If the Grammy Award winning band, Snarky Puppy, was a heart, drummer Robert Sput Searight and percussionist Nate Werth serve as its explosive pulse. World renown for their artistic communication through rhythm, this dynamic duo debuts their own project, expanding their percussive voice into a night of melody through innovative grooves and captivating artistry. Robert Sput Searight is one of the most influential drummers and producers in modern music. Hailing from a family of musicians in Dallas, Texas, Searight came up alongside artists like Erykah Badu, Norah Jones, and Roy Hargrove at the world-famous Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing Arts. He won a Grammy Award at age 18 with his own group, God’s Property, who changed the face of Gospel music with their debut album. Since then, he proven to be unparalleled in versatility as a drummer, keyboardist, and producer. Artists like Snoop Dogg, Erykah Badu, Celine Dion, Justin Timberlake, P Diddy, Timbaland, Myron Butler, and Kirk Franklin employ Searight’s talents regularly. As the undeniable secret weapon of Snarky Puppy, Nate Werth is both rooted in tradition and constantly innovating in the percussion world. His creative approach to sonic possibilities and rhythmic interplay has been integral to the sound of the group, and has earned the respect and support of percussion big-wigs like LP founder Martin Cohen. Performing and recording credits include Screaming Headless Torsos, David Crosby, Q-Tip, Lalah Hathaway, Susana Baca, The Lee Boys, Turkuaz, Myron Butler and Levi, Jamison Ross, and The Metropole Orchestra, and many more. Having studied Indian, African, and Latin American traditions extensively abroad, Nate brings a unique sound palette to every musical environment, his deep sense of groove, passion and eclectic style, result in a distinct musical voice that propels him across musical borders

Forq is an instrumental quartet with an aggressive sound and a penchant for sonic exploration. This all-star band based in New York has just completed their third album - Thrēq - released on August 4, 2017. Founded by keyboardist Henry Hey (David Bowie, Empire of the Sun, Jeff "Tain" Watts), Forq is joined by guitarist Chris McQueen (Snarky Puppy, Foe Destroyer, Bokanté) and drummer Jason ‘JT’ Thomas (Roy Hargrove’s RH Factor, Marcus Miller, D’Angelo). Their sound is at once fierce, playful, and soulful - rich in both musical intelligence and undeniable pocket. It draws from various musical paths of it’s members, whether it’s Jason’s swampy grooves and shuffles, Chris’ singular sonic approach to guitar, or Henry’s zeal for unique keyboard sounds and twisted ear candy. Bass player Kevin Scott (Colonel Bruce, Bernard Purdie) produces a low-end force that is influenced by his southern roots and his vast and eclectic music experiences. The band pushes further down the sonic rabbit hole with the stunning new material on Thrēq.

Til They Bang On The Door marks Lucy Woodward's long-awaited fourth solo return with her debut release on GroundUP Music/Verve/Universal -- the breakthrough indie label started by Snarky Puppy's Michael League. Looking for “crazy, low brass instrumentation with feminine vocals,” she paired up with an all-star recording cast, featuring co-producer Michael League, co-producer/ keyboardist extraordinaire Henry Hey (David Bowie, George Michael), organist Cory Henry and core musicians from Snarky Puppy. “I had been touring with Snarky Puppy which is what sparked the whole concept. In pretty much one Skype conversation with Henry, Mike and I, we knew where this was going to go. I wanted to surf on a wave of horns.” The unfolding romantic twists and turns Woodward embraces on Bang is matched by the dramatic fits in her music: opening with the Shirley Bassey-style “Ladykiller”, the album eventually segues into the funk/pop single “Live Live Live” and one guaranteed live sing-a-long “Be My Husband” (recorded with the ever-soulful Everett Bradley) before ending—like the moment after a big storm settles—with the beautiful piano ballad “Free Spirit”. Ruth Brown’s “I Don’t Know” has been part of Woodward’s live arsenal for years, as well as a new take on “Too Hot to Last,” featuring a trombone choir as a backdrop for the piece. Originally the song was performed by Woodward with Snarky Puppy on their 2013 Grammy-winning Family Dinner (Vol. 1) album. The daughter of two classical musicians, Woodward spent her childhood, as she puts it “music-making and creating”. Fresh out of school, she was singing jazz on Bleecker St. for tips, singing in cover bands and writing songs before signing with Atlantic Records—a time period that saw her score a Top 40 hit in 2003 with “Dumb Girls” and another Top 5 hit she wrote for Stacie Orrico called “(There's Gotta Be) More to Life”, earning her 2 BMI Awards. But Woodward had no desire to be a pop starlet:  her follow-up, the jazzier Lucy Woodward is...Hot and Bothered was released in a unique indie arrangement with Barnes and Noble in the U.S. This, in turn, was followed by Hooked!, an album of Brill Building meets swing-styled songs, released on Verve in 2010 -- which coincidentally distributes the GroundUP label -- and produced by Tony Visconti (David Bowie). In addition to her solo career, Woodward has recorded with Rod Stewart, Chaka Khan, Celine Dion, Carole King, Snarky Puppy and Joe Cocker and has toured as a band member filling in for the lead singer of Pink Martini singing in Croatian, Japanese, French, Turkish and Spanish. Her songs and vocals have been heard in movies including What a Girl Wants, The Blind Side, Music and Lyrics, First Daughter, Manhattan Nocturne and Ice Princess, where she sang the Bjork Big Band classic “It’s Oh So Quiet”. In 2017, Lucy will be touring in Europe and the U.S.

Twice GRAMMY-nominated singer/songwriter Becca Stevens has established an outstanding career of blending effortless vocal talent with exquisite compositions that draw inspiration from pop, jazz, indie-rock, and folk music traditions. Her music stretches the boundaries of convention with songs that weave together her classical and Appalachian folk music upbringing with her love of the rich rhythms and harmonies of jazz and world music, further enhanced and accompanied by her skill on multiple string instruments. Becca has toured internationally as the bandleader of the Becca Stevens Band since its inception in 2006. Along with her solo output, Becca is a highly respected collaborator who has written and toured extensively with the likes of David Crosby as an active member of his Lighthouse Band, Jacob Collier, Michael League of Snarky Puppy and Taylor Eigsti, to name just a few.   Becca has released collaborative records that blend her original music with the world-renowned Secret Trio, as well as with the illustrious Attacca Quartet (with whom she was co-nominated for a 2023 GRAMMY for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals with violist Nathan Schram). Becca has performed and recorded with many of her musical heroes, including Brad Mehldau, Laura Mvula, Michael McDonald, Snarky Puppy, Chris Thile, Antonio Sánchez, Alan Hampton, Gretchen Parlato, Louis Cole, Vince Mendoza, Brian Blade, Metropole Orkest, Tim Heidecker and Ambrose Akinmusire, among many others.   Her upcoming album, Maple to Paper (GroundUP ’24), is an illuminating glimpse into her most private moments of grief and transcendence, rendered with both stunning clarity and heartfelt devotion to music’s alchemical powers. In a profound shift from the highly communal nature of her past projects—including her Grammy-nominated 2020 LP Wonderbloom, Maple to Paper showcases Stevens’ ability to captivate the listener with the barest of elements.  Working at her home studio in New Jersey, she slowly dreamed up a stripped-down sound rooted in her spellbinding guitar work and raw yet luminous vocal performance. Recorded live with no overdubs and mixed by Stevens’ frequent collaborator Nic Hard (Snarky Puppy, Huntertones), Maple to Paper offsets its exacting minimalism with an emotional force that envelops the listener right from the outset of the record. In the Summer of 2024, Becca makes her Broadway debut in ILLINOISE, a musical based on Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois, book written by Justin Peck and Jackie Sibblies Drury.

Tel – Aviv native Yotam Silberstein began playing guitar at age 10. This young prodigy was soon invited to perform with many of the nation’s top jazz musicians. By the age of 21, Silberstein has won the coveted “Israeli Jazz Player of The Year” title. Soon after, he performed at Italy’s renowned Umbria Jazz Festival, released a critically acclaimed debut album and set out on an extensive tour of Europe and the Middle East.   Upon receiving a scholarship to the prestigious New School, Yotam Silberstein moved to New York in 2005. Praise continued to pour in as a finalist in the 2005Thelonious Monk International Jazz Guitar Competition with one critic noting, “Yotam’s tones are exquisitely old school but his playing fresh, fiery and bursting with joyful exuberance, and musically he is one heavy cat.” Jazz Times noted, “Since his arrival in New York in 2005, Israeli guitarist Yotam Silberstein has made an impact on the scene with his preceision bebop lines and fleet fingered improvisation. All About Jazz summed up his 2009 release, “Next Page” as “unadorned hollow-body guitar work freely invites comparison to releases from the heyday of Blue Note Records. He isn’t piggy backing on memories. He’s forging his own path with skills and style.” As artistically gifted as he is technically proficient, Silberstein is featured on a wide variety of critically acclaimed releases including “Resonance” and “Brasil” on the Jazz Legacy Productions label and Monty Alexander’s Grammy-nominated “Harlem-Kingston Express Live!”