Orca Tribe Launch Party at Public Functionary, Minneapolis

Orca Tribe, an online platform dedicated to the young and inspired.

The Orca Tribe Project is a youth culture initiative that seeks to enable, promote, and connect artists from various backgrounds through an accessible platform. This site is a collection of artist interviews, galleries, performances, experiments, and other new media.

As you wander through the artwork of your peers and get to know them, they encourage that you reach out to each other, learn from each other, and grow with each other.

Sincerely,
The Orca Tribe Team

ADMISSION: $10, cash
**See the post in the discussion Facebook event feed for a discount opportunity**

OUTDOOR OPEN MIC – bring your talents!

Featuring:

Visual art by Mary Radford (drawing, digital), Dylan Lundsten (painting), Gabe Hostetler (film), Justin You (photography), Maya Edstrom (photography), Danielle Rogers (photography, film), Lex Boeltl (painting), Meley Akpa (photography), Murad Sayfullaev (painting).

Writing by Marleigh Jenkins-Morse (short story, poetry), Thomas Oriente (poetry), Chavonn Shen (poetry), and Chloee Thompson (poetry, spoken word).

Special Musical Guests:

Early Eyes:

Early Eyes became a band on October 3 2016, as a temporary pop-up ensemble, before exploding on the internet and garnering a sizable local following almost instantly. Drawing from all sorts of musical backgrounds, their songwriting abilities were worthy of winning The National Endowment of The Arts Songwriting Challenge. They are currently in the process of recording their official debut EP, Minutes, splitting time between The Institute of Production and Recording in downtown Minneapolis and their dorm rooms in Middlebrook Hall. Early Eyes focus on community building, socially aware event organization and are gaining a lot of traction in The Midwest. In a recent interview with 89.3 The Current, Early Eyes said that they wanted their music to sound, “Honest” and that is exactly what they are, down to earth, talented, and honest.

Lydia Liza :

Lydia Liza got her start in the group Bomba de Luz, composed of five young Twin Cities musicians. The group started taking shape when lead singer Lydia Liza began teaching herself the guitar at age 14. After composing a handful of original songs, Liza enlisted the help of fellow high school sophomores Evan Slack (electric guitar), Gavin Taylor (bass), John Blanda (keys), and Jonas Taghavi/Judah McCoy (drums), and the band was born.

Armed with an array of varied but mutual musical interests, the group won a battle of the bands in 2010, when they were all just 15. The prize, 24 hours of studio time at McNally Smith College of Music, resulted in the band’s 7 song, self-titled EP. One year later they re-entered the McNally Smith studios to record their first full-length album, What a Heavy Weight. Currently, Bomba de Luz is on hiatus as the group finishes their college educations.

After gaining extensive Twin Cities notoriety as a band to watch via appearances on NPR and 89.3 The Current, Bomba De Luz was invited to play First Avenue’s Best New Bands showcase in 2012. The following summer the group was asked to perform alongside national acts like Matchbox Twenty, The Goo Goo Dolls, and Minnesota favorites Cloud Cult at the 2013 Basilica Block Party. Lydia Liza has also shared stages with artists like Jake Bugg, P.O.S, Atmosphere, No Bird Sing, Dessa, Frankie Lee, J.E Sunde, Dem AtlaS, Dave Simonett of Trampled By Turtles, Kimya Dawson, Jeremy Messersmith, Al Church, Caroline Smith, Family of The Year, Astronautalis, Chastity Brown, and many others.

Lydia Liza received a 4 year, full-ride scholarship for songwriting and composition to McNally Smith College of Music after she was recognized as a promising new artist through her many features and collaborations. Some collaborations of note are her work with Toki Wright & Big Cats, Eric Mayson, Xela, Slack, Caroline Smith as a backup singer, P.O.S, Homeless & Big Cats, Dem AtlaS, many Rhymesayers artists, Jeremy Messersmith and other various artists from the Twin Cities and the Midwest area.

Watkins String Quartet:

The Watkins String Quartet consists of violinists Sam Richman and Archie Brown, cellist Eliot Johnson, and violist Paul Watkins. Formed through the Artaria Chamber Music School under coach Ray Shows, the group has performed with local groups and appeared on radio stations like Classical MPR. The group has also competed locally, winning first prize in the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra Youth Chamber Music Competition in 2015 and appearing in the St. Paul String Quartet Competition this year.