Download 2011 Bio Sheet - Native Rhythms Festival

2011 Native Rhythms Festival Performer Bios
The 3rd Annual Native Rhythms Festival will be held at Wickham Park in
Melbourne, Florida November 11-13, 2011 www.nativerhythmsfestival.com
Robert Mirabal
Two-time GRAMMY winner, Robert Mirabal, lives with his
family at the foot of sacred Taos Mountain in northern New
Mexico.
Maintaining a traditional life, keeping the centuries-old
customs of the Taos Pueblo people, Robert has been
described as a Native American "Renaissance man" musician, composer, painter, master craftsman, poet, actor,
screenwriter, horseman and farmer - and travels extensively
playing his music all over the world.
Whether as a composer, songwriter or musician, Robert has won many honors including twotime Native American Artist of the Year, three-time Songwriter of the Year, a 2006 GRAMMY
Award for Sacred Ground, and his 2008 GRAMMY for Johnny Whitehorse Totemic Flute
Chants, blending all of Robert's influences into a musical landscape that conjures up both the
historic and contemporary West. His 2002 breakthrough PBS Special, Music From a Painted
Cave is unsurpassed in Native American theatrical expression.
Mark Holland
Award winning artist Mark Holland is considered by many
authorities on the Native American Flute to be among the top
flutists performing and recording today. He has been called, “the
Jimi Hendrix of the Native American Flute”.
Many of Mark’s CD’s have been recognized within the top 25
CD’s of the year by the Echoes Listener’s Poll. In 2004, his
Autumn’s Child, “Four Winds” CD was nominated a Native
American Music Award. Three of his CD’s have been nominated
for Indian Summer Music Awards, Just Plain Folks Music Awards,
and Best New Age Album. Mark’s music has been played on
National Public Radio, and Satellite Radio stations such as Sirius/
XM.
Arvel Bird
A Native American Flutist/Violinist, known around the
world for his dramatic connection between Native American
and Celtic traditions, stirring up scenes that echo from North
American memory. Dubbed “Lord of the Strings” by fans
and music critics, his music evokes the soul of North
2011 Native Rhythms Festival Performer Bios
American history and is thoroughly entertaining, but also enlightening and humanizing.
Bird returned to Arizona in 1986 and was quickly hired by Glen Campbell to tour worldwide for
six years. In 1991, he moved to Nashville and also toured with Loretta Lynn, Tom T. Hall, Ray
Price, Louise Mandrell, Clay Walker, and others.
In 2009, he took home top honors for Best Instrumental Album and Best Producer/ Engineer
(with Grammy-winning producer Tom Wasinger and Nashville engineer Chas Williams) at the
Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards for Tribal Music Suite: Journey of a Paiute. In 2007, he was
voted Artist of the Year by his fans and peers at the Native American Music Awards. Bird led
with six nominations at the 2010 Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards, and took home honors for
Best Traditional Instrumental.
During his years in the Midwest, Bird won the Indiana State Fiddle Contest four times while still
perfecting a variety of musical styles.
Jeff Ball Band
Jeff was honored with a Native American Music
Awards nomination for best flutist of the year in 1998,
and his album Cedar Moon won it's category in 2001.
The band’s most recent album “Ghost Town” is a
finalist in the Indian Summer Festival’s Native Spirit
category. The band’s goal has been to build a tasteful bridge
between the tonal emotions and spiritual melodies
projected by the Native American flute and the modern world to yield a more contemporary
style. By exploring the boundaries of the flute, the group has achieved that without forsaking the
haunting, stilling sound of the flute as the focus of the orchestration. Scott August
Native American Music Award winner, and three time nominee, Scott
August is a nationally acclaimed composer, producer, keyboardist and
Native American flute player known for his forays into World Music.
His music has been featured on the nationally syndicated radio shows
“Hearts of Space” and “Echoes” as well as receiving airplay on the
the digital networks XM, Sirius and DirecTV.
August has also composed music and sound design for hundreds of
films, commercials and video projects, for clients such as NASA, The
Discovery Channel, Lexus, Chevrolet, HBO, Nabisco, and Minolta.
The Los Angeles Times has called his music "shimmering and
luminous."
2011 Native Rhythms Festival Performer Bios
Dock Green Silverhawk
Dock is of Creek and Cherokee blood and three months after
leaving the hospital after open-heart surgery and a near death
experience, his wife Cindy took him to his first Indian powwow
to learn more about his heritage. There the Lord led him to the
Native American flute. A year later he began using the flute in
the same hospital as a chaplain and uses the medicine of the
flute and power of prayer in the Intensive Care Unit and Cardiac
Critical Care Unit at Tampa General Hospital. Today Silverhawk
is considered a pioneer of using the flute in this manner and is
requested at other hospitals as well as TGH.
Ed Wind Dancer
Ed WindDancer, dancer, flutist and educator, is a Nanticoke Indian
who was born and raised on the eastern shore of Maryland in a
family and culture that has a very close and unique relationship with
the land.
While a member of the U.S. Military, Ed was president of an
American Indian dance group that toured the Hawaiian Islands. He
has performed before audiences in Europe and across the United
States where his gifts as a flutist, dancer, and educator continue to
keep him in demand as a presenter at schools and at cultural and
civic events.
Jonny Lipford
Lipford, who started his musical journey at the young age of
13, continues to share his music with audiences across the
United States and broadcasts world wide. Lipford has been
featured on NativeRadio.com, the world’s largest collection
of broadcasted Native music, as Spotlight Artist with the
debut of his first release. As a composer of his own original
music, Jonny has been recognized as a two time NAMA
Nominee, Indian Summer Music Awards and JPF Nominee
and NEMA Winner.
Lipford takes an age old instrument and uses it to create not only the traditional sounds, but also
sounds that are new and not commonly linked to the Native American style flute - a voice all his
own.
2011 Native Rhythms Festival Performer Bios
Billy Whitefox
Billy Whitefox Stall is a Native American of the
Southeastern Muskogee Creeks. As a tribal dancer in
men's traditional dance Billy won many awards. He
then began teaching tribal dance to youth and in 1985,
was gifted his first flute by a student's father. It was a
cedar flute given to him by Quana Parker, Jr., and of
course this changed his life. concerning rivercane
flutes.
In 2005 Billy was awarded Flutist of the Year, winning
that year's Native American Music Award or NAMA with the release of his second disk, entitled
"When the Wind Sings".