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Ask about the new generation of social justice music-makers ,and Crys Matthews will be mentioned. A southeastern North Carolina native who now calls Washington, D.C., home, Crys has been compared to everyone from Toshi Reagon to Tracy Chapman and Ruthie Foster. A prolific lyricist, Crys blends Americana, folk, jazz, blues, bluegrass, and funk into a bold, complex performance steeped in traditional melodies punctuated by honest, original lyrics.

With producer Mitchell Froom, Ron Sexsmith released his self-titled label debut album in 1995. The melancholic tone and sparse acoustic arrangements of the album were met an enthusiastic endorsement from Elvis Costello, and the album was declared a critical success. In his Sept 7, 1995 review for Rolling Stone, Bud Scoppa wrote: “He just may be the most fluent balladeer to come along since Tim Hardin or Harry Nilsson.” Ron’s songwriting style evolved into a unique and timeless blend of classic pop, contemporary folk, and roots-rock idioms. He has built a steadfast reputation with critics and with some of his own songwriting heroes (Elton John, Ray Davies, John Prine, Gordon Lightfoot, Leonard Cohen and Paul McCartney) for his characteristically honest, sensitive, and enduring approach to the songwriting craft.

Since his neo-psychedelic Green On Red days, Chuck Prophet has been turning out country, folk, blues, and Brill Building classicism. His latest album, "The Land That Time Forgot," is something different, a weather vane picking up signals from outer space—or maybe from the Heartland. Come and hear the latest from one of our favorite songwriters to have come out of the world of alternative rock.

A multiethnic Latin pop songstress, Gina Chavez is a ten-time Austin Music Award winner. Her bilingual record "Up.Rooted" topped both the Amazon and Latin iTunes charts following a feature on NPR's All Things Considered and has gained wide critical acclaim. Her Tiny Desk concert made NPR's top 15 of 2015. Fresh off a 12-country tour as a cultural ambassador with the U.S. State Department, Gina offers passionate bilingual songs that take audiences on a journey through the Americas, blending the sounds and rhythms of the region with tension and grace. Her Spanish-language anthem "Siete-D" (Grand Prize winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest) recounts her experience volunteering in a gang-dominated suburb of San Salvador, where she co-founded the Niñas Arriba College Fund for young Latinas. Her songs share her story of life in Texas as a married, queer Catholic She’s back from Folk Festival with her first all-Spanish album, the Latin Grammy–nominated "La que manda."