Songtradr Happy Hour: Finding Your Virtual Audience

Grab a glass of your favorite beverage and join our guest panelists on our final Songtradr Happy Hour for 2020. These artists share their unique perspectives on how they have connected successfully with their unique audiences and continued to nurture that relationship through this year - a year that has been unlike any other. Special holiday song performances by Craig Cardiff performing “County Road Christmas Time“ and Miette Hope with her rendition of “Silent Night“. PANELISTS Craig Cardiff Singer-songwriter Juno and CFMA nominated singer-songwriter Craig Cardiff has developed a following throughout North America and Europe. Guitar in hand, Craig can turn any setting into an intimate affair, infusing his music and lyrics with an uncompromising humanism rarely seen in today’s production-heavy climate. A modern troubadour, Craig Cardiff builds landscapes of sound using live digital loops, bringing the room to a hush. Edged, folk, beautiful, and melancholy, one song breaks your heart, and the next one puts it back together. Cardiff has also been nominated for a Juno Award for Roots and Traditional Album of the Year: Solo and for a Canadian Folk Music Award as Contemporary Singer of the Year. When not performing, Cardiff blends humor, honesty, and enthusiasm as he offers workshops at schools, camps, festivals, and churches throughout North America and as far as Hong Kong. This year has brought exciting changes for Cardiff, such as signing on with Canadian label, True North Records, and announcing Spotify Gold Single Status for the song Dirty Old Town. Despite 2020 taking a turn with COVID-19, Craig hasn’t missed a beat and has been busy working on the upcoming album All This Time Running, which was recorded remotely during quarantine and features musicians from around the world. Miette Hope Singer-songwriter Miette Hope is a 24-year-old singer-songwriter and Berklee College of Music graduate based in Brooklyn. With a profoundly developed sense of musicality, she infuses her songs with a rare pop sensibility supported by a deep jazz and R&B foundation. Of her recent track, “Enough,” off of her own artist project, MTV News declared, “The New York-based singer/songwriter tackles grief head-on with the track, creating a haunting inward journey that finds the narrator coping with pain via whatever means she can to fill the void.” Her collaboration with Sleeping Lion on “Balance” earned notable editorial support from Spotify in their Fresh Finds: Pop and Best New Pop playlists. Hope and her frequent collaborator Ariza formed a new genre-bending duo called The Natural Synthetic. The project has seen major Spotify support, being featured on their Indie Pop, Fresh Finds: Pop, Hanging Out And Relaxing, Ready For The Day, and soda playlists. José James Artist A jazz artist for the hip-hop generation, José James has showcased his rich and graceful baritone voice through a series of unpredictable projects that have also blurred the lines between traditional and contemporary jazz, soul, funk, house, and rock, among other genres. While James has cited John Coltrane, Marvin Gaye, and Billie Holiday among his main influences, his sound on early 12“ singles and in live performances brought to mind such icons of ’70s soul-jazz as Terry Callier and Gil Scott-Heron, albeit with a distinctive update of those artists’ fluid crossover approach. James made his album debut with The Dreamer (2008), which incorporated material by jazz giant Rahsaan Roland Kirk and poetic rappers Freestyle Fellowship among numerous originals. Cross-generational references have typified James’ subsequent recordings, whether he has been supported by producers Flying Lotus and Moodymann on Blackmagic (2010), accompanied by only pianist Jef Neve on For All We Know (2010), or backed by full bands that included Blue Note labelmates Robert Glasper and Chris Dave, as heard on No Beginning No End (2013), a set that topped Billboard’s jazz chart. James has also devoted entire sessions to honoring his heroes with Yesterday I Had the Blues: The Music of Billie Holiday (2015) and the Bill Withers tribute Lean on Me (2018). The latter kept James in singer/songwriter mode for No Beginning No End 2 (2020), issued on his own label, Rainbow Blonde. Moderator: Victoria Wiltshire CXO, Songtradr Leave us a comment. Let us know what you would like to see on Happy Hour! License the soundtrack: “Oceanic Vibes” by Lxcally Mvde Media Group