Last winter we played at our house for a series of concerts presented by the New York Folklore Society. New York Folklore is a membership organization, open to all, committed to promoting cultural equity and building understanding of the role of folk and traditional arts in our lives. They support folk and traditional artists, community cultural experts, community cultural organizations, and academic and public sector folklorists. In this case, they have been tasked with identifying and introducing traditional artists from our community and presenting them in a series of free public concerts to help spread the joy of art and culture. We were happy to oblige, and these performances were truly something special. Let’s cut to the chase. It will be an excellent evening of great music. We begin our New York Folklore Society showcase with Wa Lika.

Patrick Kasongo is a Capital Region musician who has been performing at festivals and social events in the region for over a decade. His ensemble, Wa Lika performs Congolese Rumba and Sebene. Patrick grew up in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and began playing music at an early age with a self-made single-string guitar, similar to the Diddley bows found in the tradition of the American blues. This set is contagious and while it doesn’t translate very well on the radio, know that we were joined on that date by 40 weird kids from the Albany Refugee Center who danced on Sunday afternoon, and for a few hours in February 2022, the world was a beautiful place to live. This is Wa Lika, live at Linda.

Tonight we present the NY Folklore Society showcase on “Live At The Linda”, featuring the engaging, infectious and enlightening traditional cultural sounds of international artists from our own community. Here are some more fantastic performances, this time from India and Pakistan.

Veena Chandra is an internationally renowned sitarist, composer, teacher and choreographer. She is the founder and director of the Dance and Music School of India in Latham, NY, where she teaches Indian classical music. She was a faculty member at Skidmore College. She has been playing and teaching the sitar for 60 years. She continued her advanced training under the late Ustad Vilayat Khan Saheb. Ustad Vilayat Khan Saheb enjoyed listening to his sitar very much and grew close to Veena and her son Devesh. OK here we go, other members of the New York Folk Lore Society live at the Linda.

One more artist for tonight’s NY Folkore Society “Live At The Linda” presentation. And this one was a party. An Afrofuturistic Experience is a performing arts show hosted by Jordan Taylor Hill and friends. The show includes traditional African Diaspora drumming and dancing as well as lyrics and songs. Jordan is an artist rooted in the traditional music of West Africa and the Diaspora combined with the sounds of today. His early influence in songwriting and performing is coupled in a unique way meant to both inspire and entertain. Jordan offers traditional drumming and dance workshops, performances and private lessons. The New York native began his music career by recording radio segments and instrumentals in his headphones in college. Since his first trip to Senegal, West Africa in 2011, his unique style of traditional drumming and songwriting has combined to deliver a fusion of hip-hop, the world and all things Afro. . And hey, remember those refugee kids we heard dancing earlier in the show, well, they’re back on that set, drumming and singing. Let’s go with Jordon Taylor Hill, live at Linda.

Thank you for staying with us this week. Join us next week as we “Come Together”, featuring TriBeCaStan 2014, Brucker – Weisse – Canterbury Jazz Orchestra 2022 and Rock Voices 2022. For more information on The Linda or any upcoming events, follow us on TwitterFacebook and Instagram, or visit thelinda.org.