This spring, I’m thrilled to continue touring with my friend and collaborator, poet and storyteller Rosetta “Rosie” Peters, with whom I’ve been working closely for the past 6+ years. Our debut chapbook album, The Hummingbird’s Dance, was released in 2022 and contains eleven original heartfelt poetry + music compositions that we created together and recorded and mixed with Ben Durrant at Crazy Beast Studio in Minneapolis (Andrew Bird, Roma di Luna). Since it’s release, we’ve been touring to smaller communities around Minnesota to perform concerts and co-lead free community poetry and writing workshops for local community members to dig into their own stories, their own artistry. Our next stops will be at Sampaguita in Aitkin, MN on April 4 & 5th, and at Lower Sioux Community on April 12 & 13th. This tour is made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the MN State Arts Board. We are so grateful for this opportunity!
participant feedback:
“Your performance together was riveting. JG’s music gave a cadence, and an emphasis here, response there, that was a powerful partnership to Rosie’s words and rhythm. Rosie’s poetry is right there for the listener – raw, honest, loving, transformative words that show the calling of art to testify, to heal, and to create a better world. As artists, you probably don’t think these things are accidental, and I don’t know what to think about the fact that Rosie’s final piece, “Of a Feather,” seemed written and performed for my moment there and then. I’ve never had as strong an emotional response to a poem. You wrote and performed what I needed right then. I thank you, and I thank you that I am able to listen to that again on your CD.
At the end of the workshop, James kindly agreed to listen to two unfinished poems I’d brought with me that I thought I might be able to whip together by the evening. I had thought that I’d be giving him ideas for music, as both of you had suggested. But James had much more to offer me. He gave me an hour of undivided attention, asking me astute questions and making insightful observations about what the poems were partially doing and might do. It was totally unexpected and so, so valuable for me. It seemed that James could see the potential of these pieces that wasn’t yet quite emerging. He also shared his experience with the importance of slowing down, deciding where to give the audience a chance to absorb what’s just been said, trusting the words to speak and the audience to listen. Jazzed by all he’d given me, I rushed home and worked on the poems for the 45 minutes or so I had there. It wasn’t enough time to work with all the ideas he’d instigated, but there was an improvement, and a bit more scribbled in revisions after I sat down. I was nervous but pleased to share what I did, and now I’ve worked on both pieces further. Thank you, thank you, for your encouragement and your generosity.” – Teresa, Grand Rapids, MN