Living On Music with Steve Houk Steve Houk

ANNIE RAY currently serves as both the Orchestra Director and Performing Arts Department Chair at Annandale High School (AHS) in the Fairfax County Public School (FCPS) system; "Music itself is not the universal language," she says, "but the ACT OF MAKING MUSIC is.” Annie is an advocate for providing universal access to quality music education and is known for founding and developing creative opportunities to make music accessible to students of all demographics. Her additional creation of the FCPS Parent Orchestra teaches just under 200 caregivers annually to learn to play their student’s instrument and provides mentorship to upcoming music teachers. She created the Crescendo Orchestra program to make Orchestra curriculum accessible to students with significant developmental or intellectual disabilities, in January 2022 this program was featured and acclaimed on the cover of and with an article in the Metro section of The Washington Post. In 2023, she was named the FCPS Outstanding Secondary Teacher of the Year for her work on equity in education, and in 2024, Annie was named the 2024 Grammy Music Educator Award recipient. About her winning the Grammy: “Most of all I want to thank my students to whom this award actually belongs, the love of making music has been our unity and community. Thank you all for allowing me to guide you in this, I am humbled to accept this award for you all.” Annie currently resides in Arlington, Virginia with her husband IRVING and their girls ELOISE and MILLIE.

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John DeNicola is an American songwriter and producer best known for co-writing the song "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" for which he won both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as receiving a Grammy nomination in 1988. In 1989 he was the co-winner of ASCAP Awards' "Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures" for "Time of My Life" as well as for "Hungry Eyes", another song from the film. In addition to Dirty Dancing hits for Bill Medley, Jennifer Warnes and Eric Carmen, he has also written songs with and for Eddie Money, John Waite, Kristine W, Steve Holy, Jeannie Kendall, Sugar Jones, Annie Haslam, Bernie Worrell, The Sighs and Martin Briley, and has recently released his own two solo albums. 

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This wonderful longtime Connecticut-born/Virginia-based singer/songwriter/guitarist and storyteller's latest solo project "Treasures in My Chest" is a profound album and book about his singular experiences deeply exploring his family history. Hailing from the historic village of Lincoln, Virginia, Andrew has had a long musical life with numerous albums, several band collaborations and more, he also teaches guitar and songwriting, offers a variety of programs and workshops for students and adult learners, and is a consultant for people learning to use DNA for genealogy and family history research. His music is in several documentaries and podcasts, and he has written songs with both kindergarteners as well as one on one with veterans to help healing their PTSD. His ambitious plans for 2024, in addition to writing songs for the next album, are as diverse as his interests: he is featured in and helped produce two music mini-documentaries for release this year, he is also helping his cousin, singer and actress Suzanne Lukather, developing her one-woman stage show Little Blue Suitcase, and he is launching a new service, interviewing revered family elders on video telling their stories in their own words to future generations. And while development was stalled by the pandemic, he is now finishing work on his inspirational keynote program, “The Gifts in Our Genes.”

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The world's most revered and adored ukelele player/songwriter JAKE SHIMABUKURO joins Living On Music for the third time, here talking about his most recent album 'Grateful' and how he collaborated on the record with a real treasure trove of the best Hawaiian musicians anywhere, some that influenced and mentored him and halped start his career, some he collaborated and bonded with, and some he just wanted to perform alongside with. Jake also talks about his upcoming Japanese tour, which for his first time ever will be with a foursome, and he also touches on how he became influenced to play ukelele.

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Born in Bogota, Colombia, Andrés Cepeda is a platinum-selling producer, singer and songwriter with a unique career that has allowed him to tour the world, be on the cover of multiple magazines, newspapers and playlists on major music platforms, he has been a coach on talent shows, including 12 seasons of La Voz (The Voice) in his hometown of Colombia, also achieving top of radio charts with countless singles. With over 12 million followers on social media platforms, Andrés has received fifteen nominations and has won four Latin Grammy Awards, plus multiple diamond, platinum and gold records, and has shared unparalleled experiences with his fans. His style has become iconic because his personal signature has allowed him to blend different genres always rescuing romantic lyrics. All this has made Andrés Cepeda become one of the most respected and beloved artists in Latin America.

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Back in the late 80's when the legendary club Palomino in LA was a seminal spot for the post-cowpunk California country scene, The Mustangs were a young, all-girl band who were "long on chops and strong on harmonies." After a successful few years of touring and performing, members of the group parted ways in the mid-90s to pursue other musical interests, but in 2017, The Mustangs began their renewal remembering how strong their sound was. The three original members of the group -- Suzanna Spring, Holly Montgomery and Sherry Rayn Barnett -- reconnected with a new name, Mustangs Of The West, added two dynamic new players to complete the line-up: Canadian drummer Suzanne Morissette and violinist/vocalist Aubrey Richmond, and after hearing the band rehearse at Clear Lake Audio, Los Angeles label Blue Élan Records offered the band a deal on the spot, resulting in their 2020 album release called "TIME," produced by Mark Howard (Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris, U2) and received acclaim from the San Francisco Chronicle, Americana Highways, Goldmine Magazine, No Depression, Pulse, Guitar Girl Magazine, renowned Nashville journalist Holly Gleason, and many other music writers. As the music business slowly recovered from COVID shutdowns, Mustangs Of The West joined a new label, and the result was “SEA OF HEARTBREAK" and "DOWN AT THE PALOMINO," released in July 2023.

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