No Depression Sessions at Folk Alliance International 2024: Ron Artis II

Hawaiian singer-songwriter Ron Artis II joined us in the AEA Ribbon Mics suite to share two new songs at this intimate acoustic No Depression Session during Folk Alliance International 2024 in Kansas City.

The session begins with an open and heartfelt story about the loss of a pregnancy that Artis and his partner suffered years ago, which inspired the first song, “Little Grey Skies.”

Artis then shares his thoughts on accepting life events that happen outside of our control. I can’t write anything that sums up his words more eloquently than the way he said them, so please stay tuned between the first and second song to hear his take on recognizing misfortune and responding thoughtfully. We transition from this topic into his second and final song of the session, “Fell Out,” which examines a long-term romantic relationship losing its initial shine.

Artis’ website states upfront: “Music is my language. Let’s talk.” We immediately found that statement to be true, whether he was literally singing or just talking about music. And he was equally as engaged in talking about recording technology as he was spirituality.

The moment he walked into our pop-up studio, we talked about cameras and the video equipment that I spend a lot of my time thinking about. I try not to bring up tech stuff with our musical guests, but if the artist brings it up, I am more than happy to dig in. We chatted about ribbon mics, learning about specific uses, and he offered his own insights gleaned from the course of his recording career so far.

This No Depression Session at Folk Alliance 2024 was made possible with support from AEA Ribbon Mics. Look for more No Depression Sessions at Folk Alliance in the coming weeks.