Record collector / DJ / Broadcaster / Producer / Brownswood Recordings boss / occasional remixer

“Understanding the order of time is important to anyone hoping to manifest a dream,” says Valerie June. “There is a time to push, and a time to gently tend the garden.”

Since the release of her 2013 breakout Pushin’ Against A Stone, June has been patiently at work in the garden of song, nurturing seedlings with love and care into the lush bloom that is her stunning new album, The Order Of Time. Some songs grew from seeds planted more than a decade ago, others blossomed overnight when she least expected them to, but every track bears the influence of time. See, time has been on June’s mind a lot lately. It’s the only constant in life, even though it’s constantly changing. It’s the healer of all wounds, the killer of all men. It’s at once infinite and finite, ever flowing with twists and turns and brutal, churning rapids that give way to serene stretches of placid tranquility. Fight against the current and it will knock you flat on your ass. Learn to read it, to speak its language, and it will carry you exactly where you’re meant to be.

AFINQUE (ah-feen-keh) is a 12 piece Classic Salsa Dura band from Burlington, Vermont.  Afinque pays tribute to the sound of New York City's Palladium and Fania eras.  The word Afinque is one of many terms used to describe the quality of rhythmic and melodic interaction in Afro Latin music, particularly Salsa. Of these terms afinque means, locked in the groove.

ARTISTS
Miriam Bernardo, Voice
Rhiannon Ariel, Voice
Hugo Martinez Cazon, Voice
Andric Severance, Keyboard
Giovanni Rovetto, Bass
Caleb Bronz, Timbales
Scott Dean, Congas
John Thompson Figueroa, Bongo, Voice
Jacob Deva Racusin, Percussion, Voice
Kevin Avery, Trumpet
Matt Avery, Trombone
Zach Tonnisson, Tenor Sax 


PRESS
"Afinque is an 12-piece, classic salsa y salsa dura band from Burlington. Featuring many of the finest musicians in Vermont, Afinque pays tribute to the sounds of New York’s famed Palladium club and the great Fania record label. This energetic outfit plays fiery and intense salsa, with the sultry sounds of vocalist Miriam Bernardo floating over a funky, percussive Latin beat"
-Burlington First Night

"Afinque was exciting. They played fiery, intense salsa, with Bernardo’s sultry lyrics floating over a funky percussive Latin beat. It’s one of the best First Night gigs I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been going to First Night performances in various cities throughout the Northeast for 20 years now." 
-Brent Hallenbeck, Arts & Entertainment reporter for the Burlington Free Press

"Afinque plays fun, energetic salsa led by a stunning, lively female vocalist (Miriam Bernardo) Their sound is more a tribute to older styles, like Salsa Dura, which features fat, brass-heavy compositions characterized by multiple percussive elements and a less romanticized, down-and-dirty kind of style" 
-Amanda Macchia, Performer Magazine.





Kat Wright, whose voice is both sultry and dynamic, delicate yet powerful; gritty but highly emotive and nuanced, has been described as “a young Bonnie Raitt meets Amy Winehouse”. Add to that voice enough stage presence to tame lions, and the combination of feline femininity proves immediately enchanting. There’s soul flowing in and out of her rock ‘n’ roll with a serpentine seduction. Some of soul music’s sweet, grand dames belt, shout, seethe, and succumb, while Wright sings gently like a heartache’s apology. It’s funky in spots and beautiful all over. And it hurts a little … like it should.

Management:
American International Artists, Inc.
Cynthia B. Herbst, President
+1 (518) 686-0972
Cynthia@aiArtists.com

Much like songbird Edith Piaf, Madeleine Peyroux spent her teenage years busking the busy streets of Paris. Just like the ‘little sparrow’, Madeleine befriended the city’s street musicians and made its Latin quarter her first performing stage. Years later, Peyroux would cite iconic Piaf as an influence on her music and record a rendition of the classic La Vie En Rose, soulfully capturing the tune’s romanticism and melancholy.
 
Born in Athens, Georgia in 1974, Madeleine “grew up in a house filled with music” and from an early age “instinctively realised music’s soothing power” but it was her teenage years in the French capital that turned the childhood notion into an all-consuming vocation for life.

Young Madeleine moved to Paris with her mother in 1987 following her parents divorce. “To soothe me during the upheaval”, she recalls, “I was given a guitar and took to playing in the streets almost immediately.”

Thirty years after her formative busking days Peyroux is the proud curator of nine beguiling albums and an accomplished performer with sell out worldwide tours under her belt. Her atmospheric version of Serge Gainsborough’s La Javanaise was used in the soundtrack of Oscar Winner The Shape of Water and her countless accolades
include the coveted BBC International Artist Of The Year honour.
 
Madeleine’s thirst for creative exploration is unfading and her willingness to face creative challenges remains as solid now as it was three decades ago.

With endearing passion and great curiosity the unstoppable genre-defying virtuoso continues her search for the good and examines life with the treasured William Congreve belief that Music has charms to soothe the savage beast.
 
Madeleine might attribute her success to “mostly luck” but to the industry and loyal fans alike, it is the immense talent and utter dedication to her craft that shines through.
“Peyroux is a tremendous talent and almost a total intuitive” reflects Larry Klein, “she has the capacity to get the magic. When she sings and plays her guitar, great things happen.”

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