Haale: vocals, guitar, setar
Adam Caine: guitar
Ken Hashimoto: cello
Matt Kilmer: percussion
Mathias Kunzli: percussion
Megan Weeder: violin

photo© Aarona Pichinson

Vocalist Haale and her band create a swirling, hypnotic experience onstage, weaving Persian melodies and lyrics through a lush soundscape that pays homage to Sufi musical traditions and psychedelic rock. "Haale ... underscores the evolution and transformation of centuries-old art forms as they adapt to the new realities of a multiethnic city" (The New York Times).

Performance playlist:

Navayee

Morgue

Aabeh Hayat

Floating Down

Hanieyeh

Be Hamegan

Home Again

Rumi Rap

Mast

Morning

Chinan Mastam

Jam

Haale performs a series of original compositions and new arrangements inspired by Sufi-trance music, 60’s psychedelia, classic Iranian and American folk songs, as well as the mystical poetry of Rumi and Forugh Farrokhzad. Haale weaves Iranian melodies and poetry with her own lyrics through a tapestry of tribal beats, strings and shimmering noise guitars. The work is a dialogue between two worlds and renders a sonic landscape inspired by the sound collage she heard throughout her childhood, growing up as an American of Iranian descent.
Haale’s distinctive sound and propulsive live shows have led her to collaborations with Tchad Blake, Ivan Julian, Grammy nominees 1 Giant Leap, Sean Lennon and, most extensively, with producer Dougie Bowne. Haale and Dougie have been working for the past two years on a slew of material, some of which will be performed tonight, and an album which will be released this year.