Festival Miami Artist Bio Archive
Creative American Music
-
Jackson Browne
Multi-Grammy nominee Jackson Browne has written and performed some of the most literate and moving songs in popular music and has defined a genre of songwriting charged with honesty, emotion and personal politics. He’s been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in 2007.
Jackson Browne, his debut album, came out on David Geffen’s Asylum Records in 1972. Rolling…
-
Lamont Dozier
Lamont Dozier as a member of Holland-Dozier-Holland, is responsible for writing and producing over 54 #1 hits for The Supremes, Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, and a host of others, giving them credit for being the architects of the Motown sound. As a result, he has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, from which he recently received the 2009 Johnny Mercer Award, the highest praise a songwriter can…
-
Florida's Singing Sons Boychoir
The internationally award-winning Florida’s Singing Sons Boychoir was founded in Fort Lauderdale in 1975. The choir consists of boys, ages eight through fourteen, selected from the South Florida community by audition. Those selected are then rigorously prepared through a multi-level music education program for participation in one of the three choirs, the Training Choir, the Residence Choir, and the Concert Choir.
The Boychoir… -
Gemini
Born in Budapest, Hungary in 1949, twin brothers Sandor and Laszlo Slomovits emigrated with their parents after the 1956 Revolution and lived in Israel for three years before moving to the United States. At age seven, Laz began studying violin and San piano, but by then they’d already been singing in public for almost three years. However, it wasn’t until after they graduated from The University of Rochester (San with a BA in…
-
Bruce Hornsby
Frost School of Music alumnus Bruce Hornsby, a 13-time Grammy nominee, has won three Grammys: 1987 “Best New Artist” for the debut album The Way It Is; 1989 “Best Bluegrass Recording” for his hit “The Valley Road” from the album Will The Circle Be Unbroken, Volume II; and with Branford Marsalis in 1993 for “Best Pop Instrumental Performance” for their song “Barcelona Mona,” written…
-
Michael Maguire
Michael Maguire’s portrayal of Enjolras in the original Broadway company of Les Miserables garnered a Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Theater World Award and a feature on the cover of Newsweek. He was a member of the “Dream Cast” celebrating the 10th anniversary of Les Miz at the Royal Albert Hall, broadcast on PBS and around the world. Maguire starred as Count Carl Magnus in A Little Night Music at the New…
-
Valerie Perri
Valerie Perri is best known for her Award-winning performance in the role of Eva Peron in the National Touring production of the Tony Award-winning musical Evita, directed by the legendary Harold Prince....
-
Rey Sanchez
Rey Sanchez is associate professor and chair of the Music Media & Industry Program at the University of Miami Frost School of Music, where he also serves as program director for the Department of Music Business and Entertainment Industries. He also coordinates the activities of the Bruce Hornsby Creative American Music Program. Rey Sanchez holds degrees in Composition and Studio Writing/Production from the University of Miami. Rey is…
-
Soulive
Neal Evans, organ; Alan Evans, drums; Eric Krasno, guitar
Soulive is the ultimate feel good groove band! Steeped in soul, jazz, electro-funk, this jam trio is widely popular at jam fests and jazz festivals.
When brothers Neal and Alan Evans first invited guitarist Eric Krasno to get down at their Woodstock, NY studio (a session that led to the trio’s break-out record Get Down! in 1999), it was out of mutual love…
-
Federico Musgrove Stetson
Guitarist Federico Musgrove Stetson started playing his instrument at the age of twelve. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he moved to Miami, Florida in 2001 to pursue a career in music. Although initially trained as an electric guitarist, his focus moved to classical guitar, and in 2007, he graduated from the University of Miami Frost School of Music with his Bachelor’s Degree in Music performance.
In 2011, Musgrove Stetson…
-
Livingston Taylor
Livingston Taylor picked up his first guitar at the age of thirteen, beginning a forty-year career that has encompassed performance, songwriting and teaching. Born in Boston and raised in North Carolina, Livingston is the fourth child in a very musical family that includes Alex, James, Kate and Hugh. Livingston recorded his first record at 18 and has continued to create well-crafted, introspective and original songs that have earned him…
-
Trout Fishing in America
Trout Fishing in America is the long-standing musical partnership of Keith Grimwood and Ezra Idlet. The name taken from a Richard Brautigan novel, seems almost as incongruent and intriguing as a picture of this musical duo - Ezra Idlet (guitar) stands six feet nine inches and Keith Grimwood (bass), five feet five and one half inches. What is more intriguing is the musical career these two have carved out in three decades of writing, recording…
-
United States Marine Band
For more than two centuries, the United States Marine Band has been part of events that have shaped the nation. Established by an Act of Congress in 1798, the Marine Band is America’s oldest professional musical organization. The Marine Band made its White House debut on New Year’s Day, 1801, in a performance for President John Adams. In March of that year, the band performed for the inaugural of Thomas Jefferson, and has performed for…