the artists

Naumati Banjai Cleveland

The Naumati Bajai Cleveland performs traditional Nepalese music, typically reserved for special religious ceremonies. Members come from across Ohio and perform Nepali folk songs on traditional woodwind and percussion instruments. Tonight they were joined by traditional Nepali dancers.

U4U Band

The U4U Band was created in Cleveland, Ohio in 2022 by musicians from different parts of Ukraine, forced to flee due to the outbreak of war in their hometowns. The composition of the band demonstrates that Ukraine has always been united in its intentions and beliefs, regardless of the territory of residence of its people. Our vision is to develop and promote modern Ukrainian music and culture for the benefit of its people. The U4U Band includes Ivan Prodanyk on vocals, Olena Aleksieieva on piano, Yaryna Tsarynska on violin, and Viktor Koromyslichenko on drums.

Heart of Afghanistan

Heart of Afghanistan featuring the Fanoos Ensemble includes four brilliant Afghan musicians: famed singer and Afghan TV star Ahmad Fanoos on vocals & harmonium, his sons Elham Fanoos on piano and Mehran Fanoos on violin, and Hewad Wardak on tabla. Unable to perform inside Afghanistan today, where the Taliban has banned all music, the group carries the flame of Afghanistan’s rich and complex musical heritage, from its pre-Islamic Buddhist period to the modern era.

Shacko & Akim

Twin brothers and refugees from Congo, Shacko & Akim have been making music together since they were 10 years old. When their father was killed and their land was stolen by the M23 militia, they fled Congo with their family in 2009 and grew up in a refugee camp in Uganda. In the camp, they spent their days playing music and trying to process the trauma they had experienced. Creating music became like healing medicine for them and their audience in the camp.

In 2016, Shacko & Akim’s family was resettled to St. Louis, MO where the young men struggled to fit in. Again, they found the power of music connected them with new friends as they shared their songs at school and their audience began to grow. Since then they have been writing and recording music that transcends category: from the Afro Pop of Dragon (2021) to the acoustic R&B of As Long As You’re Mine (2022), to the Afro Beat of Little Bit (single, 2023).

Through every song, Shacko & Akim take us with them on their musical journey from a mountain village in Congo to a multi-cultural urban center in America. Singing mostly in their native tongue, Shacko & Akim’s songs will connect immediately with an audience of more than 200 million Swahili speakers around the world. But every listener will find the rhythms and melodies infectious and the vocals transcending language to connect directly with the heart. All the range of human emotions are felt through heartbreaking songs of unrequited love, to dance beats pulsating with joy, to an earnest prayer for peace in the war-torn ruin of their beautiful Congo.

the vibe