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SoulFolk singer/songwriter from the DC area. 
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Polished and precise, yet buoyed with an airy grace, Joy Ike paints with a broad palette that defies easy categorization. Born to Nigerian immigrants, the singer/songwriter’s music, voice, and writing have drawn comparisons to female musicians such as Nina Simone, Laura Nyro, and Regina Spektor. But her percussive piano-playing and soaring vocals give homage to her African upbringing.

Leaving her career as a publicist in 2008, Joy has spent the last 12 years playing thousands of shows across the country.  A write-up on NPR's All Things Considered says "The depth of subjects she tackles in her poetic lyrics are perfectly complemented by a unique blend of neo-soul, with just the right dash of pop...a truly compelling act to watch in person, with the ability to create an intimate setting in locations big and small."

Ruut DeMeo is a Finnish-American writer and composer whose words and music have touched thousands worldwide. Since immigrating to the U.S. twenty years ago, Ruut has worked primarily as a performing songwriter, collaborating  with many renowned musicians.
 
Ruut has studied music at CCBC, children's literature at Johns Hopkins University, and creative writing at Goucher College in Baltimore, MD. In 2018, her short story and poetry were published in Fine Print Literary Magazine, and in the same year she contributed to a non-fiction memoir collection called "Suominaiset Maailmalla," which was published by Otava in Finland. Ruut's research into Nordic Folklore has been supported by the Mellon and Finlandia Foundations, and she recently won the Appelstein-Sweren Book Collecting Prize for her Kalevala-themed collection. Ruut is a recipient of the 2019 Kratz Writing Fellowship, and is currently working on her first middle grade fantasy novel.
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When she's not writing, taking care of her daughters, or doing photography, Ruut composes and records original music in her home studio in Baltimore, Maryland. Ruut's new instrumental album, Soliloquy, released in May 2019.

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