Sylvan Esso in Durham

Sylvan Esso is an American electronic-pop duo formed in Durham, North Carolina, in 2013 by singer Amelia Meath and producer Nick Sanborn. Their spare electronic arrangements and layered vocals are heard on songs including “Coffee,” “Radio,” “Die Young” and “Ferris Wheel,” and on the albums Sylvan Esso, What Now, Free Love and No Rules Sandy. The 2019 WITH tour recast the duo’s catalog for a ten-piece ensemble and concluded with hometown performances filmed at the Durham Performing Arts Center. Sylvan Esso returned to the road for the Shaking Out the Numb tour in 2021, followed by the No Rules Sandy tour. Their festival appearances have included Coachella and Bonnaroo.

Meshell Ndegeocello is an American bassist, singer, songwriter and producer, born in Berlin in 1968 and raised in Washington, D.C. She makes soul, funk, jazz and hip-hop, and became known through her debut album Plantation Lullabies, the song “If That’s Your Boyfriend (He Wasn’t Last Night)” and her duet with John Mellencamp on “Wild Night.” Her catalogue also includes Bitter and The Omnichord Real Book. Live at the Jazz Café documents Meshell Ndegeocello and her band performing in London. In 2018 she presented material from Ventriloquism at NPR’s Tiny Desk, another example of her work as a vocalist and bandleader. She has also performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival and the North Sea Jazz Festival.