Bending Brains

Hannah Bess Ross is a Chicago based illustrator and writer. She lives in a little house with a blue door and an orange cat, but dreams of the woods and the waves of rocky seas far, far away. She likes telling stories about everyday magical things like bugs and stars. She also loves puppets, folk art, and silly word-play. Hannah mostly makes art for a children's market. https://www.hannahbessross.com/

Karen is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Chicago. She is tirelessly curious about all forms of creative expression, and her work includes illustration, sculpting, print making, video editing, songwriting, and sewing. Her tenure in the Production Art space has also provided her with a deep appreciation for graphic design. Primarily, she works with local bands and businesses to collaborate on merch design, posters, and album art.

My first memory is of hitting everything in sight at 2 years old. From playing in the church from the age of 5 to performing with the Percussion Scholarship Group, (PSG), starting in 4th grade, I have had many valuable experiences and lessons that have brought me to where I am today.

Directed by Patricia Dash, percussionist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and her husband Douglas Waddell, percussionist with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Percussion Scholarship Group is where my formal training began. During my time there I was featured on radio and television with From the Top, The TODAY Show, and Chicago Tonight was awarded the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award and received second place in the Chicago Symphony Youth Auditions. Thanks to them I was fortunate to be accepted to all colleges that I auditioned for in 2010 and I chose to go to DePaul School of Music to continue my training.

While at DePaul I was able to develop quickly resulting in being added to orchestra sub-lists, advancing in Civic orchestra auditions, attending the National Repertory Orchestra Festival, and eventually winning the Detroit Fellowship in 2014. With the help of my mentors, the percussion section, the principal trombonist, and the remaining members of the symphony, I was able to begin advancing in major auditions as well as further my technique and knowledge of this particular business. After finishing the fellowship there, I applied for and was hired as a fellow of the Pittsburgh Symphony. This was cut very short because of my success in the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra audition, where I worked as the Principal Percussionist for 2 years and was layered tenured. I now serve as the Principal Percussionist of Grant Park Orchestra. I always hope that with each degree of progress I make in my life that I can somehow help someone else do the same. 

Molly Compton is a singer-songwriter, visual artist, amateur baker and founder & resident bleeding heart at Ur Mom Records. She thinks everyone deserves a good mom and everyone can be a good mom.

Introducing Friday James, a gifted songwriter originating from Nashville, Tennessee. Relocating to Chicago in November of 2021, Friday swiftly immersed herself in the local music scene, enthralling audiences with her mesmerizing performances. Her artistic essence is centered around a profound appreciation for lyricism and poetic depth, artfully weaving true events from her own life into poignant and relatable musical narratives.

Alec Koukol is an Omaha-born, now Nashville-native. The multi-instrumentalist and songwriter is involved in many projects within Music City, but his primary operation is Safari Room, Koukol’s indie rock outfit that began in 2018. Five years into the band, Safari Room has released two eps and two full-length albums, ‘Look Me Up When You Get There’ (2020) and ‘Complex House Plants’ (2022). Koukol and co-producer, Cole Yepsen, are currently working on the band’s third record that will be released in February 2024. Safari Room has toured extensively during the lifetime of the band and has reached great notoriety locally and regionally. The band is completely independent, Koukol wearing many hats in management, PR, tour booking and is chief songwriter/producer for Safari Room

 

Koukol’s other projects include producing, playing bass, keys and guitar for artists on the road. As of recent Koukol has toured with Nashville locals, Wild Love and Alicia Blue.

 

Catch Safari Room on the road this Fall and listen for new music as the band releases singles through the rest of 2023.  

Julia Danielle is an up-and-coming vocalist, arranger, educator, and composer based in the heart of the vibrant jazz scene of Chicago. As the 2022 International Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition Winner, part of Julia's prize was performing alongside The Tierney Sutton Band at the renowned Blues Alley Jazz Club in Washington D.C. and since then, has lead her own band and music at the incomparable venue. Julia has also won DownBeat’s 46th annual Student Music Award for “Undergraduate College Outstanding Vocal Soloist” and will be mentioned in their 2023 June edition. 

Clare Bollnow is a 26 year old artist living and working in Chicago. She started painting in 2019, never having gone to art school, she began with watercolor and eventually branched out; she works with oil paint, spray paint, watercolor and pigment dye among other mediums together on large-scale material. Clare finds inspiration in the human form and its expressions, using vivid color and a unique drawing style to evoke emotional experiences for those who sit with her work. These emotions are channeled from Clare’s own reactions to life and the state of the world- communicated through familiar content which allows for a commonly understood visual language between artist and viewer. She is drawn to minutiae, moments often missed, familiar sensations that go unexpressed (and often suppressed), the way things look when they are not being looked at, and where we disconnect from ourselves (in an effort to save ourselves.) Clare points the finger at the viewer and asks, where are you in this?

Iyana Brown-Bey is an alternative, neo-soulful musician, who uses her voice to shed light and to uplift. She aims to create music for those who often feel that they are only apart of the background. Iyana believes that “being human is to reflect and to feel, to express and to create with self and others.” And her goal is to build a unified community surrounding these values through music. Iyana currently implements this vision through her partnered music collectives, SolDial (An up and coming Chicago based , RnB, Soul-Pop band) and MDWST CNCT (A music-oriented collective that coordinates events for creative networking and collaboration). Under her name, “Iyana Brown-Bey”, she released her single, titled, “As I Am” on all streaming platforms and plans to release more music throughout her career. Her reminder is to stay tuned and to remember that YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT.

…And the music continues.

-Iyana Brown-Bey 

Claudio is an LA based singer-songwriter/poet whose artistry blends the acoustic storytelling style of James Taylor or Jim Croce with the soulful vocal stylings of John Legend or Eddie Kendrick. Originally from Kenosha, Wisconsin, Claudio relocated to Los Angeles in Spring 2018. Since then, he has kept busy touring the country 4 times while steadily releasing new music. Less than a year after arriving in Los Angeles, Claudio released his deeply conceptual debut album, “A Boy From Somewhere.” He also partnered with frequent collaborator Curtis Crump Jr. on a Christmas album titled, “Merry Little Christmas.” Claudio also released an EP, “Stuck In Somnia,” and nearly a dozen singles. He has headlined venues across the country including The Hotel Café, The Moroccan Lounge, The Hi-Hat, and The Duplex. Claudio is currently working on his second full length album, “Still Here,” which is set to be released in January 2023.