🗓️ WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14 | 7:30 PM
📍THE MONARCH
American Patchwork Quartet brings a Grammy-nominated collision of folk, jazz, and Hindustani classical to Ogden on a Wednesday night built for discovery. Picture “The Wayfaring Stranger” and “Oh Shenandoah” cracked open, rewired, and sung back to you through traditions from three continents. Then add Fabiola Méndez and the ten strings of Puerto Rico’s national instrument, and the evening starts to take shape.
Founded by Clay Ross, a two-time Grammy winner with the acclaimed Gullah group Ranky Tanky, the quartet reimagines American folk songs through traditions the canon has long overlooked. Ross’s fingerpicked guitar lays down roots while Falu Shah’s Hindustani vocals spiral above, Clarence Penn’s jazz drums find the pocket, and Yasushi Nakamura’s bass holds it all together. Their self-titled debut earned a Best Folk Album nomination at the 67th Grammys, and Mix Magazine called it “a breathtaking confluence of heritage roots, jazz, and world music influences.” The group made their Grand Ole Opry debut in 2024, and their live shows carry the energy of musicians who believe every song has more stories left to tell.
Fabiola Méndez carries the cuatro into rooms that never saw it coming. She was the first graduate in Berklee’s history to play it as her principal instrument, and she’s since taken it to the Met, the New Orleans Jazz Fest, and NPR’s Tiny Desk. Twice, actually. Once for her own solo set, and once backing a relatively new artist you may have recently caught at the Super Bowl: Bad Bunny. That Tiny Desk performance pulled 8.7 million views. Her album Flora Campesina threads Puerto Rican folk with jazz and Afro-Caribbean grooves, and her live shows carry the same warmth and surprise.
Two acts. A dozen traditions. One converted industrial space in Ogden’s Nine Rails Creative District, close enough to feel every note. American Patchwork Quartet and Fabiola Méndez play The Monarch in Ogden on Wednesday, October 14 at 7:30 PM.
