Kick off a new season of Keepsake House shows as we introduce our seven 2023 Artists in Residence. Songwriters Alex Petti, Moyana Olivia, Napat Snidvongs, and TONIE join Storytellers Grace Aki, Robert Kuang, and Valarie Walker in performance and conversation in this roundtable, the first in a journey of shows where they will continue to grow as artists and connect with one another. Come for the stories and songs, and stay for the community.
Doors open: 6:00pm
Tickets:
*In-person: $20
Livestream: $10
Introducing the Keepsake House 2023 Artists in Residence:
SONGWRITERS
Alex Petti (he/him)
Alex Petti is a Lebanese Irish-Catholic writer from Massachusetts who grew up as a pop punk rocker. Though his dreams of headlining Warped Tour have ended, the energy of the genre still infuses his music. He writes musical theater shows in the genres of punk, folk and rock, and is the front man of good thoughts, his NYC based rock band. Alex is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon, a composer in the BMI Advanced Musical Theatre Workshop, a 2022 Participant in the Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project and a proud Dad to his cat, Sonia.
Website | Instagram | Facebook
Moyana Olivia
Moyana Olivia is passionate about making music that makes a difference. Moyana is a member of the Royal Family Music Group Collective in Minneapolis, associate executive producer of the FRESHWTR project, and an alum of the 2022 Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project. She is currently majoring in Musicology at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois to study the ways in which Black artists engender social change, restoration, and transformation through music. Her work has been commissioned by the Edina High School Choir Department and featured by the Best Buy Corporation, The View, the National Women’s March Movement, the ACLU, Northwestern University’s Office of Undergraduate Research, KMOJ radio, and many film festivals across the United States.
Website | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram | Youtube
Napat Snidvongs (he/him)
Napat Snidvongs is a Thai singer/songwriter who currently resides in New York City. Napat mixes Thai storytelling traditions of magical realism and Buddhist folktales with the independent music sound that he discovered while studying at an American high school in the late ‘90s. He released music through a Bangkok independent label, So::on DryFlower Records, and his compositions have been featured in many television commercials and Thai blockbuster films.
Napat has previously performed in the Keepsake House show Linguistics.
Website | Spotify | Facebook | Youtube
TONIE (they/them)
TONIE is doing their very best to make you cry, in all the best ways. Their music is deeply autobiographical, taking on topics such as love and heartbreak, struggles with depression, and queer contemplations. TONIE wraps challenging conversations in luscious synths, driving guitars, and dynamic vocals that invites listeners to love themselves fully and bask in their feels.
The LA-native writes and produces each synth-pop track from the comfort of their skylit home studio in Brooklyn, NY—a perfect backdrop for the emotional vulnerability that colors their lyrics. Proudly Vietnamese American, nonbinary, and themselves!
TONIE has previously performed in the Keepsake House shows Show Yourself and Meet Cute Music and was the Music Director of From Story to Song (2021 & January 2023).
Read our interview with TONIE.
STORYTELLERS
Grace Aki (she/her)
From Japanese and American Southern roots, Grace Aki has a lot of stories to tell. Grace is the actor and playwright of “to free a mockingbird" most recently seen at The Connelly Theater through SheNYC. In addition to her solo work, she is a comedian and multihyphenate artist based in New York City. Her critically acclaimed storytelling podcast, “Tell Me on a Sunday” on Broadway Podcast Network features guests from Broadway and beyond. Grace is a regular Broadway News correspondent for Broadway Radio. Grace is represented by Paradigm.
Robert Kuang (he/they)
Robert Kuang is a pianist and life coach, with a focus on decolonizing our creative expression, leadership development, and energy restoration. He grew up in Beijing, China, before immigrating to America at 9 years old. He is a co-host of "I Feel Awful," a multi-lingual leadership podcast, and the creator of "Side by Side," an interview series highlighting insights and experiences of creatives, artists, healers, and warriors.
Valarie Walker (she/her)
Valarie Walker, a native of New York, is an activist, educator, artist, and a three—time winner of the Moth Story Slam. Her story about meeting hero Ruby Bridges aired on the Moth Radio Hour, and the first film she appeared in, ‘Watermelon Woman,’ was inducted into the Library of Congress archives. She uses storytelling to heal, challenge, inspire, and connect.
Read her story on The Moth.
*Note: Rockwood Music Hall is a 21+ venue. Government-issued ID is required to enter.