Youth in a Roman Field is the surrealist folk project of musician, writer, teacher, and advocate Claire Wellin (Bismarck, ND). The band’s progressive sound (described as a combination of ‘Appalachia, cayenne pepper, and ghosts' and ‘like Radiohead but also folk music’) is reflected both in their inventive recordings and intimate, endearing live performances. Sweeping vocals, dynamic string loops, woven, textured guitars, and percussive bass come together to create music that gives the audience space and time to feel, reflect, or just take a breather. Their new album Get Caught Trying explores self-worth, power, loss of faith, care, and collective healing; a timely release as we emerge into a new era of American life. Their unique ability to transform their training in traditional folk, jazz, and classical music has seen the band successfully grow a fan base from the ground up, forging deep bonds over the past ten years through touring in multiple formations.

The band includes Claire Wellin (vocals, violin, ukes) Tiffany Topol (vocals, ukes, keys) Scott Stangland (guitars, vocals, keys) Cassidy Stirtz (viola, vocals) and Jamie Mohamdein (upright bass, vocals). They started in Chicago but moved to and reconvened in New York. The band performs in multiple formations, adapting show-to-show from solo to trio to full band. They recorded ‘Get Caught Trying’ in Brooklyn, NY and remotely with Allen Tate (co-producer), Kyle Joseph (engineer) and Carter Stirtz (remote engineer).

www.clairewellin.com

www.youthinaromanfield.com

www.sanferminband.com

Her music is available on iTunes and Amazon Music

Becca Kotte is an NYC based recording artist and actress from Fargo, North Dakota.

She is currently touring as a soloist and background vocalist for Sir Rod Stewart. Other Credits include Tawney in Getting the Band Back Together (OBC) and Sherrie in Rock of Ages (Las Vegas Company).

Her original music is available on iTunes and was recently featured on Lucifer (FOX) and Impastor (TV Land).

Joel Porter is an ambient-folk artist and instrumentalist from Bismarck North Dakota, now living in Nashville, TN. Collaborating with producer Eric Hillman (e.hillman - Foreign Fields), he introduced his intimate, expressive solo project with the release of the nature-inspired Mountain Twin EP.

His music can be found on Spotify and Amazon Music

A teller of tales, harper, Gaelic singer, and céilí dancer of Scots/Irish (Celtic) ancestry, Debi’s Rogers’ earliest memory as a wee child was practicing flying and harping in her basement to become an Irish fairy. One of a handful of musicians who play the Gaelic wire-strung harp she’s at home in any situation - from concert hall to school, from outdoor festival to senior center, from theatrical stage to Irish pub. Through travels to Ireland and Scotland, participating in the Summer School of Irish Harp (Scoil na gCláirseach) and from native speakers Debi has learned a vast repertoire of songs, dances, tales and tunes which she incorporates into her residencies and performances. As a K-12 certified choral and theater educator Debi was awarded a Fulbright to study in Japan, sang a soprano solo onstage at Carnegie Hall, and was a featured solo artist on the Prairie Public Television series, "North Dakota Musicians." She also served as an artistic ambassador for North Dakota in Iceland through an artists exchange program of the North Dakota Council on the Arts.

A native of North Dakota, Tom Porter is a retired Professor of Music and Chair of the Department of Music at the University of Mary where he taught music theory and sacred music, and directed the choirs. In addition, he directs the Bismarck-Mandan Civic Chorus and the Dakota Chamber Chorale.

Tom enjoys the collaborative process of creating music for individual parishes and special occasions. He served as  a composer-in-residence for Saint Paul Catholic Church and Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Saint Cloud, Minnesota, through the Faith Partners program of the American Composers Forum.

Tom Porter earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and holds degrees from the University of Notre Dame (MA Theology), DePaul University, and the University of Mary.

I started playing guitar at age 22 when I moved to Oregon and had no friends. After gigging a little through my late 20s and early 30s with my band The Relics, I settled into just strumming here and there as a hobby. (I played a lotta weddings too. Let's not talk about the weddings.)

​Funny thing happened though - I quit drinking in 2021, and decided a year later to give music a more concerted shot. I've played well over 100 shows since, released two WAMI-nominated albums with more on the way, and ya know what? I might just keep doing it.

​These days, I live in northeast Wisconsin with my wife and two awesome little boys, and I write about the things I know - family, growing up and figuring shit out, sobriety. As I learn about more things, I'll write about them too.

His music can be found on Spotify and Amazon Music

Andrea is a Bismarck based visual and vocal artist who shares her gifts with the community in a variety of ways. She has helped create numerous works of art in the community and her work can be seen in the mural alley in downtown Bismarck. She is also a member of local bands as well as a solo artist who sings at various venues around town. She enjoys gardening and her music brings a soulful joy and calm to those who are blessed to hear it!

James McMahon earned a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from the University of Mary in 2002 and has done continuing education work with UND, NDSU and UMary.

James started his professional teaching career in the Fall of 2002 at Simle Middle School in Bismarck. In his work he helps students realize their value by teaching community, collaboration, and creativity.

Now in his 20th year in education, he continues to develop the Choral Program at Simle with many students participating. At Simle, he teaches 6th-8th grade Choir, as well the extra-curricular Simle Singers and Swing Choir. He was awarded the North Dakota American Choral Directors Association “Outstanding Young Choral Director” in 2008 for his commitment to his students and the choral art form. He has also received the “Golden Apple” award for teaching excellence. He is enjoying his 9th season directing Kantorei, the middle-level auditioned choir with Central Dakota Children’s Choir. Under his direction, Kantorei was selected as a showcase performance choir for the 2016 NDACDA State Choral Convention. Recently his auditioned choir, Simle Singers, was chosen as a showcase choir for the 2022 NDACDA state convention. James received Arthur Hull Drum Circle facilitation training in 2019 and utilizes that to teach community and teamwork in the classroom. He has been doing work in Bismarck Public Schools with behavioral and mental health, supporting the needs of all students. He enjoys composing music as a singer-songwriter and integrating his original work into his choral ensembles. He can be found performing with various local musical ensembles and most recently releasing an EP with the musical group Peace Garden Collective.

Peace Garden Collective can be found on Spotify, Amazon music and iTunes

Hailed by the New York Times as possessing “rich tone and deft technique,” Hannah Porter Occeña is a versatile flutist and pedagogue equally comfortable performing music written 400 years or 40 minutes ago. The 2021 Mu Phi Epsilon International Competition Winner and 2012 Irene Burchard Prizewinner, her performance work ranges from intimate solo performances in the recording studio to sold-out orchestra festival concerts. She holds principal flute positions in the Topeka Symphony Orchestra (Topeka, KS) and Colorado MahlerFest Orchestra (Boulder, CO) and teaches a vibrant studio of undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Northern Iowa (Cedar Falls, IA). 

As an orchestral player, chamber musician, and soloist, Dr. Occeña has worked to bring to life hundreds of new works. She gave the world premiere performances of flute concertos by Arturo Rodríguez and Joseph Kern, and the European premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s “The Light That We Can Hear.” She has privately commissioned several works, including the prizewinning work the whirring dusk by Lisa Bost-Sandberg (2018), and was a co-commissioner for Confluence by Zhou Long (2015), Giantess by Carter Pann (2018), Amazonia by Valerie Coleman (2020), Intuition by Samuel Zyman (2022), and Pathways of Desire by Reena Esmail (2024). 

Dr. Occeña is a 2018 DMA graduate of Stony Brook University, where she studied with Carol Wincenc. She holds a Master of Music Dip.RAM from the Royal Academy of Music and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance. When not performing, Dr. Occeña enjoys distance running and spending time outdoors with her family. Dr. Occeña is a Miyazawa Artist and plays on a Miyazawa Elite.

Hannah’s music can be found on Spotify

Brigid and MaryCatherine (MC) are sisters who live in Bismarck but have spent many years of their life living abroad in Ireland. This time abroad has shaped their love for music and influenced the style of music they create. Their harmonies and rich voices blend together beautifully the way only “sisters” truly can. They have written some original pieces for this show and we are so grateful for their time and work. It is stunning music and much appreciated!