Mojave Gold

LUKE SCHNEIDER

A native of Dayton, Ohio, Luke Schneider is a pedal steel guitarist based in Tennessee. Over the past three decades he has established himself as an in-demand session and touring musician across the Outlaw Country, Indie/DIY, and experimental scenes in Nashville. Most recently, He has found his place in the landscape of New Age and pastoral Americana music. His well-received debut solo album, ‘Altar of Harmony’ (Third Man Records), is a collection of cinematic ambient compositions created entirely by pedal steel. In the years since, Luke has continued his experimental elevation of the pedal steel guitar and delved deeper into meditative and calming sounds. In 2025, He will be touring in support of two releases, a solo EP titled ‘For Dancing in Quiet Light’ via Leaving Records, and a duo record with modular synthesist Jamie Lidell.

SISTER JOHN ANGELA

When George Gershwin created "Porgy and Bess", the blues attained operatic dimensions. The form acquires a chamber element. Award winning instrumental duo Sister John Angela honors this connection bridging timeless folk idioms into a present moment psychedelia. Resonator guitar and double bass with effects pedals, the duo delves into the whining slide techniques of the great Mississippi delta bluesmen from Son House to Muddy Waters. Combine this with a trance element, impressionistic freedom, cinematic imagery from a Tarantino or Jarmusch film and inspiration from the balkans, you will find that each show promises a new sonic discovery, even for the artists themselves. This year, the duo released their third studio album “Burns Canyon”, available now on vinyl or CD formats.

Born in the Arizona desert, a veteran of multiple explorations into

the Sahara desert via Morocco and Western Sahara, and now a resident

of the Mojave, Derek Monypeny sees his musical mission as adding to

and expanding on what he calls the "desert continuum;" the psychedelic

sirocco swirl of desert-based stringed instruments played with utter

abandon by musicians the world over.

Derek’s “desert continuum” concept takes great inspiration from desert

guitarists whose playing so perfectly reflects their surroundings in

its gnarled beauty and all-pervasive individualism: Richard Bishop,

Zoot Horn Rollo, Curt Kirkwood, Jesus Acedo, Bob Log III, and Howe

Gelb to name a few. In his travels in North Africa, Derek discovered

that same spirit in Saharan guitar playing, in artists such as Seddoum

ould Eide, Hammadi ould Nana, and Luleide ould Dendenni.

Derek uses a variety of instruments to achieve these ends. In addition

to guitar, he has recorded an album of solo oud recordings (Don't

Bring Me Down, Bruce) and is currently performing and recording using the 15-string electric shahi baaja (Indian electric banjo).

Derek is a former member of the bands Oaxacan (Oakland, CA), ALTO!

(Portland, OR), and Sir Richard Bishop's Freak Of Araby Ensemble. In

addition to his solo work, he has an ongoing duo project with Bryan

Hillebrandt, OAE (Oakland Afternoon Ensemble). He has collaborated and toured with artists such as Bill Orcutt, Jozef van Wissem, Mike Watt, Eva Aguila, Ak'chamel, and many others.