Vienna Carroll

Vienna Carroll learned music from the Black Ladies of her youth including her fearsome great grandmother who enjoyed playing country guitar every Saturday night but only strictly Pentecostal chords on Sundays. Vienna formalized her cultural studies with a BA in African American Studies at Yale University. It’s the fire in her belly that lights up the fire in your soul. Vienna Carroll's folksy blues and soulful funk take you back to church, back to the roots. The passion in her voice and her masterful storytelling fill a room, draw you in and hold you close. Vienna's larger-than-life performances channel influences from Ray Charles, Dinah Washington and her great-grandmother Susie Stokes' Wheatfield Church of the Living God. Vienna Carroll’s latest CD "Harlem Field Recordings" grew out of her project “Folk First: Black Roots Music” celebrating early Black music and its influence on the music of today. Vienna draws unexpected folkloric connections with contemporary artists, and NYC subway candy men, noting specific historical moments in African American history. It features Vienna on vocals, Stanley Banks (George Benson) on bass, Newman Taylor Baker (Billie Bang) on washboard, Keith Johnston (Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam) on guitar, and a host of guests including Nioka Workman (Anthony Braxton, David Murray) on cello, Melanie Dyer (Reggie Workman) on viola and Henrique Prince (Ebony Hillbillies, Sun Ra Arkestra) on violin.