Vocolot digs deeply into the art of song and brings up a joyous fusion of folk, jazz, classical and cantorial vocal traditions. Layering lush harmonies and global rhythms, the a cappella sextet creates original music and poetry along with fresh interpretations of ancient and contemporary texts.

Vocolot performs in English and Hebrew, with a sprinkling of Yiddish, Ladino, and Arabic, filling each song with universal heart, Jewish soul, and social conscience.

Group founder Linda Hirshchorn, Ellen Robinson, Jennifer Karno, Judith Kate Friedman, Alison Lewis, and Elizabeth Stuart share musical backgrounds in jazz, rock, liturgy, cabaret, Yiddish songs, doo-wop, and choral performance. In concert as on their fourth album, last year's Heartbeat, Vocolot produces a distinctive, innovative sound that is beautiful and texturally rich.

Street Sounds, led by Louise Robinson (co-founder of the internationally acclaimed, Sweet Honey in the Rock), includes Michelle Jacques, Steven Thomas, Rhonda Crane, and Bryan Dyer. The a cappella quintet presents traditional, contemporary, and original music concerning the African American heritage with a vibrant and full sound drawing on a variety of genres from doo-wop and gospel to blues and jazz.

From the opening train whistle and infectious rhythm of "Tschot Sho Losa/Sada Go Demo" to the final remembrance of ancestors in "Breaths," we visit "Home Africa," remember Sister Rosa Parks, and revel in the genius of Thelonius Monk and Fats Waller, all brought lushly to life by two male and three female voices. Entertaining and inspiring, a Street Sounds' concert is a feast for the mind and the soul that transcends ethnic boundaries.

Street Sounds' most recent album is Night Flight.