Tue, May 28 - 8pm - $10

 The Herbal Remedies seeks to remind our audience of its close connection to nature and to each other. Consciously written poetic lyrics invoke the wisdom, shared by all creatures, of how to live at peace with the earth which sustains us, and how to have compassion for one another. Tranquil melodies and intentional harmonies conjure a similar sense of well-being to that achieved when immersed in abundant and beauteous natural landscapes.  The Herbal Remedies is a trio of artists/community members each bringing an essential aesthetic element to our music, and each equipped with complementary strengths contributing toward community organizing and event planning. Musically, Jerry lays the foundation with a guitar style that blends early blues and West African harp playing, and a vocal quality that is sincere and emotive; Tzippy brings to that her passion for traditional music of South Eastern Europe shared through multiple instruments and singing; Katie has the sensitivity and versatility to blend the merging styles with acumen, through both vocal harmonies and violin.  Our raw and pure sound draws on folk traditions from around the globe, yet the outcome is unmistakably contemporary. This balance invites people with diverse sensibilities to feel close to our music due to its familiarity, while being intrigued with its newness. Active engagement with the earth and in community informs our voice, and recognizing music as one of the most unifying forces we revel in the experience of creatively exploring these ideals through this medium.

 Leah Shoshanah is a Chicago-based singer, songwriter, cantorial soloist, guitarist and teaching artist. She performs in a myriad of settings and represents several genres in her concerts, including jazz, folk, Brazilian, funk and rock. She plays originals and covers, often improvising solos (scat singing, mouth trumpet) and even entire songs.  Leah has released two albums of original music, “A Child Like This” (2017), featuring an ensemble of nine musicians and "Stillness" (2018), an intimate collection of solo Jazz and Brazilian guitar arrangements. Leah and her music have toured both coasts and she has played to rooms big and small, solo and with bands, from historic Chicago stages (Old Town School, the Green Mill, PianoForte Chicago) to synagogues, church basements, yoga studios and other grassroots community spaces.  As a teaching artist, Leah emphasizes both technical skill-building and intuitive playing. She teaches students hard skills, like, note-reading, scales, harmonic colors, practicing with a metronome, posture and breathing so students can develop soft skills, like jamming, writing original music and bringing life to written music. Her goal with each student is to help them learn what they need to learn in order to play music with whoever, wherever and whenever they want.  As a Cantorial Soloist, Leah sings, plays guitar and writes original adaptations of Jewish prayer and spiritual texts. She enjoys digging deep to find selections from vintage songbooks in library basements and transcribing Youtube recordings of old Sephardic melodies. Leah is the resident Cantorial Soloist and music curator for Tzedek Chicago. She also works freelance with communities around the Chicagoland area.  Leah is currently writing music for her next album. For this project, she is focusing on dance music inspired by 70s funk and modern indie-rock.  “Through her unbelievably adaptable voice, Leah Shoshanah shifts tones frequently... but balances folk minimalism so well. Nothing is simple in her messages or in her brilliantly written songs.” - Chaz Thoughts.