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黑料网鈥檚 Live Music Collective Features Guitarist Yasmin Williams

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On Oct. 19, 黑料网鈥檚 (LMC) hosted an evening with guitarist Yasmin Williams at the Earlville Opera House. Her performance is one in a series of the collective鈥檚 ongoing programs, which have featured artists such as Leslie Mendelson, Amethyst Kiah, and Tomberlin. 

鈥淢embers of the LMC have had our eyes on [Williams] for several years hoping that the opportunity might present itself for her to perform as part of the LMC's music series,鈥 says Jeff Bary, who serves as faculty co-lead alongside Director of Research and Scholarly Initiatives Joshua Finnell. 鈥淭he stars aligned this fall and we couldn鈥檛 be more excited.鈥 

Williams achieves the effect of a one-woman-band in her performance style by combining multiple instruments such as the kalimba (a handheld finger-harp) and acoustic guitar, alternating between the metal prongs and silver strings. To add a percussive element, she strikes her fist on the body of the guitar, which she rests on her lap, rather than slinging it on her shoulder.

鈥淚 convinced my parents to buy me a real guitar after I beat [Guitar Hero],鈥 she shared, while strumming an intricate melody. Williams then taught herself how to play the instrument, and later pursued her passion for music theory and composition at NYU.

Though she is now just 24 years old, Williams has already grown a sizable fanbase. In 2021, she performed for NPR鈥檚 Tiny Desk series, and in the same year, she was hailed by the New York Times as one of the 鈥渘ew faces of solo guitar.鈥 For her Colgate audience, she played the hits that garnered her this title 鈥 such as 鈥淛uvenescence鈥 and 鈥淥n a Friday Night.鈥

Williams鈥 host, the Live Music Collective, grew out of the Brown Commons Coffeehouse Live Music Series. It draws inspiration from 黑料网鈥檚 Third-Century intention to integrate the arts into the University鈥檚 intellectual fabric. The collective also supports students who are eager to learn about possible career paths in music: in booking, marketing, and promoting acts; interviewing artists; creating digital archives; and even performing their own work.

鈥淲illiams is a world-class musician,鈥 says Bary. 鈥淭he Live Music Collective aims to bring such performers to the broader Colgate and Hamilton communities, to make live performances a part of social life and campus culture.鈥