Join The Stylites on Saturday night, October 5th, to celebrate the release of their debut album, The Stylites, on Bandcamp. They will bring their unique flavor of soulful urban folk back to the fabulous MPLS headquarters for exquisite music: Berlin.

Chris Cunningham, guitars:

Over a musical career stretching all the way from the Jurassic Period, Chris Cunningham has collaborated on stages and in studios with Marianne Faithfull, The Contortions, John Lurie and the Lounge Lizards, Jeff Buckley, Hal Wilner, Haiti’s Boukman Eksperyans, Turkey’s Omar Farouk, Ireland’s Katell Keineg, Susan McKeown, Gavin Friday, Anton Fier, John Zorn, Marshall Crenshaw, Joan Osborne, John Medeski, Richie Havens, and many others. He has released two critically acclaimed solo albums, and his recent Twin Cities groups include Superbus Maximus, Creatures of Prometheus, Fall of the House of Usher, Mississippi Peace, Coloring Time, Improvestra, and Improvised Explosive Device. His main repository of recorded musical content is at the-stylites.bandcamp.com, and he dutifully serves the people as a professor and confessor of Sound Arts at Minneapolis College.

Michelle Kinney, cello:

Mesmerized and offended by all sorts of good and bad noises, ideas, patterns and textures, Michelle Kinney is inspired by her amazing friends and collaborators, who invite her to play in non-traditional contexts for the cello. In addition to The Stylites, the short list of incredible TC artists Michelle has worked with lately includes Aby Wolf and Eric Mayson, Dylan Hicks, Nirmala Rajasekar, Anthony Cox, Brandon Wozniak, Bryan Murray, Prudence Johnson, Zeitgeist, Jacqueline Ultan, Mary Ellen Childs, George Cartwright, Laurie Van Wieren, Todd Harper and Noah Ophoven Baldwin. Michelle is grateful for past support from The McKnight Foundation, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, Bush Foundation, Jerome Foundation, MN State Arts Board, NEA/Rockefeller, and American Composers Forum.

Nick Gaudette, bass:

Renegade bassist Nick Gaudette is a seasoned performer, educator, creator, and arts collaborator. His unique individualized sound is rooted in the classical conservatory training but also embraces jazz, rock, folk, tango, and contemporary new sounds for the upright bass. Nick is a founding member and bassist with the Orange Mighty Trio (hybrid chamber-fiddle music) and the Cherry Spoon Collective (multi-generational group of composer/musicians), and he is a frequent collaborator/composer for modern dance. During the school year, Nick directs the advanced orchestras at Edina High School. Nick is a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative recipient, a Cedar Commissions artist, an EdFund grant recipient, outdoors person, motorcyclist, and dad.

Joe Strachan, piano:

Joe Strachan, a versatile pianist based in Saint Paul, brings a decade of musical prowess to national and international stages. Joe’s dynamic career includes accompanying dance, performing on synths and electronics, and composing for a diverse range of collaborations in dance and theater. Recent work includes touring with Craig Finn, and Mixed Blood Theater, as well as performing locally with ThoughtCast, Little Boat, the Interstellar Cowboy band, Wheel Eternal, HatchDance and Superbus Maximus. Joe’s work has been recognized with awards such as the Next Step Fund (2020).