Hip-hop and folk rock artist Nahko and his “My Name Is Bear Tour” will be performing at the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall. An Oregon-native born a mix of Puerto Rican, Native American and Filipino bloodlines, Nahko considers himself a citizen in services to the planet. Disillusioned by the world around him and inspired by vagabond, Americana musicians and storytellers like Conor Oberst and Bob Dylan, Nahko left home as a teenager in search of adventure and self discovery.
His talents landed him a seasonal production position in Denali, Alaska and there, with the wilderness around him, he began to put all the musical, cultural and philosophical pieces of his personal creative vision together. Seeing music as international, multi-generational, and multi-cultural, and as a redemptive and healing force, he joined with his backing group, Medicine for the People. Together they began making what has been called “thump-hop,” a percussion-heavy, rainbow-envisioned mix of styles and approaches that is at times as much spoken word as anything else, a sort of 21st century medicine show for the mind and soul.
“My Name Is Bear” is Nahko’s solo offering, his origin story, an important piece of the puzzle that is Nahko with music he penned between the ages of 18 and 21. He describes the 16-track journey as “a prequel”. “It’s the first chapter”, he elaborates. “I leave home at the beginning. On the back end, I meet my birth mother at 21, everything changes, and the Medicine for the People catalog begins. It was about coming of age and shedding that skin. When you’re on your own, those are the first steps to freedom. You have to take care of yourself and survive in a world with the tools you have. For me, those tools were my guitar, my songwriting, and my thumb to hitchhike. There’s a tinge of real mystical revelation as I went from Alaska to Hawaii. I became open to other spiritual texts, and they transformed me. I was on the road, in love, and everything was amazing, but I kept asking myself, ‘What does this all mean?’”
Doors 7:00pm / Show 8:00pm
Visit the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall website for additional information and to purchase tickets. Tickets can also be purchased at their box office and at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre box office.