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Janet Robin | Guitar Player's “Top Rock Acoustic Guitarists” and Songwriter

Janet got her start as the lead guitarist for the all-female rock band, Precious Metal, and was soon signed to Polygram Records. Later moving to Chameleon/Capitol Records, Precious Metal released several albums, wrote with Heart, Poison and Cheap Trick, toured extensively and gained accolades from both fans and critics alike. After Precious Metal, Janet was hand picked by Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, band in support of his solo albums. In 2017 and 2022, she was named in Guitar Player’s “Top Rock Acoustic Guitarists”, amongst many notable players including her old boss, Lindsey Buckingham. Along with her musical career, Janet is also a respected guitar coach. In January of 2015, Janet was hired to coach actress Jennifer Jason Leigh on guitar for 2 months for a guitar scene in the Quentin Tarantino film, "The Hateful Eight." The actress was later nominated for an Academy Award. Along with Janet's solo career, she is part of "The String Revolution,” which utilizes unique arrangements for original instrumental guitar songs. Their release “Red Drops” reached the Top 10 Spotify Instrumental Charts for Los Angeles and their Spotify channel is over 4 million streams.

Aimee Bobruk | Grammy Nominated and Eurovision Songwriter

Aimee Bobruk, is a chameleon of sorts—she can change colors. Her shapeshifting spirit is evident as an independent songwriter and filmmaker. Her original music straddles the genres of American folk and ambient folk pop. Her self-titled record, /ba.’brook/, was selected by Texas Music magazine as one of top six indie albums released in the state in 2013. Performing Songwriter called the album “nothing short of a work of art.” In addition to performing her own songs and touring across Texas and the southern states, Bobruk collaborates with songwriters and producers worldwide in the music publishing industry. To date, her 50+ co-writes have earned her seven European title tracks, two of which were nominated for Grammy Awards in Germany and Norway. In 2015, her pop co-write, “Black Swan,” competed in Melodifestivalen to represent Sweden at the International Eurovision Song Contest. Malybanchia, is her much awaited forthcoming LP (to be released in August of 2023), and she mentors a select studio of aspiring songwriters.

Len Brown | Senior Manager of Hip Hop/R&B/Reggae at the Recording Academy

Jamaican roots and a New York City upbringing enabled Len’s love for music at an early age. Despite any formal training, this passion remained constant through his culmination of experiences in music journalism (Entertainment Tonight, Mixologi, etc.) and other outlets. Now at the Recording Academy/GRAMMYs, Len aims to maintain that same focus when it comes to educating communities on the inner workings of the institution as well as being an agent of change for the music industry at large.

Maria Kowalski | Renown Fiddler, Performer, and Composer

Maria is a string instrumentalist living in Brooklyn, NY. A seasoned performer, Maria has shared the stage with Dolly Parton, Gillian Welch, Wyclef Jean, Florida Georgia Line, Mark O’Connor, Ben Rector and more. She has taught at top music institutions including Columbia University and Berklee College of Music. As an active live and session musician, she has had the privilege of collaborating with top artists and traveling the world playing and teaching music and composition.

Elisa Smith | International Country Artist and Songwriter

When Garth Brooks invites you on stage to play a song, you play a song! Elisa met Garth when she attended a talk he and Trisha Yearwood were giving at Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After asking her name, and what kind of music she plays, he invited her on stage to play a song. After the performance, Garth gave her his guitar (the one she plays with now) and told her to sing her heart out. And that's what she's been doing ever since. Her most recent album album "Baptized By Fire," was produced by Caleb Gilbreath (Brett Eldredge, Mandi Sagal) and Eddie Bayers (Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson). Nominated for two BMAs for Country Artist of the Year, a New England Music Award for Country Artist of the Year, and referred to as "Boston's Honky Tonk Queen" and "one of the best original country acts in New England," she has been featured on The Bull, Country 102.5, and indie radio stations across the country and around the world. She's headlined and performed at festivals throughout New England, performed on Boston television, and she has been featured in WBUR's the ARTery, HarvardEd Magazine, and domestic and international music blogs.

Erin Bonnie | Professor of Songwriting at Berklee College of Music

Erin Bonnie is an Americana Folk-Rock Mama and fiddle player who takes inspiration from artists like Gillian Welch, Bonnie Raitt, and Dolly Parton. Career highlights include sync placement on the hit television series The Young and the Restless, an Honorable Mention in the American Songwriter Magazine Lyric Competition, and a Best-In-State nomination at the New England Music Awards. In addition to being an independent artist with extensive cowriting and recording experience, she is an Assistant Professor in the Songwriting Department at the esteemed Berklee College of Music teaching lyric writing, song craft, and professional development. A true singer-songwriter at heart, she writes narratives lush in language and melody, and lives for those intimate moments between audience and artist that happen because of a song and a stage.