Hughes returns, will perform with Gokh Bi System
Maeve Hughes, an R&B/Soul singer, pianist and composer formerly of Nantucket, and Gokh Bi System (pronounced Go-Bee), emerging leaders of African Hip Hop from Senegal, will play the Muse on Friday, Sept. 28 at 9 p.m. as part of the Nantucket Art Council's Arts Festival. Hughes has played the festival the past two years, and has perfoemed with several island musicians on the streets, cafes and bars since her teens. She even organized the Nantucket Jazz and Blues Festival in 2004. Now a resident of Northampton, Mass., she recently released her first studio length album, "Begin from Within."

Following close on the heels of her set, will be her husband, Backa's band, Gokh Bi System, African hip hop Ambassadors. GBS dub their style Ancient Meets Urban and guarantee joy for all to see with their upbeat vibes and conscious lyrics. With ancient traditional rhythms, instruments and vocals accompanied by urban beats and rhyming by two MCs, they provide a hip edge rooted in a traditional mystique.

Maeve and Backa will also be playing at their wedding ceremony the following day which takes place at 5 p.m. at Cisco Beach. These two musicians wouldn't have their wedding celebration any other way!

Maeve's style has been hailed by critics as "soulful" and "sultry". The Brattleboro Reformer states "Maeve's sound involves a fusion of jazz and rhythm and blues with a flourish of hip hop." Combining Jazz and Hip Hop influences, Maeve's style has universal appeal and could be considered pop in the genre of R&B or Neo Soul. Her first full-length album, "Begin from Within," was released in May of 2007. Madalyn Sklar of GoGirls Music says of the CD, "Her latest release is a refreshing blend of styles that will whet your appetite for more."

After experiencing an intense transformation wrought by a tremendous recovery from a car accident and head injury, Maeve put her full effort into

making music.

"Music is what brought me back," she said. "It's what I'm here for and my encounters

with near death confirmed my need to play

at whatever cost. I don't think my voice

really developed until I came through the brunt of my recovery.

"When my voice came through it was like a

river ripping through a concrete dam. Everything I went through directly translated into my music - my thoughts became my lyrics, my poems became my songs, like an incantation to heal into wholeness."

Hughes spent countless hours by the ocean on Nantucket as part of her recovery. Her latest release, "Begin from Within" pays homage to both that recovery process and the ocean. Her single "Fly Away" features Mamadou from GBS and her video for it shouls be out later this fall.

Meanwhile Gokh Bi System's video "Mission of Music" has recently been featured on VH1 Soul.

Emerging from Senegal and considered leaders of the emerging African hip-hop movement and one of the most popular African groups in the U.S. today, GOKHBI SYSTEM has a style of music that fuses traditional African rhythms with contemporary Urban beats in a style which they've dubbed, "Ancient Meets Urban." The result is a sound that appeals to traditional music enthusiasts while at the same time reaches younger audiences seeking a more contemporary sound.

After reaching #1 on the charts, in 1999, the group was discovered by U.S. producers visiting Senegal who recruited them for the Senegal-America Project (SA Project), a non-profit organization. Since their arrival in America, Gokh-Bi System has opened for and shared the stage with: Kanye West, Damian Marley, Tribe Called Quest, Angelique Kidjo, Femi Kuti, Culture, Toots and The Maytals, Michael Franti (Spearhead), Erykah Badu, and with Grammy Award winning artist, Patti LaBelle.

For more information about both bands visit www.maevehughes.com, www.myspace.com/maevehughes

and www.myspace.com/gokhbi I