A storytelling event that “lives at the intersection of migration and music” is coming to ASU Gammage Memorial Auditorium on Thursday, Oct. 5, at 7 p.m.
Simply titled “Movement,” it’s “a podcast, a radio show and a live performance series that uplifts the songs and stories of immigrant musicians,” according to co-creator and musician Meklit Hadero, who emigrated to the U.S. as a former refugee from Ethiopia where she was born.
Hadero describes the evening as a combo of music and storytelling.
“Some of the moments that stay with me most from concerts are sometimes the times in between songs when a musician really stretches out and tells a story about their life. This is kind of like that. It’s like ‘The Moth’ meets a concert experience," she said.
She hopes those who attend will feel like the stories and music from her and three other individual women performers will turn the audience’s hearts into a kind of tuning fork.
“I recently learned from neuroscience that wherever you are from in the world your heartbeat will sync up to a rhythm that you’re hearing. That means that you become in sync in some deep, physiological way with the music that you’re listening to,” said Hadero.
And by extension, audiences experience “a visceral meditation on what it means to be a global citizen,” according to a description on the event website.
Other featured performers include Mexican-American songwriter and performance artist San Cha, Costa Rican singer-songwriter and Valley-based accordionist Tatiana Crespo, as well as Cambodian vocalist and Songwriter Chhom Nimol (of Dengue Fever).
Hear Meklit Hadero's interview with KJZZ's Tom Maxedon
