2025 TALENT

gary clark jr.

Gary Clark Jr. is a four-time Grammy Award-winning singer, guitarist, and songwriter who blends blues, rock, soul, and hip hop. Clark achieved global impact following his first Grammy Award in 2014, winning Best Traditional R&B Performance for the track "Please Come Home" from his Warner Records debut album "Blak And Blu.” His domestic tours became instant sell-outs, and his international profile found him topping bills at legendary festivals and venues around the world. Clark later won three more Grammy Awards, including Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song, and Best Contemporary Blues Album for “This Land.” Known for his live performances, the blues virtuoso has collaborated with a variety of artists including Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Alicia Keys, Foo Fighters, Nas, Brandi Carlile, Eric Clapton, and many more. Clark recently unveiled his fourth and most compelling body of work to date, “JPEG RAW,” released in March 2024 via Warner Records.

grace potter

Grace Potter is a three-time GRAMMY-nominated songwriter, vocalist, and instrumentalist who was born and raised in Fayston, Vermont. Potter is currently focusing on her solo career with success from her critically-acclaimed solo albums, Midnight and Daylight. Back in summer 2021, Grace Potter took off on a solo cross-country road trip that would soon bring a life-saving reconnection with her most unbridled self. The Vermont-born artist spent the coming weeks crashing in roadside motels and taking time each night to transcribe the song ideas she’d dreamed up behind the wheel. After completing two more trips on her own—Potter flew to Nashville for a series of recording sessions that resulted in her most magnificently unfettered collection of songs to date. Mother Road is a body of work that goes far beyond the typical album experience.The rock-n-roll performer is currently touring across the country.

gabrielle zevin

Gabrielle Zevin is the New York Times and internationally best-selling author of several critically acclaimed novels, including The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, which is now a motion picture, and Young Jane Young. Her most recent novel is Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, one of the best books of the year, according to the New York Times, the Washington Post, Time, Entertainment Weekly, the Atlantic, Oprah Daily, Slate, NPR, the Hollywood Reporter, and many other outlets. Her novels have been translated into forty languages. She lives in Los Angeles.

Cat bohannon

Cat Bohannon is a researcher and author with a Ph.D. from Columbia University in the evolution of narrative and cognition. Her essays and poems have appeared in Scientific American, Mind, Science Magazine, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, The Georgia Review, The Story Collider, and Poets Against the War. She lives with her family in Seattle.

melodious

The supercharged Oakland band of siblings, MeloDious, is an eclectic, soulful sound experience with a vast repertoire of music spanning gospel, jazz, R&B and soul. Since 2016, they have been captivating audiences with their creative talents, vocal harmonies, original arrangements, and sibling dynamic.

CO-LLAB Choir

CO-LLAB Choir is an Oakland-based contemporary vocal ensemble that works with vocal artists and singer songwriters to bring their music to life in a vocal ensemble setting. The ensemble co-arranges and co-writes music together as well as collaborates with professional artists on studio recordings and performances. The group has performed at venues such as the Fox Theatre, SFJazz, Shoreline Amphitheatre, Bandcamp Oakland, Yerba Buena Gardens and has collaborated and recorded with a host of artists such as Asake, LaRussell, the Sunday Service Collective, Twista, Rexx Life Raj, Llunr, Martin Luther, Kev Choice, Jasmine Bailey, Jennifer Johns, Be Steadwell, August Stevens, Satya, Rob Woods, Tulani, and Jada Imani. CO-LLAB CHOIR is directed and founded by longtime Oakland music educator and artist, Cava Menzies.

AFTER PARTY TALENT

dj david carvalho

With over 20 years of experience, DJ David Carvalho has become a powerhouse in the music and entertainment world. As a seasoned DJ, music producer, and co-owner of Boutique DJs & Entertainment, he’s known for delivering electrifying sets that transcend genres—seamlessly blending pop, classics, hip-hop, house, EDM, and more to create unforgettable moments on the dance floor.

DJ JEFF STRAW

Jeff Straw brings a lifetime of passion and experience to combining live saxophone with electronic music. With styles ranging from mellow downtempo to his dancefloor shaking funky and tech house sets, he's an exciting performer to watch. Not many people play an instrument while they DJ and with over three decades of experience over the course of thousands of gigs, Jeff’s energy and enthusiasm for performing are unmatched.