English 
French As part of the podcast series, “ArtsAbly in Conversation,” Diane Kolin interviewed Ally Hocking Howe, an Australian violinist, vocalist, composer, and producer, living in Texas.
This post presents the resources that she mentioned during the conversation.
Ally Hocking Howe
Hailing from Canberra at the age of 24, Ally Hocking Howe is a rare species, a young emerging eclectic violinist and electronic producer. She composes and produces jazz/pop electronica hybrids that feature her violin, vocals and fellow acclaimed talent – both local and international – such as industry heavyweights Regina Carter (USA) , Scott Tixier (USA) and Andrea Keller (AUS).
Visit Ally Hocking Howe’s website
Scott Tixier
Scott Tixier is a 5-time GRAMMY award-winning French jazz violinist and
2018 DownBeat Critic Poll Winner. He has performed, recorded, and toured with jazz legends and music icons such as Stevie Wonder, Kenny Barron, Elton John, Pink Floyd, Chaka Khan, Earth Wind & Fire, Ed Sheeran, Cassandra Wilson, Coldplay, Chris Potter, John Legend, Christina Aguilera, Natalie Cole, Anthony Braxton, Ariana Grande, Adele and many others. Tixier studied classical violin at the conservatory in Paris. Following that, he studied improvisation as a self-educated jazz musician. He was based in New York for over a decade where he performed in all the major venues across the United States including Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Blue Note Jazz Club, Apollo Theater, Smalls Jazz Club, The Stone, and U.S. Capitol.
UTOPiAfest
UTOPiAfest is a 14 year, and counting, festival community in Four Sisters Ranch in Utopia, Texas. They believe an ideal music festival should be experience-centered. One set in beautiful, natural surroundings where the positive energy from the land is palpable. A place where you find and meet more friends than strangers. They think it should be more meaningful than just watching a show. It should be a place where individuals and communities grow and learn. Participants should feel free to be and express their truest selves, and contribute to the experience. They should be able to be in front of the stage, or have plenty of room to dance. They should be able to see the stage from camp, or be isolated from the crowd. Camping and parking should be free. There should be no music overlap – music bleed or hard choices between bands. There should be performances where the whole audience is absolutely attentive, engaged, and phoneless. At such a fest you can play a round of disc golf, attend a workshop or yoga class, or go on a bike ride before you see the first set. The experience should be accessible to all ages, and enjoyed with your whole family.
RAMPD
RAMPD (Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities) is a professional platform equipping the music and live entertainment industry with disability inclusive tools, programming and strategy. RAMPD also connects the industry to a global directory of peer-vetted music/sound creators and industry professionals with disabilities, neurodivergence and other chronic or mental health conditions, to find source and hire—bringing competitive opportunities, visibility and community to our Professional Members while offering disability inclusion to Industry/Venue partners. RAMPD’s Mission is to amplify Disability Culture, promote equitable inclusion, and advocate for inclusive and accessible spaces in the music and live entertainment industries. Founded in May of 2021 (and established January 2022) by award-winning recording artist and cultural activist Lachi, RAMPD came about after a public talk between the Recording Academy and several disabled artists revealed the serious lack of visibility, access, and representation for music professionals with disabilities.
Gaelynn Lea
Since winning NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Contest in 2016, Gaelynn Lea has captivated audiences around the world with her haunting original songs and traditional fiddle tunes. Over the years, she has collaborated and performed with many notable artists such as Michael Stipe (REM), The Decemberists, Wilco, LOW, and the industrial rock supergroup Pigface. In 2022, Gaelynn Lea composed and recorded the original score for Macbeth on Broadway, starring Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga. Thanks to a recent Whippoorwill Arts Fellowship, her theatrically-inspired soundtrack is set to be released in Spring 2025. A tour for this new album, Music from Macbeth, will take place in the UK soon afterwards. Music aside, Gaelynn Lea is a sought-after public speaker about accessibility in the arts. She has been featured on PBS NewsHour, On Being with Krista Tippett, The Moth Radio Hour, The Science of Happiness Podcast, and via two widely-viewed TEDx Talks.
Xenia Concerts
Xenia Concerts was launched in 2014 as a pilot program that aimed to address a barrier in the arts: people living with autism are often not welcome at concerts because they tend to express themselves in ways that are often frowned upon at traditionally organized events. Xenia Concerts designs and presents accessible concerts for young music-lovers who face barriers to inclusion.
Bon Iver
Bon Iver is an American indie folk band founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. Vernon had originally formed Bon Iver as a solo project, but it eventually became a band consisting of Vernon (vocals, guitar), Sean Carey (drums, keyboards, vocals), Michael Lewis (vocals, baritone guitar, guitar, violin, saxophone), Matthew McCaughan (drums, bass, vocals), Andrew Fitzpatrick (guitar, keyboards, vocals), and Jenn Wasner (guitar, keyboards, vocals). The majority of the album was recorded while Vernon spent three months isolated in a cabin in western Wisconsin. In 2012, the band won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album for their eponymous album Bon Iver. Their latest album, I, I, was released in 2019. The album was nominated at the 2020 Grammy Awards for Album of the Year.
Cher
Cher is an American singer, actress, and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the “Goddess of Pop”, she has been described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industry. She is known for her distinctive contralto singing voice, for having worked in numerous areas of entertainment and for adopting a variety of styles and appearances. Cher rose to fame in 1965 as one half of the folk rock husband-wife duo Sonny & Cher before releasing her first solo top-ten singles “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” and “You Better Sit Down Kids”. Throughout the 1970s, she scored the US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles “Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves”, “Half-Breed”, and “Dark Lady”, becoming the female solo artist with the most number-one singles in US history at the time.
Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish is an American singer and songwriter. She first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single “Ocean Eyes”, written and produced by her brother Finneas O’Connell, with whom she collaborates on music and live shows. In 2017, she released her debut extended play (EP), Don’t Smile at Me. Commercially successful, it reached the top 15 of record charts in numerous countries, including the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. Eilish has received multiple accolades, including nine Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, two Guinness World Records, three MTV Video Music Awards, three Brit Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Academy Awards. She is the second artist in Grammy history to win all four general field categories—Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, as well as Best New Artist—in the same year. Eilish is also the first person born in the 21st century to win an Academy Award and the youngest ever two-time winner.
Lachi
Lachi is a singer-songwriter, touring performer, producer, actress, author, disability advocate and cultural activist based in New York City. Lachi’s music is often described as Pop or Dance music. She is legally blind, due to Coloboma. Throughout 2021 and 2022, Lachi established herself as a go-to disability advocate in the music industry, speaking with and performing at places like the White House, the United Nations, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and the BBC, among other notable appearances. Lachi is the founder of RAMPD. Starting in 2022, RAMPD began partnering with the Recording Academy to help make the Grammy Awards more accessible: working to add a visibly ramped dais, Sign language interpreters, live captioning, and Audio description, American Sign Language and ramps on the red carpet. In February 2024, Lachi was named a 2024 Woman of the Year by USA Today.