Acclaimed guitar virtuoso Yasmin Williams performs at the historic Orange Show Monument in Houston, TX on March 12, 2022, as part of the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art's Spring 2022 Performance Series.

Produced by: Nada Brahma Media
Edited & Directed by: Don White
Audio recorded, mixed & mastered by: Shannon Smith

All music by Yasmin Williams
© 2022 YazMelodies Publishing (ASCAP)
except "Sunflower" by Austin Post, Khalif Malikibnsham Brown, Louis Bell, Carter Lang & Billy Walsh © 2018 Posty Co LLC/UPMG (BMI), Warner Chappell (BMI), Sony/ATV (ASCAP), Warner Chappell (BMI), Billy Walsh/WMMW (ASCAP).

About Yasmin Williams:
A native of northern Virginia, Williams, now 24, began playing electric guitar in 8th grade, after she beat the video game Guitar Hero 2 on expert level. Initially inspired by Jimi Hendrix and other shredders she was familiar with through the game, she quickly moved on to acoustic guitar, finding that it allowed her to combine fingerstyle techniques with the lap-tapping she had developed through Guitar Hero, as well as perform as a solo artist. By 10th grade, she had released an EP of songs of her own composition.

Deriving no lineage from “American primitive” and rejecting the problematic connotations of the term, Williams’ influences include the smooth jazz and R&B she listened to growing up, Hendrix and Nirvana, go-go and hip-hop. Her love for the band Earth, Wind and Fire prompted her to incorporate the kalimba into her songwriting, and more recently, she’s drawn inspiration from other Black women guitarists such as Elizabeth Cotten, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Algia Mae Hinton. On Urban Driftwood, Williams references the music of West African griots through the inclusion of kora (which she recently learned) and by featuring the hand drumming of 150th generation djeli of the Kouyate family, Amadou Kouyate, on the title track.

Since its release in January 2021, Urban Driftwood has been praised by numerous publications such as Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, The Wasington Post, NPR Music, No Depression, Paste Magazine, and many others.

Official Website: http://www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yasminmwilli...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/guitar.yaz/
YouTube:    / @yazmelodies  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/guitar_yaz

Funding for the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art is provided in part by the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, The Brown Foundation, Houston Endowment, Wortham Foundation, Silver Eagle Distributors, as well as private contributions, in-kind support, and volunteer assistance. For more information visit www.orangeshow.org.