News
TUFR Featured Artists: Dirk Powell, Amelia Powell and Rainy Eyes
24 Jul 20
Renowned musician Dirk Powell along with Amelia Powell and Rainy Eyes are this week’s Featured Artists on Turn Up For Recovery’s YouTube Channel. Tune in Saturday 25 July at PDT 11:00am, EDT 2:00pm and BST 7:00pm, for their very special performance at youtube.com/turnupforrecovery.
Dirk Powell is a musician with deep roots in several rural American styles, particularly Appalachian and Cajun music. He learned banjo and fiddle from his grandfather in Kentucky and has a longstanding connection to Louisiana, where he has lived since the early 1990s. He has performed and recorded with musicians such as Joan Baez, Jack White, Loretta Lynn, and Levon Helm, and contributed to films such as “Cold Mountain” and “In the Electric Mist.” Dirk’s original songs and records have had an international impact. He performs regularly on fiddle, button accordion, banjo, guitar, mandolin, and piano, while singing a soulful mix of original and traditional songs. Dirk toured with Eric Clapton in 2016 and was featured on Eric’s album, “I Still Do.”
Amelia Powell, like her father, Dirk Powell, has deep musical roots on both sides of the family. Her grandfather Dewey Balfa, along with her great-uncles the Balfa Brothers, were essential in bringing Cajun music to international awareness in the 1960s and 70s. That soulfulness and depth is present in her music. Despite still being in her teens, Amelia has appeared in films such as “Behold the Earth” and been featured on television performing traditional music in the US, Ireland, and Scotland. She has recorded and performed with MacArthur “genius grant” recipient Rhiannon Giddens and been part of many award-winning projects.
Rainy Eyes is a Norwegian-born singer-songwriter whose unique, soulful sound can best be described as Dreamy Folk Americana. She spent the last decade in the San Francisco Bay Area but now resides in the culturally fertile ground of Lafayette, Louisiana. Irena has toured internationally and recorded with artists such as Peter Rowan, Willie Watson, and Dirk Powell. Her award-winning music program for children, Little Folkies, which features over 70 original songs and direct hands-on teaching for children, is expanding to an international online platform in the current climate. Irena brings an honesty and direct intention to her music that resonates with audiences around the globe.
CLICK HERE to subscribe to TUFR’s YouTube Channel and never miss a Featured Artist Performance or an episode of the Turn Up From Home Concert Series. You can also catch up on previous episodes in both series with performances from Sheryl Crow, Nathan East, Paul Carack, Sonny Landreth, EC with MARO and many more.
ABOUT TURN UP FOR RECOVERY
Turn up for Recovery is a charitable movement aiming to raise awareness of abstinence-based recovery, tackle the stigma of addiction and help make treatment affordable to people struggling with alcohol and drug addiction. The idea for Turn up for Recovery (TUFR) came to founder, Melia Clapton, while walking her dog. She wanted to tackle the stigma around addiction and alcoholism and raise awareness about the power of abstinence based recovery. It’s a topic very close to her heart, having supported family members throughout their recovery. Her vision is for an inclusive community of artists, music lovers and those affected by addiction coming together to have a good time, talk about recovery and raise money for others to get the help that they need at Crossroads Centre Antigua. Melia announced the movement in September 2019 during Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival. It has been gaining momentum ever since.
Keep up with Turn Up For Recovery on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, at turnupforrecovery.org and on the TUFR YouTube Channel.