Experience an evening of exceptional music, delicious food, and fine wine in our intimate and relaxed setting on the first Friday of every month.

• Complimentary Wine Tasting at 5:30 to 6:00.
• Door Open and Dinner Served at 6:00
• Dinner Service Closes and Show starts at 7:00 PM (Drinks and Dessert will be served during the show).

Description: Master drummer Sayon Camara from Guinea, West Africa, joins forces with multi-instrumentalists Dave Kobrenski and Grant Ellerbeck to bring you a spellbinding evening of traditional Malinké music.

Known collectively as Landaya, this powerhouse trio draws from the traditions of Sayon’s village, weaving intricate rhythms on the djembé and dunun drums with ancient melodies. Kobrenski and Ellerbeck accompany Sayon’s joyous singing on melodic instruments like the Fula flute, kamale ngoni (10-string harp) and bolon (4-string bass harp). The performance is further enhanced by Sayon’s storytelling, providing rich cultural context.

Don’t miss this immersive and unforgettable journey into the heart of West African music with Sayon Camara and Landaya.

Musician Bios:Sayon Camara hails from the Sankaran region of central Guinea, in West Africa. His journey as a djembéföla, or master djembé player, began at the age of seven in his village of Kouyasidia. He served as the village’s djembéföla for thirty years, during which time his renown grew throughout the region. His playing eventually caught the attention of world-famous drummer Famoudou Konaté, with whom Sayon became an apprentice and studied for a decade. With Famoudou’s ensemble, Sayon performed as first soloist and accompanist at festivals and concerts, recording several albums in the process. Since then, Sayon has performed and taught throughout the world, focusing his efforts in the US, Canada, Europe and Japan. Today, Sayon acts as a steward of an ancient tradition, and is dedicated to sharing the rich music of his native culture. He currently resides in New England, and makes yearly sojourns to his village in West Africa. More info at https://sayoncamaradrumming.com.
Dave Kobrenski is a multi-instrumentalist, performer, artist, and author of three books on West African music and culture. For two decades, Dave traveled almost yearly to West Africa to study music with master musicians, including master djembéföla Famoudou Konaté and a master of the Malinké flute, Lanciné Conde. A dynamic performer, Dave plays the Fula flute, kamale ngoni and djembé with his main project, called Afroflute, and performs with Sayon Camara and Landaya. He also performs throughout the Northeast with various other projects, including pianist Jed Wilson, jazz guitar virtuoso Randy Roos, and Donkilo Afro Jazz. He makes occasional appearances with Barika from Burlington, VT. More info about Dave at https://davekobrenski.com.
Grant Ellerbeck is a musician and performer with over two decades of experience playing the traditional dunun drums of West Africa. During his journey of gaining proficiency in the rhythmic arts, he studied with Famoudou Konaté, Sayon Camara, Nansady Keita and many others. Now a talented and sought-after percussionist in his own right, Grant also specializes in the bolon, the four-string bass harp of the Malinké people. As a singer, he has mastered many of the songs in the Malinké repertoire.

Links and info:Landaya website: https://davekobrenski.com/landaya-ensemble, Sayon’s website: https://sayoncamaradrumming.com

A Listening Room Experience

Hermit Woods is excited to bring talented artists from New England and beyond to perform for you. Each performance will provide you with an intimate, up-close, and personal experience with the performing artists. We ask our audience please refrain from talking during the featured show. Your silence will allow the artists and the audience to immerse themselves in the experience, which is not otherwise possible in larger, noisier environments.

Doors open at 5:30 pm for a complimentary wine tasting. The Loft Doors open at 6:00. We encourage you to arrive early for our wine tasting and enjoy food and wine before the show. Dinner service ends at 7:00 pm, drinks and dessert served during the show. When the featured artists takes the stage we will ask that the audience remain quiet during the performance. After the show, we invite you to interact with the artists and purchase any music or merchandise offerings if available.