Marianne Leone is a film and television actress, a screenwriter and an essayist. She’s the author of Jesse: A Mother’s Story and Ma Speaks Up & A First-Generation Daughter Talks Back. Her essays have appeared in the Boston Globe, Lithub, Solstice, Coastal Living, Bark, Post Road, and others. As an actor, Marianne has had a recurring role on HBO's The Sopranos as Joanne Moltisanti (Christopher’s mother), and has acted in films by John Sayles, Larry David, Martin Scorsese, Nancy Savoca and David O. Russell.

*photo by Kerry Brett

Alisa Amador believes that “music can create this intangible space where everyone belongs...where we’re just people with all of our complicated, beautiful, painful lives.” She is this year’s winner of NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest with her first entry in Spanish with her song “Milonga Accidental” an ode to in-between-ness, to feeling split between cultures and languages. NPR Tiny Desk Concert creator and judge, Bob Boilen, calls Alisa a singer-songwriter “with a powerful voice whose tender performance commands attention and fosters connection.” Her upcoming EP, Narratives, is a deep look at a person stumbling through life in two languages and in many states of mind about it all.*photo by Sasha Pedro

Chris Cooper is an Oscar-winning actor who has brought his laconic, folksy presence to dozens of movies, including American Beauty, October Sky, The Bourne Identity, Seabiscuit, Capote, and Little Women, as well as acting in the John Sayles movies, Lone Star and Matewan. In 2003, Chris won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of John Laroche in the movie, Adaptation. During the pandemic, he directed and starred in With/In (opposite his wife Marianne Leone who also wrote the piece) as part of a compilation of actors and writers giving their unique take on sequestration. Chris most recently wrapped Boston Strangler opposite Kiera Knightly for Disney/Hulu.

*photo by Kerry Brett

The Loyal Seas pairs Tanya Donelly, founding member of Throwing Muses, Breeders, and Belly, with New England cult-favorite Brian Sullivan, who has worked under the moniker Dylan in the Movies since the mid ’00s. Donelly and Sullivan first met in the mid ’90s at famed Boston recording studio Fort Apache Studios and became instant friends. They’ve collaborated many times over the past few decades, appearing on multiple American Laundromat tribute compilations, as well as a couple of co-writes for Donelly’s solo Swan Song Series. The Loyal Seas’ dynamic full-length debut Strange Mornings In the Garden was released on May 20, 2022, on American Laundromat Records.*photo by Ann Sullivan