CONCERT: Fantastic Negrito (US)

Born Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz, by now much has been made of Negrito’s own unique story—his early years growing up in an orthodox Muslim household, the doomed major label deal that turned him off of the music industry altogether, the near-fatal car crash that permanently damaged his guitar playing hand—as well as the remarkable redemption arc that began in 2015, when he won the first ever NPR Tiny Desk Contest. In the years that followed, Negrito would go on to take home three consecutive GRAMMY Awards for Best Contemporary Blues Album, tour with everyone from Sturgill Simpson to Chris Cornell to Bruce Springsteen, collaborate in the studio with the likes of Sting and E-40, launch his own label, Storefront Records, perform at Lollapalooza, Glastonbury, Newport Folk, Bryon Bay Blues, WOMAD, and nearly every other major festival on the map, and found Revolution Plantation, an urban farm aimed at youth education and empowerment.