Aqus Music

Alison Harris accompanied by Mark Benanti

August 4th 10:30am - 12:30pm

 

Alison Harris grew up in the Sonoma County countryside among creeks, golden fields, and redwood trees. Coastal winds, open spaces, and a musical family lead her to the pleasures of music and imagination. She has been a singer since childhood, also studying fiddle, piano, and guitar. She received a bachelor's degree in music from Sonoma State University, where she studied as many different avenues of music as she could. She sang back up vocals with international Roots Reggae band Groundation in the year 2001, allowing her to share the stage with Pato Banton, Gregory Isaacs, and Marcia Higgs. She has performed at venues across California, including The Catalyst in Santa Cruz, The Mystic Theatre in Petaluma, and Mother's Tavern in San Louis Obispo. She has performed in many small venues the Bay Area, such as Bricks, North Light Books and Cafe, Jasper O' Farrell's, and The Red Vic Hotel.
Alison's true love lies in songwriting. Her melodies are timeless and her voice haunting. She sings with a smile. Her style is a mix of folk, blues, and Americana. She enjoys covering songs by artists such as Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch, and Tom Waits. Alison favors sweet minor lullabies, but with the help of local musicians well versed in many musical genres, she covers a wide variety of moods and styles. She is currently pursuing a career in music education in addition to her commitment to songwriting and performance.

 

To listen to Alison's music, please go to www.myspace.com/alisonLharris

 

Mark Benanti

Mark Benanti is currently pursuing a Master's Degree in Classical Guitar Performance at Converse College's Petrie School of Music in South Carolina. He also teaches Music Appreciation at the University of South Carolina. His diverse musical interests have led him to the study and performance of a wide-range of musical styles including classical, jazz, rock, blues,country, bluegrass and world music. Mark's classical guitar repetoire includes music from all of the Classical Music eras with considerable interest in Latin American Music. His new CD "South American Guitar Music", which features nearly 80 minutes of Guitar Solos from Brasil and Venezuela, is currently available.