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Transcending genres, the SIMRIT experience centers around lead singer – songwriter, Simrit, who is of Cretan and North African origin.  SIMRIT is creating waves with packed theaters and concert halls, chart-topping albums, and raving fans… all powering a palpable musical movement.

Born in Athens, Greece, adopted by Greek-Americans into South Carolina as a toddler, she comes from a long line of matriarchal singers that span from her birth mother to her great grandmother, Tula Demetriou, who was a famous Greek singer and actress.  At only 16 years old, Simrit’s birth mother was forced by her family to give Simrit for adoption. Over time, growing up steeped in the rich musical traditions of many cultures…Simrit’s own musical sensibilities emerged from a multiplicity of diverse influences starting with the dark, heavy, and mystical chanting of the Greek Orthodox church choir, in which she sang in starting at age five. During this same time period, Simrit began studying piano (where her piano teacher simultaneously instructed her in snare drum). Later, she studied West African drumming, and toured with the Odunde Drumming Company during her education at College of Charleston in South Carolina.

Greek/Middle Eastern Folk music, Roots Reggae, R&B, The Grateful Dead, Motown, Led Zeppelin, among many others… proved deeply influential as Simrit developed her unique sound.  Her studies in traditional Greek dance from first grade through the end of high school…proved to be just as influential, as Simrit studied and danced a variety of different time signatures and rhythms that the traditional Greek dances were performed in, while also learning to sing those songs.

Simrit’s musical education is rich and diverse. From singing in the Orthodox church starting in grade school, all the way through high school where she was studying vocals at University of South Carolina with her childhood piano teacher…and then studying in the classical Indian system of music. She is known for her voice reverberating a sound that is simultaneously ancient and fresh. Decades of study and experimentation with Kundalini yoga deepened Simrit’s relationship to the quantum technology of Naad Yoga (the ancient science of using sound to impact the brain’s neural pathways and chemicals, eliciting altered states of reality); the effects of which influence her music.  Alongside her band, Simrit creates vibrationally powerful and healing music to impact both positive internal & external change. 

Shelby Natasha is a Seattle based alt-folk musician and producer. Growing up living between the Pacific Northwest and China, her music is a blend of the folk music of both cultures. Her ghostlike vocals are accompanied by the Guzheng and lofi-beats, woven together with sounds collected from the natural world. She has been performing in festivals and showcases around the states such as Portland Folk Festival, Belltown Bloom, Song Suffragettes (Nashville), Open Folk (LA) and she will be playing at Oregon Country Fair this summer, as well as Northwest Folklife and Any Patch of Grass.