Phoebe Hunt & The Gatherers Bring Bluegrass to Palo Alto

The Oshman Family JCC presents sensational Americana fiddler and vocalist Phoebe Hunt, one of Rolling Stone’s “10 New Country Artists You Need to Know.” Her latest record, “Shanti’s Shadow,” is infused with her signature Appalachian-style fiddle, along with the foreign influences of Indian ragas, gypsy jazz, and more. With her band of virtuoso instrumentalists, The Gatherers, Hunt will present a dreamy auditory experience featuring impressive musicianship, powerful lyrics, danceable rhythms, and cross-cultural exploration. This spirited one-night-only musical event will be presented at 8:00pm, Thursday, September 13, 2018 at the Oshman Family JCC Schultz Cultural Arts Hall, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto. For tickets ($25-35) and more information, visit paloaltojcc.org/hunt or call (650) 223-8649.

Phoebe Hunt is a Texas-born Brooklynite who puts an otherworldly spin on American folk music. She has shared a stage with the likes of Emmylou Harris, The Infamous Stringdusters, Tony Trischka, Dori Freeman, and more. Hunt ignited her solo career with the album “Shanti's Shadow,” the culmination of a five-year journey that took her through Nashville’s Music Row, Brooklyn, and even to India to study with seventh-generation master violinist Kala Ramnath.

Hunt’s story begins with her mother—a former disciple of Guru Swami Satchidananda, famous for being the opening speaker at the 1969 Woodstock Festival—who felt a strong compulsion to name her child Shanti after a Hindi word meaning “peace.” However, she had already promised the child’s paternal grandmother, Phoebe, that she would be named after her. In a compromise, Hunt’s parents named their child Shanti Phoebe Hunt. Years later, Hunt and her husband (and mandolin-playing bandmate) Dominick Leslie entered a meditation retreat in India, committing to a sequestered ten-day vow of silence that ended in bittersweet irony. While in pursuit of her spiritual namesake—the shanti of peace, tranquility, creativity, and bliss—Hunt’s familial namesake, Grandma Phoebe, passed away.

Hunt’s vulnerability is apparent throughout “Shanti’s Shadow” on tracks such as “Pink and Blue,” a song she wrote while traveling through India, and “Just for Tonight,” a melancholic tune about the nature of forgiveness. On “Frolic of the Bees,” the album’s lead track, the idea of vulnerability is re-imagined as a welcoming invitation to community, a love letter to inclusion and openness, to wonder and spontaneous joy. The final track, “I Really Love,” opens with just that—Hunt’s soft exhalation—and proceeds as a slow recitation of the simple joys that make life worth living.

Oshman Family Jewish Community Center (OFJCC) on the Taube Koret Campus for Jewish Life serves the South Peninsula through educational, social, cultural, fitness, sports and other programs. The OFJCC is a multi-generational Jewish neighborhood where all are welcome and which fosters new personal and community connections through rich and rewarding experiences. The OFJCC provides a common ground for Jewish institutions, other local groups, organizations and individuals to work, learn and play together for the betterment of the whole community. The OFJCC’s registered trademarks are Live Fully® and J-Pass®.For more information, visit www.paloaltojcc.org or call (650) 223-8700.