Rebecca Newton calls herself a “North Carolina-based old hippie chick musician turned author who’s done everything but jump out of an airplane (but there’s still time).”
Her 7-piece swing/early jazz/R&B band, “Rebecca & The High Tones,” was a NC institution for 30 years. Rebecca has been commissioned by National Public Radio to write and produce feature music for “All Things Considered,” has composed music for several theatrical productions, and co-produced a documentary with Clyde Edgerton. Her latest solo album is “Riding Ponies to the Moon“, which she refers to as a “Music Storybook.” Ponies points to various chapters in her southern novel called “A Simple but Kind Gesture on What Was Otherwise an Ordinary Day.” The novel is Newton’s first prose project.
Connie B. Steadman was part of legendary trio, The Badgett Sisters, an American folk and gospel group from Yanceyville, NC, and recipients of a 1990 North Carolina Heritage Award, who began singing together in 1933 and consisted of sisters Celester, Connie, and Cleonia Badgett. Under their father's tutelage, beginning at ages 4-6, the Badgett Sisters learned to sing spirituals, hymns, and gospel songs in the jubilee style, a form popular in the 1930s and 1940s with unaccompanied close harmony learned from their father, Cortelyou Odell Badgett (1905-1978). The Badgett Sisters traveled around the world and performed at Carnegie Hall. As of 2019, “Connie B.” performs as an acappella musician and storyteller solo artist throughout North Carolina.
Cedric Tillman received a BA in English from UNC Charlotte and graduated from American University's Creative Writing MFA program. His poems have appeared in journals and anthologies including RHINO, The Manhattanville Review, Solstice Literary Magazine, The Florida Review, and Kakalak. In 2017, his poem "the flag" received Special Mention recognition for the Pushcart Foundation's Pushcart Prize.
His debut collection, entitled LILIES IN THE VALLEY, was published by Willow Books in 2013. After receiving semifinalist and finalist recognition for the University of Akron, Cleveland State University, and Press 53 poetry prizes among others, IN MY FEELINS was published by WordTech Poetry in 2020. Cedric lives in Charlotte.