With special guests Tanaya Winder and Jon Chavarillo
KSUT and the Henry Strater Theatre are excited to announce a special performance by Joy Harjo and Poetic Justice with opener Tanaya Winder and Jon Chavarillo at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 14. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door and are on sale now at henrystratertheatre.com
Harjo was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and is a member of the Muskogee Nation. She is a poet, musician, and playwright. She has 13 books of poetry and has released five award-winning albums, which include world, reggae and jazz influences. In 2009 Harjo won the Native American Music Award for best female artist. She began to play the saxophone at the age of 40. Harjo believes that when reading her poems, she can add music by playing the sax and reach the heart of the listener in a different way. She is an important figure in the second wave of the literary Native American Renaissance of the late 20th century. She studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts, completed her undergraduate degree at University of New Mexico in 1976, and earned an M.F.A. at the University of Iowa in its creative writing program.
When reading her poems, she speaks with a musical tone in her voice, creating a song in every poem. She will be performing with her band, Poetic Justice, which includes John Williams, Carlo Johnson, and Arnaldo Acosta.
Harjo’s memoir Crazy Brave is the 2018 Fort Lewis College (FLC) Common Reading Experience. She will be speaking in various venues at FLC from Feb. 12-13, including a public talk on Monday, Feb. 12 in the Whalen Gymnasium.
Wednesday’s show will be opened by Tanaya Winder, vocalist and Jon Chavarillo (JKC), guitarist. Tanaya is a poet, vocalist, writer, educator, and motivational speaker from the Southern Ute, Duckwater Shoshone, and Pyramid Lake Paiute Nations. She received her B.A. from Stanford University and her MFA in creative writing/poetry from The University of New Mexico. Her advocacy also includes working with Native youth and reservation communities as the Director of the CU Boulder Upward Bound program, which serves over 100 Native youth from across the country. She made the 2016 National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development “40 Under 40” list of emerging American Indian leaders. She founded Dream Warriors, an indigenous artist management company and collective.
Jon Chavarillo is a dedicated musician and a member of Plead The Fifth, known for performing blues and rock music in the Ignacio area. In addition to being a dynamic guitarist, he is able to transition between bass guitar, drums and keyboards.
For more information www.joyharjo.com; www.tanayawinder.com
KSUT is a community-supported public broadcasting organization dedicated to serving the multicultural community of the Four Corners by providing eclectic entertainment, education, in-depth news and community and public information services promoting multicultural awareness and understanding through two signals: Four Corners Public Radio and Southern Ute Tribal Radio.
KSUT’s FM signal can be heard at 90.1 and 89.3 in La Plata County, 88.1 in Farmington and Pagosa Springs, 106.3 in Cortez, Mancos and Montezuma County, and 91.5 in Silverton. Southern Ute Tribal Radio can be heard at 91.3 in Ignacio, Bayfield and Southern Ute and Jicarilla Apache tribal lands, and at 89.7 in northwest New Mexico and Navajo tribal lands. Both stations steam live at www.ksut.org
KSUT’s Music Blend features a variety of styles, including folk, rock, blues, jazz, bluegrass, world music and Native American genres. Listeners have picked KSUT as the Durango Herald Reader’s Choice Award winner for Best Radio Station each of the past five years.
The world-renowned Henry Strater Theatre is one of the oldest and most prestigious continually running theatres in Colorado, offering more than 50 years of quality performances. This intimate and prestigious venue operates year ‘round as a community space and theatre. The theatre presents national and local live bands and touring productions of well-known and loved theatrical performances.