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BIOS

Nedra Johnson

Singer/Songwriter

NedraJohnson.com
facebook.com/bigmouthgirl
twitter.com/#!/bmgnedra
Check out her music

Nedra Johnson is a singer/songwriter multi-instrumentalist born & living in New York City. Her unique style of guitar playing is unmistakably informed by her many years as a professional bassist and keeps her live solo acoustic performances more on an R&B tip then what one might expect of a “girl with a guitar.”

Nedra’s self-titled sophomore release is a 2006 OUTMUSIC Award (OUTSTANDING NEW RECORDING – FEMALE) winning, joyful mix of R&B, funk, rock and gospel. Honest in integrity to the music as well as the lyrical content, each song is a testimony of her experience as a black openly lesbian woman in love, spirituality, community and or politics. From the first song “Ahha (It’s A Good Thing)” on through to the Maxine Feldman tribute version of “Amazon,” this is proudly womyn’s music and a great example of how Nedra has grown as a writer, arranger, producer and musician. Featuring lush background vocals and danceable grooves, Nedra makes the personal political and the erotic downright spiritual.

Nedra has performed internationally at jazz, blues, pride & women’s music festivals as a solo artist and a tuba player/vocalist with her father Howard Johnson & his group, Gravity. She surprised and impressed jazz audiences in Paris, Nime, Berlin, Vienna, Kassel, Macedonia, Muchen, Leverkusen, Los Angeles, New York & New Orleans when she put down her tuba and sang original songs with Gravity garnering such praises as from The Orange County Register, “A little thing [an original from the CD Testify ] called Working Hard for the Joneses had the crowd on its feet and whooping.” As a soloist, she has performed in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Oakland, Cleveland, Madison, Chicago, New Caledonia and more!

Whether in front of an intimate audience such as at New York City’s Rockwood Music Hall or a large festival audience of 7000 like Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival, Nedra has the ability to perform with both a strength and a vulnerability that makes each listener feel like they are getting to know her on a personal level. Her thoughtful choice of words reflect not only who she is, but speak to the heart in a way that mirrors emotions many find difficult to express, allowing her a fan base diverse in ethnic, cultural and spiritual background.

Butch and Goddess Burlesque
Performing Artists

Victoria Libertore as her loveable and “fuckin’ hilarious” faux Liza Minnelli impresario brings you both Butch and Goddess Burlesque to delight, tease, entertain and inspire!

Performer Bios:

MOE ANGELOS is a performer who has peddled her coozie below 14th street for most of her life. She is proud to be a worker at the Michigan Festival in the worker’s kitchen and elsewhere upon The Land.

CRYSTAL BALLS is a native New Yorker known for her organizational prowess and talent for weaving highly inappropriate commentary into corporate meetings and getting away with it. You might recognize her mug from the film Splinterheads, and the upcoming Sanitorium. No dumb broad, this kitten has studied with the greats, including the LAByrinth Theatre Company, and is a founding member of The Root Collective. She belongs to actress and writer Lauren Hunter, but you can borrow her when you just need a “good little woman” around the house. Find out more about the woman behind the woman at www.laurenhunternyc.com

VICTORIA LIBERTORE is an actress, writer, curator, emcee and teacher. She has performed her work throughout New York City in venues such as BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Carolines on Broadway, Dance New Amsterdam, Dixon Place, Joyce Soho and PS122 as well as in Boston, Washington, D.C., Montreal, Philadelphia, Provincetown and Toronto. She is the author of six solo shows including GIRL MEAT and “My Journey of Decay.” She curates and produces artists doing both solo work and variety arts, and is one of the New York City pioneers of Butch Burlesque. Currently, she is collaborating with Leigh Fondakowski (“The Laramie Project”) who will direct her newest piece “Dreams of Incest in Bali.” She is developing a screenplay with Ryan Kipp inspired by GIRL MEAT. Libertore is very excited to be curating Ivan Coyote, Rae Spoon, Lauren Hunter, Mieke Dee and Micheal Harren April 11th & 12th at Dixon Place.  www.howlingvic.com facebook

LUSCIOUS VON DYKESTER has been taking her clothes on and off in public since childhood, but didn’t realize people would pay her for this service until just recently. When she’s not taking it off for butch burlesque shows in New York City, you will find her cycling around the city with Dykes on BiCycles (DOBC), a queer, socially conscious, environmentally friendly cycling group that sponsors monthly group rides and fundraising events for queer causes and organizations in NYC.

LEA ROBINSON a multi-talented butch. You may recognize her as the emcee for Boxers Off! An Evening of Butch Burlesque, L Boogie of L Boogie Productions, or from New York’s Butch Voices Conference. You may have also seen her as “Officer Ruffins” in the lesbian serial ROOM FOR CREAM at La MaMa, as “Alma” in BUTCH MAMAS at WOW Cafe, or in the Bulldyke Chronicles at Dixon Place, and she was featured in GO Magazine’s 2009 Edition of 100 Women We Love. She is a writer, a performer, a baller, and a co-parent (with wife Elizabeth Whitney) of 5 furry friends. Lea is very happy to be here with you this evening! www.learobinsonactor.com.

ELIZABETH WHITNEY was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida and Tricia Clayton Biltmore is the woman she might have been if she hadn’t left town and gone gay.  Since moving to New York, Elizabeth has been seen in LET THEM EAT CAKE (Dixon Place), THE SECRETARIES (Best Ensemble NYC Fringe 2010), and ROOM FOR CREAM (La Mama ETC.), and has performed original solo work at Ars Nova, The Bulldyke Chronicles, Drunken! Careening! Writers!, Dixon Place, and with Butch Burlesque, Dykeopalypse, The Femme Show, and The Famous Lesbian Comedy Road Show.  Elizabeth has been featured in GO Magazine’s 100 Women We Love and was awarded best newcomer playwright by Curve Magazine in 2010.  She has a Ph.D. in Performance Studies & Communication.  www.elizabethwhitney.com

 

 

Courtney Graf
Singer/Songwriter

facebook.com/iamcourtneygraf

Courtney Bree Felicity Graf is a 22 year old, American singer-songwriter, poet, actress, musician and model. She was born on May 18,1989 and was raised in the small town of Montville, New Jersey. Courtney started taking voice lessons when she was in her first play performance at the age of 7. She started writing poetry at the age of 10, which transformed into songwriting by the age of 14.

Courtney had taken many piano lessons in her younger years but it wasn’t until she found her melodies and lyrics that she really took to the instrument. By the time she was 14 she was teaching herself to play by ear. Courtney got her first guitar at the age of 15. Today she uses both instruments to write and compliment her dynamic lyrics.

Courtney moved to New York City to attend Marymount Manhattan College after high school, where she pursued a degree in drama and musical theater while modeling for New York-based agencies. However, the pursuit of her music career led her to focus exclusively on her art.

Courtney has written over 300 songs, ranging from the wrenching emotions of the likes of Adele to the high-spiritedness of the likes of Joni Mitchell. She has been inspired by the deep sounds and high melodies of portishead and channels her Jill Scott oriented rhythms beneath it all. Courtney’s lyrics are honest and passionate and they compliment her elegant yet seemingly effortless vocals. She is currently recording her premiere album, collaborating with dj’s and performing live in New York City.

DJ DatGurl Curly

 

DIRECTIONS

Delancey Lounge, 168 Delancey Street (Between Clinton St. and Attorney St.) New York, NY 10002

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Need a ride or bunk with someone local?

Check the MichFest Forum:http://www.michfest.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4849

Get Driving Directions:http://maps.google.com

F train to DELANCEY [[walk 1.5 blocks east]]

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Driving From Brooklyn

Take the first exit off the Williamsburg Bridge onto CLINTON STREET. The Delancey is located on the NORTH SIDE of DELANCEY STREET at CLINTON STREET.

Driving From Uptown Manhattan

Take 2nd Ave. south and make a left turn at Delancey Street. The Delancey is located on the NORTH SIDE of DELANCEY STREET at CLINTON STREET.

From Penn Station

Walk to 34th Street and Broadway. Then, take the F train downtown to Delancey Street. Walk 1.5 Blocks East to 168 Delancey Street Between Clinton St. and Attorney St.

From Grand Central

Take the F train from 42 Street + 5th/6th Ave – Bryant Park station heading Downtown to Delancey Street. Walk 1.5 Blocks East to 168 Delancey Street Between Clinton St. and Attorney St.

From outside NYC

Train & Bus:

NJ Transit Train, Bus Schedules, Metro North Schedules, Long Island Railroad:

http://www.njtransit.com

View MTA website

From Newark International Airport

Take the shuttle / monorail to the NJ Transit terminal. Walk to 34th Street and Broadway. Then, take the F train downtown to Delancey Street. Walk 1.5 Blocks East to 168 Delancey Street Between Clinton St. and Attorney St.

View other travel methods from the airport

From JFK Airport

Take the JFK AirTrain from John F Kennedy Airport station heading to Jamaica Station. Get off at Sutphin/Jamaica Station. Take the J train from Sutphin Blvd – Archer Av/JFK station heading to Broad St. Get off at Delancey St – Essex St. Exit near intersection of Delancey St and Norfolk St. Start out going East on Delancey St towards Suffolk St. 2 min walk to: 168 Delancey Street Between Clinton St. and Attorney St.