Ken Burns, well known historical documentarian, is currently working on his latest project, a biography of the American bison, the buffalo. This documentary will provide 4 hours over two nights on the history of the buffalo, this year's Native Rhythms Festival theme. The program is planned to premier on PBS on October 16 & 17, 2023. We have learned that the music editors and producers of this project have licensed music from six of our Randy Granger's original songs for the soundtrack of this film. Congratulations, Randy! For more about this upcoming film, visit https://kenburns.com/films/the-american-buffalo/.

Native Rhythms headline performer Shelley Morningsong has released a new song, She Was Beautiful, shedding light on the high incidence of violence against Indigenous women. "Around 80 percent of Indigenous women have experienced violence. They are three times more likely than their white counterparts to be murdered." In this press release, find a link to hear the full track. I'll bet we can get Shelley to sing this beautiful but powerful song for us on our Wickham Park stage this November...
https://shelleymorningsongonline.com/campaigns/855903.

On June 1st, Gareth released his new CD, which he calls 1-2-3. It's a collection of all new songs recorded in Nashville, some based on historical content from his family ancestry. For example, one song, Angels in the Snow, recounts a distant relative, Jason Russell, who was among the Minute Men killed at his home in Arlington, MA on April 19,1775. He was shot twice and bayoneted 11 times on his front door step. This makes him one of the first American militia casualties of the Revolutionary War. Learn more about this new release and Gareth's previous CDs at:
https://www.garethmusic.com/music.html.

Annette Abbondanza and Holly Harris, known lovingly by our Native Rhythms Festival fans as the Native American Flute and World Music duo Painted Raven, have announced their plan to release a new CD at this year's festival. According to the artists, the CD, to be called "Mandala", "features a blend of the beautiful sounds of the Native American Flute combined with a variety of other World flutes and ethnic instruments, World fusion style drumming, and entrancing melodies." The word “mandala” means circle. Our Native American ancestors fully believed that all of life moves in a circle and that we are all connected. Stop by and get them to autograph a copy for you.
http://www.painted-raven.com/

Our good friend, Native Rhythms long time headline performer (including this year), master Native flute educator, and budding flute business entrepreneur Jonny Lipford has announced the expansion of his flute business by the acquisition and rebranding of the Oregon Flute Store as the Horizons Flute Store. The Oregon Flute Store has long been known, 27 years to be precise, for the wide variety of items of interest to Native flute enthusiasts, from flutes themselves, to stands, cases, books, and just about anything else you can think of. Jonny is just transitioning his website to its new designation HorizonsFluteStore.com, but soon you will have all that was previously available at the Oregon Flute Store there. The Native Rhythms Festival congratulates Jonny on his growing business and wishes him the best of luck with this new endeavor.