Larry Bellorín hails from Monagas, Venezuela and is a legend of Llanera music. Joe Troop is from North Carolina and is a GRAMMY-nominated bluegrass and oldtime musician. Larry was forced into exile and is an asylum seeker in North Carolina. Joe, after a decade in South America, got stranded back in his stomping grounds in the pandemic. Larry worked construction to make ends meet. Joe's acclaimed "latingrass" band Che Apalache was forced into hiatus, and he shifted into action working with asylum seeking migrants. Then Larry met Joe.

Currently based in the Triangle of North Carolina, both men are versatile multi-instrumentalists and singer-songwriters on a mission to show that music has no borders. As a duo they perform a fusion of Venezuelan and Appalachian folk music on harp, banjo, cuatro, fiddle, maracas, guitar, upright bass, and whatever else they decide to throw in the van. The program they offer features a distinct blend of their musical inheritances and traditions as well as storytelling about the ways that music and social movements coalesce.

Oriundo de Monagas, Venezuela, Larry es una leyenda de la música llanera. Proveniente de Carolina del Norte, Joe es un músico de bluegrass y oldtime que fue nominado para un GRAMMY. Larry tuvo que exiliarse a Carolina del Norte y es solicitante de asilo. Joe, después de una década en Sudamérica quedó varado en su tierra natal por la pandemia. Larry trabaja en construcción para llegar a fin de mes. Cuando el ascenso de su renombrada banda Che Apalache se detuvo, Joe pivotó para trabajar con migrantes solicitando asilo. Actualmente basados en el Triángulo de Carolina del Norte, ambos hombres son multi-instrumentistas versátiles con una misión de mostrar que la música no tiene fronteras. Como dueto tocan una fusión de folklore de Venezuela y de los montes Apalaches en arpa, banjo, cuatro, violín, maracas, guitarra, contrabajo y cualquier otra cosa que decidan subir a la camioneta. Como músicos su programa ofrece una mezcla única de sus diversas herencias y tradiciones, y cómo cuentacuentos demuestran cómo la música y los movimientos sociales interactúan.

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Puerto Rican-born composer and multi-instrumentalist Angélica Negrón writes music for accordions, robotic instruments, toys, and electronics as well as for chamber ensembles, orchestras, choir, and film. Her music has been described as “wistfully idiosyncratic and contemplative” (WQXR/Q2) while The New York Times noted her “capacity to surprise.” Negrón has been commissioned by the Bang on a Can All-Stars, Kronos Quartet, loadbang, Prototype Festival, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Sō Percussion, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Opera Philadelphia, the Louisville Orchestra and the New York Botanical Garden, among others.  Angélica received an early education in piano and violin at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico where she later studied composition under the guidance of composer Alfonso Fuentes. She holds a master’s degree in music composition from New York University where she studied with Pedro da Silva and pursued doctoral studies at The Graduate Center (CUNY), where she studied composition with Tania León. Also active as an educator, Angélica is currently a teaching artist for New York Philharmonic’s Very Young Composers program.  She has collaborated with artists like Sō Percussion, Lido Pimienta, Mathew Placek, Sasha Velour, Cecilia Aldarondo, Mariela Pabón & Adrienne Westwood, among others and is a founding member of the tropical electronic band Balún.  She was recently an Artist-in-Residence at WNYC’s The Greene Space working on El Living Room, a 4-part offbeat variety show and playful multimedia exploration of sound and story, of personal history and belonging. She was the recipient of the 2022 Hermitage Greenfield Prize. Upcoming premieres include works for the Seattle Symphony, LA Philharmonic, Louisville Orchestra and NY Philharmonic Project 19 initiative and multiple performances at Big Ears Festival 2022. Negrón continues to perform and compose for film.

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