Artist Profiles - Welcoming America

 You’re Welcome! Campaign
Program and Artist Profiles
Poster design by Jaime Cervantes
South by Southwest Music 2012
About the You’re Welcome Campaign
The You're Welcome! campaign, organized by Welcoming America, will use comedy, music,
dance parties and other creative approaches to fuel a cultural shift in the U.S. in support of
immigrants and their contributions to the country.
Welcoming America and its affiliates across the U.S. are launching the campaign-indevelopment to engage the creative community and younger generations in a movement that
celebrates the fusion of cultures and creates a more welcoming America, community by
community.
About Welcoming America
Welcoming America is a national grassroots collaborative that works to promote mutual respect
and understanding between U.S born and foreign-born residents.
The ultimate goal of Welcoming America is to create a welcoming atmosphere – community by
community – in which immigrants are more likely to integrate into the social fabric of their
adopted hometowns.
w w w .W elc o m in g A m er ic a.o r g /U R W elc o m e
PROGRAM
2:00-3:45
DIALOGUE!
Join us for music, spoken word and discussion to explore
how culture can spark a more welcoming America.
Featuring: Invincible, Negin Farsad, Oliver Rajamani, Tanene
Allison and more
6:00-7:30
COMEDY!
Laugh with some of the funniest comedians in America and
their hysterical take on the immigrant experience.
Featuring: Negin Farsad, Lucas Molandes, Chris
Cubas, Ramin Nazer, Maggie Maye, and more
7:30-8:15
MUSIC!
Hear one of the hottest bands in Kenya blend it all together
with their unique brand of Afro-Fusion.
Featuring: Sauti Sol
8:30-10:30
RE-MIX AMERICA DANCE PARTY!
Shake it loose. Hip hop, Afro-Latin soul, and more.
Featuring: DJ Martin Perna, Riders Against the Storm
All day
SHORT FILMS AND STORIES!
See short films that capture East Austin's vibrant culture. Share
your story. Featuring: East Austin Stories
Artists
Tanene Allison is a millennial writer, poet and new media
political strategist and innovator. Previously Tanene has worked
at Brave New Films and at MTV, where she focused on Think
MTV, MTV'S on-air, online and grassroots pro-social campaign.
Tanene completed her Masters in Public Policy at Harvard's
Kennedy School of Government. While at Harvard, Tanene
edited the Harvard Journal of African American Public Policy,
and was awarded a Point Foundation Uncommon Legacies
Scholarship. Her undergraduate studies were at San Francisco
State University.
Chris Cubas "Brimming with a more-than-healthy dose of ‘what
the hell is wrong with you people?!’ angst, Chris calls to mind
Lewis Black’s societal rants combined with Richard Pryor’s
deadpan delivery style. In other words, he’s a true original." Amp Magazine 2008 "Touching on topics ranging from Sept. 11
to necrophilia, Chris Cubas was obviously comfortable on the
stage. Cubas kept the crowd in hysterics with a blend of taboo
topics and self-depreciation." -Eric Pulsifer, Austinist.com.
Negin Farsad was recently named one of the 50 Funniest
Women by the Huffington Post. Her work has been called “smart,
funny, and fascinating” by the Wall Street Journal, a Critic’s
Choice by the Chicago Tribune, “a shining exception,” by
the Dallas Morning News, and Backstage cheered that it “doesn’t
get much funnier than this!”
Negin wrote for and developed the MTV series, Detox but even
more recently, the upcoming PBS animated series 1001
Nights. She also completed her first feature film Nerdcore
Rising, a ragingly hilarious comedy about nerdcore hip-hop, for
which she was director, producer, writer, PA, and golf
caddie. This film premiered at the South by Southwest Film
Festival to sold-out houses and critical praise and has been an
official selection and award winner at national and international
festivals.
As a standup comedian she has opened for the likes of Al
Franken and Bobby Lee (Mad TV) in venues ranging from the
Laugh Factory in New York, the Comedy Store in Los Angeles,
and Town Hall on Broadway. She has earned a nomination for
the Emerging Comics of New York Awards and her own offBroadway run for the comedy show The Dirty Immigrant
Collective. Her solo-show Bootleg Islam, which she wrote and
performed, has appeared in Comedy Festivals around the U.S..
Ilana Invincible - It is truly rare to find an artist like Invincible.
Her spitfire wordplay has gotten her acclaim from Hip Hop fans
all across the world, while her active involvement in progressive
social change has taken her music beyond entertainment, and
towards actualizing the change she wishes to see. The Detroit
based Hip-Hop artist and activist began penning lyrics at the age
of nine, shortly after learning English by memorizing her favorite
songs. For the last decade she has worked with Detroit Summer,
and is the coordinator of the Detroit Future Youth network to
support social justice and media-based youth projects through
out Detroit.
She founded the cooperative economics and fair trade based
label and media company EMERGENCE, through which she
released her critically acclaimed debut album ShapeShifters in
2008. Invincible has also produced award winning videos, and
directed The Revival short documentary series about women in
hip-hop. Invincible is a fellow of Kresge Arts in Detroit, and the
Ellen Stone Belic Institute for Women and Gender in the Arts and
Media.
Maggie Maye has always had a knack for making people
laugh. Maggie has been called one of the funniest up and
coming comics in Austin, has been a finalist in the Funniest
Person in Austin contest and was featured in Austin Monthly
magazine. She’s also been a featured performer at Fun Fun Fun
Fest, the Women in Comedy Festival, and the New Orleans
Comedy Arts Festival. She has had the opportunity to open for
some pretty badasses acts, such as Earth, Wind & Fire, Gladys
Knight, Pablo Francisco, and the legendary Paul Mooney, who
gave her the nickname “Black Barbie.” If you see her perform,
expect for Maggie to use her charm, wit and backhanded form of
observational humor to make you laugh and think.
Lucas Molandes - Widely hailed by critics and colleagues as a
defining talent of the Austin comedy scene, Lucas Molandes has
an impressive list of accomplishments that include appearances
at the prestigious Montreal Just for Laughs Festival, Comedy
Central’s “Live at Gotham,” and twice appearing on Marc
Maron’s WTF Podcast.
To call Lucas’s inimitable brand of comedy “observational” would
be a gross understatement – he operates on an X-ray level,
seeking out the dark and dusty corners of the human condition
and relishing every opportunity to pick awkward truths and
embarrassing gems from the wriggling bones of personal
failures, weaknesses, unrequited expectations and (of course)
love. – www.lastgascomedy.com
Ramin Nazer is a stand-up comedian based in Austin, TX. In
2011 he was selected to perform at the Just For Laughs comedy
festival in Montreal as one of the New Faces of Comedy. Last
month he appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
as the featured comic guest. This month he is here. Where will
he be next!? Same place? Somewhere else? Dead!? The choice
is yours.
Martín Perna is the founder of the musical groups Antibalas
and Ocote Soul Sounds, and appears on numerous recordings
by TV on the Radio, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, among
others.
In 2003 he began experimenting with biodiesel fuels and waste
vegetable oil recycling in 2003 and helped create Tristate
Biodiesel, New York City’s first biodiesel enterprise. Since 2008,
he has made visits to Washington D.C. to meet with legislators
and legislative aides to share artist perspectives on net
neutrality, arts funding, music performance royalty payments,
immigrant justice and financial support for rebuilding New
Orleans. In 2011 he earned an Masters in Education summa
cum laude in Education Technology from University of TexasBrownsville and began designing, developing curriculum and
teaching at Dubspot, a digital music training institute in New
York. He lives and works in Austin, Texas.
Oliver Rajamani is a Texas musician with a unique musical
sound, synthesizing India's melismatic folk chants, strings and
drumming to the raw Arabic tones of the oud and to the spirited
torch of traditional Spanish Roma/Gypsy flamenco. He blends
these eastern musical elements with western musical elements
such as blues, and country as he brings his audience to his
home and life in Texas.
Music critics distinguish Rajamani as an artist who has redefined
Roma(Gypsy) music by taking it back to India (homeland of the
Roma/Gyspy) to its original roots. His music resonates in a deep
place within its listeners, while remaining accessible and
satisfying to the ear.
Rajamani has performed/recorded with International artists such
as Willie Nelson(Texas Country artist), Gypsy Kings(Grammy
winners and Rumba Flamenco ), Arthur Brown( the God of Hell
Fire – Rock and Roll legend), Cindy Cashdollar(Texas Country
slideSteel), Eric Johnson(American guitar legend and Grammy
winner), Aloke Dutta (renowned Tabla mastero), and many,
many more. In 2008 he was a nominee for the US Artist award.
Riders Against the Storm
Jbro and Tiger Lily make up the husband-wife hip hop duo, RAS
(Riders Against the Storm). Together, this duo intends to travel
the globe using music and art as a vehicle for upliftment, social
change and sustainable living.
Sauti Sol
Sauti Sol, a captivating Kenyan band comprised of three
vocalists and a guitarist, possesses an unequaled sound difficult
to confine to one genre. By blending a recognizably pop sound
with the traditional Kenyan music of their youth and influences
ranging from African artists Lokua Kanza, Fadhili Williams, Daudi
Kabaka, Fally Ipupa and Salif Keita to British and American
artists Coldplay and Jason Mraz, Sauti Sol offers an accessible
and internationally appealing spin on world music.
ORGANIZERS
Ann Beeson – Program Director, You’re Welcome
Ann Beeson is the program director for the You’re Welcome! campaign and board member of
Welcoming America. She is also a social justice lawyer, a leading advocate for the
transformative power of culture, and currently a Senior Fellow with the Open Society
Foundations. Having worked as an executive in law and philanthropy in New York City for many
years, Ann recently moved back to Austin and her home state of Texas. Ann was the Executive
Director of U.S. Programs at the Open Society Foundations from 2007 to 2011, and previously
the national Associate Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union, where she worked
from 1995 to 2007. She argued twice before the U.S. Supreme Court, litigated numerous cases
around the country, and launched groundbreaking programs to stop the erosion of civil liberties
in the name of national security and to expand the use of international human rights strategies
in the areas of immigrants' rights, women's rights, and racial justice.
Producers
Justin Krebs
Negin Farsad
Troy Campbell
Welcoming America Staff
David Lubell, Executive Director
Rachel Steinhardt
Keiron Bone
Todd Pittman
Ellen Gallagher
Jessy Molina
THANK YOU
Welcoming America would like to thank the following individuals and organizations for making this event possible: All the artists, panelists and public
Para LaNell Agboga
Troy Campbell & House of Songs
George Washington Carver Center &
Cultural Center
Jaime Cervantes
Eleni Delimpaltadaki
Ford Foundation
Melissa Garcia
Andy Garrison
Robert Kimzey
Oscar Kimzey
Damir Mustafic
Judi Lerman
Charlie Lockwood
Open Society Foundations
Opportunity Agenda
Ashley Overton
Martha Mefferd
Josue Perez
Brendan Ryan
Bruce Sheehan
Benjamin Schwann
Nina Vizcarrondo
Eva Soldatova
Hammad Rizvi
Eva Soldatova
Matt Sonzala
Suzi Stern
Texas Folklife
Steve Wiswell
Catering by SXSW and Casa Chapala Mexican Grill & Catering
Welcoming America Atlanta, GA (404) 592-­‐5621 [email protected] www.welcomingamerica.org