Visting and Affiliated artists
Todd Michael Hall
Todd Michael Hall (born September 27, 1969, in Saginaw, Michigan) is an American musician best known as the lead singer for New York-based band Riot V. He has been in the band since 2013 and is their fifth official singer. Hall has also sung in many other metal bands including Reverence, Jack Starr’s Burning Starr, Entice and Harlet.
Todd was a contestant on Season 18 of The Voice.
Sharrie Williams
Three time Blues Music Award nominee and 2012 Blues Album of the Year award winner from L’Academie du Jazz, Sharrie Williams was born and raised in the Daniel Heights projects of Saginaw, Michigan. In April of 2004, Sharrie released Hard Drivin’ Woman on the German label, Crosscut Records. The album received international acclamation, and word began spreading in the U.S. about her captivating performances and the rock-solid Crosscut recording. Sharrie has given great and unforgettable performances at blues festivals and clubs throughout the world and has collaborated and appeared with Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor, Ruth Brown, Mavis Staples, Van Morrison, Dizzy Gillespie, Larry McCray, Sugar Blue, Bobby Bland, Walter Trout, Johnny Taylor, and Joanna Connor, just to name a few. Her influences include Koko Taylor, Etta James, Tina Turner, Patti Labelle, Aretha Franklin, and the legendary Billie Holiday–each of whom have helped shape her unique style.
Amy Petty
Detroit-based singer/songwriter Amy Petty brings her heartfelt sound back to A2SF this summer. Drawing comparisons to Eva Cassidy and Jonatha Brooke, Petty weaves a lush tapestry of folk, pop, rock, and blues ballads, with Paula Cole declaring her to have a “gorgeous voice.” Poignant, evocative, and sensual all at once, her soaring harmonies over foundational guitar work invite listeners directly into the genuine emotion behind her lyrics. With four acclaimed albums under her belt, one of which – The Darkness of Birds – won the Review Music Awards’ Album of the Year 2020, Petty’s powerful voice has won the praise of audiences, fellow musicians, and critics alike. A familiar face to the stages of Ann Arbor, Petty has performed across the country at venues like Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, as well as with artists such as Sarah McLachlan, Darlene Love, Jewel, and Suzanne Vega.
Source: https://www.a2sf.org/events/amy-petty/
Alessio Bax
Combining exceptional lyricism and insight with consummate technique, Alessio Bax is without a doubt “among the most remarkable young pianists now before the public” (Gramophone). He catapulted to prominence with First Prize wins at both the Leeds and Hamamatsu International Piano Competitions, and is now a familiar face on five continents, not only as a recitalist and chamber musician, but also as a concerto soloist who has appeared with more than 150 orchestras, including the London, Royal, and St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestras, the New York, Boston, Dallas, Cincinnati, Sydney, and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras, and the NHK Symphony in Japan, collaborating with such eminent conductors as Marin Alsop, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Andrew Davis, Fabio Luisi, Sir Simon Rattle, Yuri Temirkanov, and Jaap van Zweden.
At age 14, Bax graduated with top honors from the conservatory of Bari, his hometown in Italy, and after further studies in Europe, he moved to the United States in 1994. A Steinway artist, he lives in New York City with pianist Lucille Chung and their daughter, Mila. He was invited to join the piano faculty of Boston’s New England Conservatory in the fall of 2019.