singer-songwriters callie mackenzie & Shamsi Ruhe will be in Kingston, NY at Rough Draft Bar & BOoks on August 15th 6PM.

Shamsi Ruhe is a Black, female queer person who dances with severe mental illness and sings folk, pop, and country. Her rich and powerful voice moves listeners deeply. Shamsi was signed to Mercury Records in younger years and subsequently signed by Chris Blackwell to Island Records. Her current work is in close community. It is a gift when she takes the stage to share her wisdom through story in song. Shamsi Ruhe writes and sings much of her own material. She has worked with Grammy award winning producers Paul Kolderie (Pixies, Warren Zevon, The Go-Go’s, Hole, Radiohead), Dean Jones (Dog On Fleas and The Felice Brothers), and Paul Ebersold (3 Doors Down, Sister Hazel). She also wrote and recorded with a team composed of Grammy nominated producer Rick Chertoff and Eric Bazilian, and Rob Hyman of The Hooters at Rykodisc.

callie mackenzie (she/they) is a Kingston, NY based social change worker, musician and multidisciplinary artist. Living at the intersections of art & social justice, she uses the practice of creating art as medicine and works to create liberatory and joyful spaces for growth and healing rooted in love. Armed with a guitar and using a looper to build layered guitar, percussion, and vocal harmonies she brings the audience on a smooth, soulful and sometimes funky journey of deep feelings about oppression, freedom, love, heartbreak, and mental health.  In a world that tells us that we need to be strong all the time, callie’s music and art is a revolutionary act: to show that we can slow down, feel our feelings, express our feelings, and feel joy.