Dessa is a singer, rapper, and writer who has made a career of bucking genres and defying expectations. Her albums include rap bangers; a cappella arrangements; and big, catchy pop hooks. Her written work has been published in the New York Times, National Geographic Traveler, and in literary journals around the country. She’s contributed a track to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s gold record The Hamilton Mixtape and delivered a TED talk titled “Can We Choose to Fall out Love?” that’s notched more than 4 million views. On the stage and on the page, Dessa’s work embodies ferocity, wit, tenderness, and candor.

Lady Midnight is a vocalist and performance artist who draws upon her multidisciplinary background and Afro-indigenous roots to create work that reflects our collective lives. The City Pages named Lady Midnight Best Twin Cities Vocalist and named her highly anticipated debut album Death Before Mourning Best Album of 2020. She has performed across the country, sharing stages with legendary acts like Common, Moby, Andra Day, and Aloe Blacc. As a film composer, she has been commissioned by the Walker Arts Center and artist Kara Walker. Lady Midnight holds space for Black, Indigenous, people of color, refugee, and immigrant youth within her creative community residencies and projects like NDN Collective, indigenous students on the Red Lake reservation, refugee and immigrant girls and non-binary students participating in Girls Getting Ahead in Leadership in partnership with Women’s Initiative for Self Empowerment, and Kulture Klub Collaborative (a non-profit for youth experiencing homelessness). She has dedicated her life to empowering youth, using her art to inspire change and heal collective trauma.  In addition to her own solo releases, Lady Midnight has lent her voice to projects such VANDAAM, Parables of Neptune, and Malamanya.