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How are folklives an expression of our place in the world? How do community traditions inform where we’ve been and where we’re going?
Save the date to join Maine Humanities and the Chocolate Church Arts Center for a special public event celebrating the stories we tell through music and foodways, and what they say about our connections to the past and our hopes for the future. The event will include a community meal, performances, dance, and a panel discussion.
Guests will include:
Blues musician Samuel James
Al-Mashreq Ensemble: Music of the Arab East
Penobscot Nation performer Firefly the Hybrid
Jasmine Tintor (Penobscot), co-founder of Katahdin Kitchen
This event is part of By the People: Conversations Beyond 250, a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners. The initiative was developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.
BIOS
Samuel James (he/him)
Samuel James is a musician, journalist, and storyteller. As a storyteller, James has been featured on This American Life and The Moth Radio Hour. His other work with The Moth includes Mainstage storyteller, interviewer, Radio Hour host, and contributor to the books The Moth Presents: All These Wonders and the NYT Bestselling How to Tell a Story: The Essential Guide to Memorable Storytelling from The Moth. As a musician, James has been touring internationally for more than fifteen years, performing in the Black American Folk Tradition. He has released seven albums, scored film soundtracks, and museum exhibits.
James' award-winning songwriting has been compared to Leonard Cohen's, and his guitar virtuosity to that of Jimi Hendrix. James’ monthly column Racisms can be currently found in The Bollard, and his weekly newsletter Banned Histories of Race in America can be found on Substack. He’s also the creator and host of the podcast 99 Years, exploring the deliberate creation of the whitest state in the nation.
Jasmine Tintor (she/her)
As a Penobscot Nation member, Jasmine Tintor (Jazz) uplifts her community through food, culture, education, and nature. In addition to her work building resilience and food sovereignty, Jazz is co-owner of Katahdin Kitchen, Program Coordinator at Nibezun, and supporter of initiatives like Niweskok and Outdoor Equity Fund Workgroup.
Firefly (he/him)
A multi-talented artist and dramatic performer known as Firefly, Jason Brown is a member of the Penobscot Indian Nation, one of five traditionally allied Wabanaki tribal nations in the Atlantic Northeast. He grew up on Panawamskek (Indian Island), a village in the Penobscot River, which runs through his ancestral homeland in central Maine. Firefly has performed nationally, on the Kennedy Center’s virtual stage during the Arts Across America series. During this event, Firefly performed songs from his first album, Sacred Fire. He has also had the honor of being the first Wabanaki to perform at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Firefly has collaborated with orchestras, including the Bangor Symphony Orchestra for the 2023 world premiere of “militakwat,” and the Portland Symphony Orchestra for the 2026 world premiere of DREAMLAND. Firefly regularly brings his blend of traditional and futuristic songs, dazzling visuals, and interactive dance to audiences all across Maine.
Al-Mashreq Ensemble: Music of the Arab East
Al-Mashreq Ensemble will present a variety of traditional folk and contemporary music from Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine, countries of the Eastern Mediterranean, or Al-Mashreq Al-Arabi [The Arab East]. The program will include ballads of love and community solidarity, as well as songs of longing for the homeland. The program will end with traditional folk songs common to the entire region and often sung as accompaniment to Dabke, line dancing at weddings, harvests, and other community events, so come prepared to clap and dance! Al-Mashreq Ensemble members are Maine-based musicians who are either from the region or have been playing Arabic music for a number of years. They use traditional instruments such as the oud (ancestor to the lute), qanun (plucked zither), nay (bamboo end-blown flute), and darbuka (hourglass-shaped drum), riqq (skin tambourine) and daff (frame drum), or non-traditional ones such as an accordion enabled to play the half-flats necessary for some of the Arabic maqams [modes].
