My work has always been rooted in the idea that music can do more than entertain. It can bring people together, preserve stories, illuminate the places we share, and create moments of genuine human connection. These projects reflect the ways I’m using music and storytelling beyond the traditional stage and studio.
New Deal Spotlights
New Deal Spotlights is a creative project exploring the extraordinary legacy of the New Deal through music, film, art and storytelling. The idea began with Your Rose Garden, a short film I co-created about Berkeley’s Rose Garden, a WPA project built during the Depression. The film went on to win Best Short and Best of Fest at the Better Cities Film Festival in Detroit, and it made us wonder: what if we did this for other New Deal sites around the country?
New Deal Spotlights is being built as a collection of short, artist-driven stories that bring these places and their histories to life. Rather than simply documenting what the New Deal built, we want to explore what those investments mean to people today—and what they tell us about the power of government to create things that enrich communities for generations.
Music is central to the project because I believe artists can make history feel immediate and personal. A song, a film, a painting or a performance can connect us to a place in a way that a plaque or history book sometimes can't. Ultimately, New Deal Spotlights is about celebrating what we inherited, discovering the stories hiding in our own communities, and imagining what we might build together next.
Explore the project: New Deal Spotlights
Bread and Roses
Bread & Roses is a Bay Area nonprofit founded more than 50 years ago by singer and activist Mimi Fariña, sister of Joan Baez. The organization brings live music and entertainment to people who are often unable to attend concerts in traditional venues—including residents of hospitals, shelters, senior communities, recovery centers, detention facilities and other institutions. The idea is simple: everyone deserves access to the transformative power of live performance.
I first became involved as a volunteer performer more than 20 years ago, playing concerts in facilities throughout the Bay Area. In 2024, I joined the staff as a part-time Producer, helping bring roughly 100 live performances a year to more than 20 facilities across the East Bay.
I’ve spent much of my life making records, performing on stages and working in the music business, but Bread & Roses has reinforced something I’ve come to believe deeply: music is most valuable for reasons that have nothing to do with the music industry. Sometimes its greatest power is simply to show up for people, create a moment of connection, and remind someone that they matter.
Learn more: Bread & Roses
