalist, baroque and traditional Appalachian music influences to create music that, in the words of a friend, “sounds like an honest conversation.” Her current project is an EP of solo piano music recorded on a felt piano by her friend and fellow musician, Kevin Beck. Some tracks include synth and field recordings by Kevin. The EP is set to release in mid July 2023.
Social media: @marymargemusic
Venmo: @marymargej
Mashiyah has been blessing mics with her voice since she was 5 and singing in her hometown church. Her biggest fans, her North Carolina family, quickly realized the talent Mashiyah displayed each Sunday was destined for bigger stages.
The young girl writing songs in elementary school, listening to Aaliyah, Michael Jackson, hip hop and gospel, soon developed her own unique style of R&B/Pop. When Beyonce's anthem asks, "who runs the world? (girls)," Mashiyah expands on that message. She has taken female empowerment as her rallying cry and created music that is soulful, timely and genuinely authentic. From crafting love songs based on real life to creating her own choreography like a female Chris Brown, her artistry reflects taking all that she's learned and turning everything on its head, into something newer.
Instagram : Mashiyah_
Snapchat : Mashiyah.m
TikTok : mashiyah_
cashapp : Mashiyah01
Other Songbird Alum from our 2022-2023 Season
Gabi Waldren
Amanda Dunn
Tori Elliott
Maia Kamil
Lillie Bailey
Alexis Ward
Kristine Moon
Debbie the Artist
Harlan Porfiri
Miriam Heard
Kamdoja
Emma Mankin
Sireen Badr
Kristen Haaf
Marianne Earhardt
Sarah Howell Miller
Flower in Bloom
Aimee Garcia
Jessie Dunks
Tiffany Thompson
Mary Beth Haglund
Anna Yacht
Kathryn Fulp
Elora Dash
Naomi Greenberg
Martha Bassett
Hannah Pabon
TuKool Tiff
Ely B
Casey Noel