Amir ElSaffar with Safaafir at Lotus World Music & Arts Festival

The Arun Ramamurthy Trio (ART) performs Jazz Carnatica. Rooted in the style of the virtuoso violinist Dr. Mysore Manjunath, Arun brings a fresh approach to the age-old South Indian classical repertoire. The trio’s collaborative sound is driven by the propulsive rhythm section of drummer Sameer Gupta & and bassist Perry Wortman. The Carnatic canon is remixed in this seamless integration of styles as the group expands on the traditional compositions in explosive, improvisational flights of fancy. Arun’s original compositions pay homage to Carnatic rhythmic structures and rich tonalities while expanding the music with a modern jazz backbeat.

Irish music's accordion virtuoso Jimmy Keane and the remarkable bouzar player and vocalist Pat Broaders, comprise Bohola, Irish music's newest "supergroup" as penned by The Irish Herald. Bohola play a driving, muscular, and yet very emotive style of Irish music with deep roots in the 'pure drop' tradition, infused with the raw and gritty urbanized musical vernacular of the Irish and Irish-American experience. Bohola's debut album is championed by the Irish Voice as "one of the most impressive debut recordings ever by an Irish traditional music group." The Courier News added, "Though most of the tunes Bohola plays are well over 150 years old, the music comes across more vibrant than the moribund sounds of much of today's alternative rock. Their sound comes from the Irish version of jam sessions, but Bohola puts the noodling of many current jam bands (Dave Matthews, among others) to shame." The Irish Echo captured the essence of Bohola when it reviewed their self-titled release. "The sum here is greater than the parts, and egos are subordinate to both execution and effect. Bohola have crafted an album of intricate, nearly invisible latticework, relying not on gimmickry but on imagination and vision. What a welcome concept: muse-imbuing music." Born in London of Irish-speaking parents, Jimmy Keane's accomplishments are far reaching. The son of a sean nos (old style) singer, he is All Ireland accordion champion for five consecutive years. He is a composer and arranger of Irish music and has produced and recorded numerous albums. Many regard Keane as the premier exponent of Irish music on the piano accordion. Noted University of Limerick Professor, composer, and musician Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin praised Keane as the "savior of the piano accordion." Emusic described him as "one of the true giants of Irish traditional music of the past fifty years." Keane has performed and recorded with some of the best musicians in Irish music over the years including Liz Carroll, Michael Flatley, Mick Moloney, Eileen Ivers, and Seamus Egan. However, it was not until he started playing with Pat Broaders that the style of Irish music that Keane plays "really started to jell and this big huge raw and powerful sound came out of nowhere," reflected Keane. "We were like a glove - instinctively darting in and out of the music as if we were "as-one" playing the same big instrument." Pat Broaders arrived in Chicago from Ireland in the 1990's. "Pat is a real veteran of the Irish music scene both here and abroad, playing, recording, and performing with many artists and bands over the years," said Keane. "Pat has this acute sense of music and rhythm that enables him to "lock in" his bouzar (bass bouzouki & guitar hybrid) playing to whatever I might do musically and rhythmically. The synergy that results spurs on Bohola and draws in the audience. And his singing is brilliant - if I could sing, I'd love to sing like Pat." Bohola's key to their sound is the interplay between the musicians and the approach they take to their music. "It is the music that counts," states Keane. "We really listen to and respond to each other when we play - bending, twisting, and caressing the music as it flows along." Keane considers Bohola fortunate to be able to perform and carry forward the traditional Irish music art form while placing their special touch to the music. "We are here to serve this great music and bring out what we feel is the best nature in the tunes and songs we play." The Chicago Tribune wrote, "Bohola plays 300-year-old jigs and reels as if they were trying to tear the house down. Keane's rippling accordion playing rapid, swirling melodies, while Pat Broaders accents the rhythm with his staccato bouzouki strumming. Broaders also takes the spotlight to sing plaintive ballads." "We try to always play from the heart," said Keane, "and bring to the audience the core and the spirit of what the music we play and sing is about." In concert, Bohola perform music selections that weave in and out between tunes and songs that can continue for twenty minutes or so, ever evolving and flowing. They play tunes that range from hundred-year-old harp pieces, reels, jigs, slides, polkas and barndances to newly composed pieces in the traditional idiom. And the songs run the gamut from the ancient melodies of Ireland, to songs brought to North America by immigrants, to newly composed songs from here and abroad. All played with a freshness and subtlety of approach that is unique in Irish music today. (© 2008 Bohola Music LLC. Permission granted for publicity purposes only.)

Busman's Holiday is the brothers Rogers. Addison and Lewis grew up in Bloomington, Indiana where they currently live and tour out of. Lewis plays guitar while Addison plays drums and both sing. In the past, the Rogers played with two other brothers, Matt and Nick Romy, and then later on were accompanied by various musicians. Usually it was a string trio (violin, viola and cello), but they also had saxophonists, clarinetists, and others play with them at times. They are currently playing as a duo. The Kinks, They Might Be Giants, The Beatles, Paul Simon and Beck are all influences of the band. They've got a singer/songwriter style that relies on song crafting and stories. Recently Lewis was involved with the rock band Sleeping Bag while Addison has played with vollmar, a group headed by Justin Vollmar. Both the brothers were in a rap group, Rusty Zavitson, with Matt Nowlin who writes arrangements for and with the band. Smedley Jergins has included the Rogers since 2008. In 2012, Busman's Holiday were featured on Radiolab with Erin Tobey playing the Fleetwood's "Mr. Blue."