Essie (Sarah Riddle) is a WV native who moved to NJ to pursue her graduate studies in opera at Westminster Choir College. While there she began singing and song-writing with a local band soon forming Essie & the Big Chill. They played various local venues in the Central Jersey area gaining a reputation for being an incredibly fun and energetic cover band. As Essie wanted to continue to song-write and explore her own sound she left the Big Chill to pursue a solo career. 

She has been fortunate to sing in the Invitational house band at John & Peter's fronted by Mickey Melchiondo (Dean Ween) and featuring incredible musicians such as Michael Hampton (Kidd Funkadelic). Other notable performance venues include performing with Remember Jones at Brooklyn Bowl, and House of Independent's. She has also had the privilege of joining Jah People at venues like Ardmore Music Hall, and Brooklyn Bowl. 

Classically Essie has been fortunate to share the stage at Carnegie Hall with the Berlin Philharmonic for Beethoven's 9th Symphony under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle. She also has performed under Yannick Nézet-Séguin with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Kimmel Center for multiple works, as well as several performances with the New Jersey State Orchestra. Over the years she has been recognized for several awards including the Hobson Award for Vocal Excellence and first place in both the Eloise-Campbell Long Competition, and WV NATS competition.

Keegan Tawa is Saxophonist, Duduk player, composer, and engineer from Philadelphia, US. His unique fusion of engineering and composition gives his music a characteristically futuristic sound. Tawa is a super collaborator, seeking constantly to intersect the skills, backgrounds, and cultures of artists from around the world. His background in Jazz, vocation as an engineer, and passion for storytelling give him a rare and unmistakable approach to composition and sound.

Tawa's newest record, "Tessellation," is a global collaboration of 25 artists from Turkey, Iran, Tunisia, Israel, India, China, and the United States. Tessellation is a Jazz album deeply inspired by Pan-Arabic and Persian approaches to melody, featuring a wide array of traditional instrumentation deployed alongside modern, cutting-edge electronics.

Tawa rides on the momentum of his last record's release, Startide.  Startide was hailed by Philly Live Magazine as "One of the most complex and intricate listens of the year....an expert blend of modern, classical, and jazz music with the most unexpected of instruments....complex and nuanced."

Essie is following