Soulful Songs: Sariyah Idan, Buggy Jive

A night of soulful songs with two deep feeling and complex thinking singer-songwriters, with a dash of humor.

Tickets $10-25, no one turned away for lack of funds.

SARIYAH IDAN is an Ulster County-raised, New Orleans-based, internationally touring singer-songwriter, captivating performer, multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, and community organizer. Known among New Orleans locals and tourists as "the most hauntingly beautiful voice of the French Quarter streets." Jazz and folk trained, hip-hop educated, and influenced by Latinx/Caribbean sounds and her Jewish roots, she possesses an "ability to seamlessly combine a wide variety of disparate styles and sonics into a memorable sound all her own," (Tinnitist). She views honoring traditions of both influences and ancestors as a form of cultural activism. Her lyricism is hailed as "powerful, soulful, spirited songs filled with stories of struggle, love and social justice" (Fusicology).

Sariyah’s music has featured on NPR, WWOZ, Pacifica, college and online radio. Since 2023 she has produced and hosts the monthly multi-genre round-robin "Songs For The People" benefitting local community organizations. "Breaking Shadows" (2019), her debut solo LP addressing trauma and patriarchy, was recorded in Los Angeles, Berlin, and Lisbon. "Glitter & Blood" (2023), about transitions and healing, was recorded in New Orleans as a continued collaboration with Berlin engineer Andy Schlegel. Her album "Live In Berlin" just released in winter 2026 in two volumes with solo live recordings of both originals, and for the first time covers of songs she believes are important for these times. With each performance she aims to be both a healing balm and an activating flame.

BUGGY JIVE is a somewhat reclusive soul rock singer-songwriter quietly uploading music from a basement in Upstate New York. Equal parts Zeppelin and D'Angelo and Prince and Joni in sound and sensibility, his lyrics often mine the literature of the past to make sense of the present — from Ellison to Morrison to Eliot to Didion — delicately balancing the heaviness with humor.

His newest album "Icarus Ascending" dropped Fall 2025 with 13 new acoustic soul rock songs contemplating songwriting and storytelling, love and literature, and the festering fears of a divided nation.