Conspiracy of Beards returns to The Mint LA Sunday, April 17th with very special guest, Sylvie Simmons, plus Cadence and Juana Fernández.

Tickets: http://bit.do/ConspiracyTickets

Doors open at 6:45 PM
7:15 PM – Juana Fernández
8:00 PM – Cadence
9:30 PM – Sylvie Simmons
10:00 PM – Conspiracy of Beards

Conspiracy of Beards –
San Francisco’s Conspiracy of Beards is a 30 member male choir that performs dynamic, original, a cappella arrangements of the poetic songs of Leonard Cohen. Well dressed in suits, ties, and the occasional fedora, the choir brings an energized live choral music experience out of churches and tabernacles and into the taverns, art houses, and theaters of the Bay Area and beyond. Transforming Cohen’s lyrics and simple melodies into complex 4- and 5-part harmonies, the choir captures all of the emotion and humor of Leonard Cohen’s original music and inspires audiences to ponder common human experiences like romance, heartbreak, politics, sex, longing, and spirituality.

Sylvie Simmons –
A respected veteran rock journalist, Sylvie Simmons had been writing about music for nearly four decades when she finally stepped forward as a performer. Simmons was born and raised in London, and was fascinated with music from early childhood. She learned to play a secondhand guitar, but an attempt to perform at a school function led to a painful case of stage fright, and Simmons channeled her interests into writing about music, while she only played and sang at home. In her teens, Simmons began writing for music magazines in the U.K., but grew frustrated with her assignments, as she was often hired to write about lightweight, teen-oriented pop acts rather than the more aggressive and challenging bands she preferred. In 1977, Simmons left London and relocated to Los Angeles, California. The move proved to be a boon to her career, and she soon landed a regular gig with the British weekly Sounds, becoming their American correspondent and penning a regular column. In addition to covering many of the major rock and pop acts of the day, Simmons was on hand for the birth of the L.A. glam metal explosion, and was among the first to write major stories on Mötley Crüe and Guns ‘N Roses. Simmons was also recruited as a regular contributor to the U.K. metal magazine Kerrang; so as not to compete with herself, she assumed an alter ego for the magazine, using the name Laura Canyon. Simmons was also a frequent contributor to maverick American rock magazine Creem, and wrote a syndicated column for the Knight-Ridder news service. In time, Simmons would be published in nearly every major music magazine, including Rolling Stone, Mojo, Harp, and Blender. Simmons published her first book in 1995, a biography of Mötley Crüe titled Mötley Crüe: Lewd, Crude, and Rude; she would later publish a collection of short stories, Too Weird for Ziggy, as well as biographies of Neil Young and Serge Gainsbourg, and win critical acclaim for 2012’s I’m Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen. While touring to promote I’m Your Man, Simmons brought along a ukulele, and would perform a few of Cohen’s songs as she discussed her book and her subject’s songwriting. The tour eased Simmons’ shyness about singing for an audience, and she began sharing songs she’d written with Howe Gelb, best known as the leader of the idiosyncratic Americana group Giant Sand. Gelb encouraged Simmons to continue writing, and in 2013 she joined him at Wavelab Studios in Tucson, Arizona for a series of recording sessions. The result was Simmons’ first album, Sylvie, which was released by Light in the Attic Records in November 2014.

Juana Fernández
Singer and songwriter based in Madrid (Spain) Juana Fernández released her first EP ‘Golden Hearts’ as a solo artist on October 2015, after
several years belonging to former bands and being an active part of her hometown underground music scene.

Her music combines different genres as she grew up to the sound of American folk, rock & blues classics, constantly spinning in the record player at her home by her English teacher mom. For this reason Juana instinctively writes and sings in English.

Juana has a big and expressive voice full of grit and emotion, and her lyric content is often autobiographical, reflecting upon personal experiences. Due to the strength of her songs and live performances, Juana has received great reviews and her music has been played on some of the main National Radio stations even before the release of her first full album which will be later this year.

After an independent regional tour in late 2015 presenting ‘Golden Hearts’, Juana Fernández has supported various national well-known artists such as Arizona Baby and The Bright as well as American bands Cracker and Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers on their Spanish concert dates (January 2016).

Cadence
Cadence duo members Rebecca (Becky) Bessanson and Daniel (DanO) Ostdiek are an original ‘rock goes acoustic’ guitar and vocal duo. Combining DanO’s expressive 6 string dynamics and percussive playing style with Becky’s powerfully sweet second soprano, they deliver heartfelt songs with the hope of healing humanity through song and a deep emotional connection. The two came together from vastly different backgrounds. DanO is originally from Nebraska, where he was well known for his electric guitar work in the pre internet band 1988 to 1994 Such Sweet Thunder, releasing six full-length albums and sharing stages with national bands Blind Melon, 311 and the Dead Milkmen along with being a fan favorite of million selling Saddle Creek Records artist Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes.

Becky’s powerful soprano was discovered by her church pastor’s wife at the age of eight, and since then, she has performed in professional church groups and several non-church related local and regional bands. Becky was even a one year musical meditation resident at a monastery in Hampton Roads, Virginia. This duo came together in the extreme north Phoenix suburb in the historic art, mining and old-west town of Cave Creek, AZ, Becky is excited to be performing original material for the first time, and together with DanO, the two have compiled an extensive songbook.. Their dynamic musical chemistry is known to draw an audience forward in their seat, Becky’s powerful and emotive voice a stunning foil to DanO’s superb guitar work.