A native of southern Minnesota, guitarist Ben Gateno earned Master’s and Doctoral degrees in performance from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. Following graduate school, Ben studied for one year with renowned teacher and performer Antigoni Goniin Brussels, Belgium. After his return to the US, Ben spent five years performing extensively as a member of the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet.

A versatile musician, Ben enjoys presenting solo programs that feature a wide range of styles and genres, with a special emphasis on classical, country blues, and ragtime. In 2020 he released A Time When Things Were New (listen on Spotify), an album featuring solo guitar music from the 1920’s.

Adam Bohanan is a Twin Cities based musician who frequently performs in NYC and tours around the country. He writes and performs Soul, Funk, Jazz, and R’n’B music. His influences include: Stevie Wonder, D’Angelo, Donny Hathaway, Sam Cooke, and Marvin Gaye and many others.

Adam has played on bills with George Porter Jr., Craig Robinson, Papa John Gros, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Michael Franti, Pete Francis (Dispatch), Caleb Hawley, Keaton Simons, Akie Bermiss (Lake Street Dive), and James Brown Dance Party to name a few.

Adam has recently become a finalist on Season 26 of NBC’s The Voice as a member of Team Reba.

Chris Koza is a composer and performer based in Denver and Minneapolis. Both solo and with his band Rogue Valley, he has shared the stage with artists such as Brandi Carlile, Gordon Lightfoot, Ingrid Michaelson, The Jayhawks, Neko Case, Kathleen Edwards, Dan Wilson, and Stephen Kellogg,  among others. His music appears regularly on ABC’s General Hospital, 60 Minutes, and Good Morning America, and his song Be Wild was featured in a State of Minnesota tourism campaign. His song (Rogue Valley) The Wolves and the Ravens was featured in Ben Stiller’s film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

In his writing, Chris both honors and builds on the vast genre of Americana music. For every song that sounds like it could be strummed from a boxcar clacking slowly across a grassy midwestern plain, there's a tune sailing from a city rooftop, echoing across a valley of streets and traffic, or a melody twisting and shimmering like a dim frequency deep into the starry night.

Claudia Schmidt is an American musician, originally from New Baltimore, Michigan, United States, who has recorded folk, jazz, blues, and spoken word albums. She plays guitar and Appalachian dulcimer and sings. She has appeared numerous times on the radio program, A Prairie Home Companion. She has recorded with Paul Cebar and Peter Ostroushko as well as Steve Tibbetts. She also appeared in a documentary film, Gap-Toothed Women, by Les Blank.

Bruce A. Henry is a vocalist, historian, storyteller, composer and performer extraordinaire. A baritone, whose three-and-a-half octave range allows him to sing tenor, alto and falsetto, Bruce has a pure voice with a versatility few can match. His eclectic vocal style has been influenced by legends such as John Coltrane, Leon Thomas, Gil Scott Heron, Al Jarreau, Nina Simone and Marvin Gaye. Bruce developed The Evolution of African American Music to teach the rich connection from traditional African music to the contemporary music we hear today.

Joining Bruce is critically acclaimed guitarist and composer Dean Magraw, who has performed in a cornucopia of musical worlds. Among his influences are various blues styles, including the country blues of Robert Johnson, diverse jazz styles, western classical music, Hindustani and Carnatic Indian music, the music of Armenian duduk player Djivan Gasparyan, and folk and traditional genres from many cultures.