Origin Stories (Oakland, CA) will perform an acoustic guitar set with K. Xie (NYC).

Origin Stories began as a driveway jam session between two neighbors and evolved into a collaboration in music and queer love. They blend folk, classical, jazz, and R&B sensibilities, crisscrossing genres to create intricate rhythms and melodies reminiscent of their humble beginnings.

Karen “K” Xie is an artist, educator, observer, rester, plant-smeller, musician, composer, and neo-Church-theydy, who discovered their artistic voice as an improviser after years of classical training and their calling as community organizer in spaces in their native Brooklyn.

They are dedicated to creating safer spaces and wider stages for queer performers like themselves. As a performer, they respond to the outer and inner worlds with sensitivity and tenderness, inviting audiences to laugh, sing, cry, and engage with the questions: what burdens and grieves do we share? What space do we offer ourselves to change?