Richmond Women speaking the unspoken outloud
Herstory Through Music Participants' Bios
Sylvia DeVoss
Sylvia is a photographer, extreme music lover, and the producer of Herstory. Her love of music led her to befriend many of the fabulous performers who make their home in RVA. When she decided to produce and evening of Beyond Barbie, music and helping inspire kids to play their own music were a natural fit.
As a photographer, Sylvia is prone to taking "in your face" pictures of all the subjects she shoots. She recently heard an expression that she loves: Full Flow. To her it means letting ourselves feel the flow of emotions, creativity, communications and just about anything we can think of. Sylvia captures a "visual story" in one shot as can be seen in her image above.
Sylvias' message is to BE SEEN! Show all the things she and others have been hiding from the world. She used to throw her art away and not take the risk of hearing comments about her work, but that was then! And this is now! It was a big step for Sylvia to decide to produce Beyond Barbie and to BE SEEN! Beyond Barbie is incredibly lucky to have such a talented woman on board!
Narissa Bond
Narissa Bond - Singer-songwriter-guitarist
Narissa Bond is the 2009 winner of the Hampton Roads Portfolio Awards for best album and best song with her recent release "Three Words".
Narissa's vocal style has been compared to Joni Mitchell and her
songwriting styles range from traditional folk, jazz and blues to
contemporary folk and pop. Narissa was featured in the 2007 book
release of "I've Got Thunder, Black Women Songwriters on their Craft" Edited by LaShonda Katrice Barnett. Other artist included in this publication are Abbey Lincoln, Angelique Kidjo, Brenda Russell, Chaka Khan, Dianne Reeves, Joan Armatrading, Nina Simone, Odetta, Toshi Reagan and many others. Narissa has won numerous songwriting awards including first place in the Oak Valley Bluegrass Music Festival Songwriting Contest for her song "Celia," a true story about a young slave girl. Narissa Bond has been featured on Public Radio WHRV-FM with Barry Graham and Bob FM with Hunter Hughes in Norfolk Virginia. To hear Narissa sing and to read some of her lyrics, click here. For more about Narissa Bond, go to http://www.narissabond.com
Anais Booker
Anais is a performance poet, slam champion, jewelry designer, andanticipated author. Currently residing in central Virginia, Anais hasperformed as a featured performance poet and claimed first place inslam competitions. Her unique voice and in depth content keeps heraudience interested and wanting more. Like many artists, she istalented in more than one genre. Making jewelry for herself andgaining interest from onlookers sparked the idea to start her oncompany in 2012. Anais designs scarves, blankets, earrings, pouches,and more under her company Sayj Creations, a collection of crafts madewith love, inspired by freedom.
Rachel Leyco
Rachel has performed on the Richmond, VA music scene with the "Rachel Leyco Band" for the past 10 years. It wasn't until January 2010 when she began her solo singer songwriter career often times sharing the stage with local musician/cellist Constance Sisk. http://rachelleyco.com
Jackie Merritt & Resa Gibbs of MSG
Jackie Merritt & Resa Gibbs of M.S.G. Acoustic Blues Trio
Singer/Songwriters, Resa (lead/ harmony vocals, washboard and
strumstick) and Jackie (vocals, harmonica and guitar) perform acoustic blues, roots, and spiritual music in the Piedmont style. Their songwriting is steeped in the honored roots traditions of folk and acoustic blues. http://www.acousticbluesmsg.com.
To hear them a video of them singing, click here.
