Rome Yamilov is a guitarist, known for his work with Aki Kumar and John Blues Boyd.

"Henry Kaiser (born September 19, 1952) is an American guitarist and composer, known as an idiosyncratic soloist, a sideman, an ethnomusicologist, and a film score composer. Recording and performing prolifically in many styles of music, Kaiser is a fixture on the San Francisco Bay Area music scene. He is considered a member of the "second generation" of American free improvisers. He is married to Canadian artist Brandy Gale.

In 1977, Kaiser founded Metalanguage Records with Larry Ochs (Rova Saxophone Quartet) and Greg Goodman. In 1979 he recorded With Friends Like These with Fred Frith, a collaboration that lasted for over 20 years. In 1983 they recorded Who Needs Enemies, and in 1987 the compilation album With Enemies Like These, Who Needs Friends? They joined with fellow experimental musicians John French, and English folk-rocker Richard Thompson to form French Frith Kaiser Thompson for two eclectic albums, Live, Love, Larf & Loaf (1987) and Invisible Means (1990). In 1999 Frith and Kaiser released Friends and Enemies, a compilation of their two Metalanguage albums along with additional material from 1984 and 1999.

In 1991, Kaiser went to Madagascar with guitarist David Lindley. They recorded roots music with Malagasy musicians and discovered music that, he says, "changed us radically and permanently". Three volumes of this music were released by Shanachie under the title A World Out of Time. In 1994 he made a similar trip to Norway, again with Lindley, recording music that was released as Sweet Sunny North (2 volumes, 1994 and 1996).

Since 1998, Kaiser has been collaborating with trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith in the "Yo Miles!" project, releasing a series of tributes to Miles Davis's 1970s electric music. This shifting aggregation has included musicians from the worlds of rock (guitarists Nels Cline, Mike Keneally and Chris Muir, drummer Steve Smith), jazz (saxophonists Greg Osby and John Tchicai), avant-garde (keyboardist John Medeski, guitarist Elliott Sharp), and Indian classical music (tabla player Zakir Hussain).

Kaiser has appeared on more than 250 albums and scored dozens of TV shows and films, including Werner Herzog's Encounters at the End of the World (2007). He was given a Grammy Award for his work on the Beautiful Dreamer tribute to Stephen Foster.

In 2001, Kaiser spent two and a half months in Antarctica on a National Science Foundation Antarctic Artists and Writers Program grant. He has subsequently returned for nine more visits to work as a research diver. His underwater camera work was featured in two Herzog films, The Wild Blue Yonder (2005) and Encounters at the End of the World (2007), which he also produced, and for which he and Lindley composed the score. Kaiser served as music producer for Herzog's Grizzly Man (2005). He was nominated for an Academy Award for his work as a producer on Encounters at the End of the World."

"Christoffer "Kid" Andersen (born January 15, 1980) is a blues guitarist from Herre, Norway.

By age 11, Andersen had gained the attention of Norwegian blues guitar teacher, Morten Omlid, who steered him towards traditional blues music. In 2001, at age 21, Andersen moved to the United States, joined blues frontman Terry Hanck's band, and quickly became a figure on the West Coast blues scene.

Andersen later played in Charlie Musselwhite's band and got a Blues Music Award (formerly W.C. Handy Award) for best contemporary blues album for Charlie Musselwhite's Delta Hardware. Then, when Little Charlie Baty retired from touring, Andersen took his place as guitarist in the Nightcats, and the new name of Rick Estrin & The Nightcats was formed. Andersen has also done extensive touring with Elvin Bishop on the Red Dog Speaks Tour. He is married to American Idol contestant Lisa Leuschner. They currently reside in San Jose, California where Andersen is CEO of Greaseland Studios.

In 2013, Andersen was nominated for a Blues Music Award in the 'Gibson Guitar' category. In 2014, 2015, and 2016 he was nominated for a Blues Music Award in the 'Best Instrumentalist Ð Guitar' category.

In recent years, Andersen has gained a reputation of record producer using his own recording facility "Greaseland". He produced the last two albums of Rick Estrin & The Nightcats: One Wrong Turn (2012) and Groovin' in Greaseland (2017). In 2017, he also produced several albums including Stompin' Ground from Tommy Castro. In 2019 he co-producer Junior Watson's, album ÒNothin' to it But to Do ItÓ (which features his wife Lisa Leuschner Andersen on lead vocals.)"

"Born in Cleveland, Ohio, June is a self-taught musician. He got his first paying gig at 17 after only playing for a year. Over the next few years June gigged in and around Cleveland with organist Eddie Baccus and with various funk, jazz and soul groups. In 1978 June was introduced to Robert Lockwood Jr. and Johnny Shines. Who taught June, in one day, five different shuffles to use in any blues. "That was start of my career", says June. Robert and Johnny Shines became June's second fathers and June's musical relationship with Lockwood lasted nearly ten years. In 1980, June moved to New York and played pickups with jazz and funk bands doing the club circuit that included The Bitter End, Lonestar Café, and Freddies Café.

In 1982, June returned to Cleveland. As a result of his relationship with Robert Lockwood, June shared the stage with BB King, James Cotton, Mighty Joe Young, Willie Dixon, and Albert Collins.

In 1987 June headed west to San Jose, California where he was immediately hired by Mark Hummel, a stint that lasted two years. He soon met Andy Santana and the West Coast Playboys and then, along with Andy and Mike Schermer, founded the Soul Drivers, a highly successful Santa Cruz based blues band. In 1991, The Soul Drivers became Angela Stehli's backup band. June also worked as a side man for Miss Laverne Baker. In 1996 June joined Little Charlie and the Nightcats and spent five years touring with that band. In 2004 Charlie Musselwhite hired June - June has been a most valued player with Charlie ever since. Recently, June played on Grammy nominated CDs Remembering Little Walter and Musselwhite's Juke Joint Chapel, as well as Mark Hummel and Elvin Bishop's CDs nominated for BMA awards. In 2015 June was nominated for Blues Music Awards best blues drummer."

"Aki Kumar left his native home in Mumbai, India for the United States with the intention of working as a software engineer. Then he discovered the sounds of the blues, and his life changed dramatically.

One of the hardest working artists on the music scene today, this San Jose-based musician has successfully blended elements of Indian music into his musical and visual presentation, making for a multi-cultural mash-up that sounds like no one else, yet never loses touch with the inspiration it draws from the blues. He has made multiple appearances at The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival, has been featured on PRI "The World," and has toured in Russia, Scandinavia and South America.

Kumar's Little Village Foundation releases Aki Goes To Bollywood (2016) and Hindi Man Blues (2018) are considered ground-breaking albums that have garnered international critical acclaim. In 2020, Kumar made major news with the world-wide launch of his album Dilruba on Sony Music India. Kumar kicked off 2021 with the release of an uplifting reggae-infused single "Zindagi" (Life)."

"Lisa Leuschner (born August 1, 1982) is an American singer and was a semi-finalist of American Idol (Season 3), from La Selva Beach, California (although American Idol credits her hometown as Watsonville, California.) Lisa Leuschner appeared on the audition episodes for the second season of American Idol, where she sparked an argument between Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell about her weight. During that audition she sang "Saving All My Love for You", and made it to Hollywood. That season, she was cut. She auditioned again for the third season and became a semi-finalist. During season 3 she performed Mariah Carey's "Vision Of Love" and greatly impressed the judges. She was put through to Hollywood, but not before a brief disagreement with Simon Cowell about her weight (continued from the year before.) She made it to the top 32 where she performed the classic "Sweet Thing", by Chaka Khan. She placed third in her round, while the top two vote getters went on to the top 12 (Camile Velasco and Matthew Rogers). She was then called back for the wildcard round. However, under controversial circumstances that are not truly defined, Lisa and several other contestants were not allowed to perform. Slight outrage resulted from this when seemingly less talented singers were allowed to perform and enter the top 12 (i.e. Leah LaBelle, who ironically contributed to Lisa's album projects).

In November, 2004 Succession Records released Sing Me Home, a CD of Christmas songs sung by Lisa Leuschner. A second album, Reality, was released in 2007.

Leuschner was born in Fremont, California and raised in Santa Cruz, California. Lisa has lived in Santa Cruz County, California most of her life. Her American Idol is Stevie Wonder. Besides singing, Lisa enjoys dancing and writing parodies with her friends."

"Jim Pugh's international performing music career spans 40 years and includes multiple Grammy Award, platinum and gold records. He has recorded and performed with a star-studded array of musicians including B.B. King, Etta James, John Lee Hooker, Robert Cray, Boz Skaggs, Syl Johnson and Van Morrison. He created Little Village Foundation in 2014 to share the diverse music that has always inspired him and to help other artists, especially musicians no one would learn about without Little Village Foundation's support.

Still performing, Jim's career started in San Francisco at the Stardust Lounge, a corner lounge owned by a feisty singer named Dottie who was always ready to break up a fight by keeping hold of a pool cue even while she was singing. There are always great stories behind the music, and Jim works to keep sharing them across boundaries of race, gender, age, geography or economics.

Jim lives in Santa Ynez, California, an area rich with surprising music."