Sarah Rogo & Molly Gene w/Adam Hunt
SARA ROGO
Sarah Rogo has been refining her craft and leaving a long-lasting impression on audiences of all ages and musical backgrounds with her energetic and soulful performances. Claiming the title as ‘Soulful Roots,’ she blends old blues, soul, and folk styles with a youthful twist. She captivates audiences with her haunting slide guitar work and unique genre-defying style. Authentic and soulful, she paints vivid pictures through sound and song. A captivating dance between grit, beauty, and skill.
Sarah Rogo is a young, and gifted artist and it’s all reflected in her infectious live performances, where her energy is contagious. Steeped in the eclectic mixes of traditional music like blues, jazz, ragtime, klezmer, and classical, Rogo finds new ways to express timeless emotions and feels.
“People ask me what I’m influenced by and I laugh because the answers feel so random to them but so special to me,” Rogo says. “I spent my childhood in the public library, where stacks of CDs came home with me and opened my mind to a world outside my small hometown. I also spent a lot of time with a neighborhood family from India. I quickly fell in love with the culture and the music which influenced my style and writing.”
Rogo immersed herself in jazz and classical orchestras on bassoon, saxophone, and clarinet, claiming to be the “ultimate band geek.” She became a young conductor and composed music of different styles and types. “Growing up, my parents were never too much into music, so it was my own special thing- I had no rules to follow or concepts of how it should be, so I just ran with it and threw paint on the walls.”
In her late teens, Rogo was introduced to, apprenticed and performed with a group of blues musicians that changed her life, guitarist Paul Rishell, who played with and learned from Son House, and world-class harp player Annie Raines, along with country-blues acoustic guitarist Woody Mann, a former student of the legendary Reverend Gary Davis. They introduced her to artists like Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Bessie Smith, Memphis Minnie, Led Zeppelin and then they took her out with them on tour and taught her the survival tactics of life on the road.
As she gained momentum as a guitar player and songwriter, she moved to California to pursue her life as a full-time musician. It didn’t take long for things to start to happen. Rogo met her current manager, veteran Mike Lembo, at the Durango Songwriter Expo in Ventura, CA, where they had an immediate connection. “Sarah’s fearless and talented, and I was drawn to her personality without even hearing her play,” said Lembo. “When I heard her sing and play guitar, I recognized an old soul. Undeniably, Sarah has what it takes to make it.”
Sarah Rogo – Will You Still Love Me TomorrowRogo signed a deal with Funzalo Records in 2018, and they quickly released “Live at Lestat’s West” a collection of her original songs recorded live at Lestat’s in San Diego. Since then, Rogo has shared the stage with artists Joe Bonamassa, Jimmie Vaughan, Larkin Poe, and Jimmie Vivino to name a few and led her band in slots at festivals throughout the country.
She is set to release an acoustic studio album titled ‘Smoke and Water’ in the late summer of 2019. The acoustic album will be followed by a series of single song releases later this year. Rogo’s full studio album with co-writes and production by notable producer David Ricketts (David and David, Toni Childs, Sheryl Crow, Meredith Brooks) is slated to be released in 2020.
“The common thread in my writing is the dance between dark and light. I’ve learned to dance with my demons in a healthy way. Life is inherently hard, and the music has shown me how to navigate hardship and turn it into medicine.” — explains Rogo
“Smoke and Water” may be stripped-down but it’s also edgy and charismatic with a moody but energizing mix of originals and uniquely twisted covers on classic songs like ‘Voodoo Child’ and ‘Jolene’, while Rogo’s slide guitar and clarinet dance uniquely through the progression of songs and set a mystical and refreshing twist to modern music.
In addition to performing, you can find Rogo lending her voice and passion to events like Ted X, where she was recently a featured speaker and performer. “When we listen deeply, we can change the world. Sarah Rogo takes us through the story of the moment music made her pay attention to the world outside her own. Her songs and guitar work thread through this message for a captivating lesson” – said the Ted X producers. Rogo is more than an artist; she is also an advocate who plans to use her platform to help create social awareness and promote wellbeing and philosophy on art and health. Her newly launched podcast “Alchemy Through Artistry” is an intimate and personal journey of her creative endeavors and discoveries.
MOLLY GENE ONE WHOAMAN BAND
What does “One Whoaman Band” mean? Well, you’ve got to hear and see Molly Gene in action to really understand what this label means. From her earth-shaking foot drum stomps to her distorted guitar slides that recall blues, heavy metal, and a whole lot more in between, this Missouri-based singer-songwriter is bringing independence to a whole new level.
Molly Gene One Whoaman Band has been performing solo for the last seven years or so, recording and issuing albums (five to date), and organizing endless tours that eventually got her noticed in Europe.
Finally, after touring Europe and recording a live disc in Switzerland she came home to roost a few years ago, but continued to ramble. All of this is not that atypical except for the particular musical species that Molly Gene has cultivated.
Her sound is a raucous, bluesy map of her journey so far.
ADAM HUNT
FACEBOOK
Truly one of Jefferson City’s and Mid Missouri’s music gems, Adam Hunt joins us for All Night Happy Hour. Sharing originals and covers, with powerful vocals and picking. You may recognize him from Murphy’s Ford, but you never know where he might pop up. Joining fellow artists on the sidewalk, hootenannies, front porches, around the dining room table, but you know it will be awesome. A beautiful soul and friend to The Mission.
