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Aireen Espiritu

Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Aireene Espiritu (of The Sampaguitas) will be performing Filipino folk songs and inspired originals, sharing music from her roots and exploring what it means to be in a “third culture” between worlds. Check out their interview on Positively Filipino and on the radio featured on NPR/WBUR's Here & Now. When not with The Sampaguitas, she performs her own original songs with her band, Aireene & The Itch, a mix of stompin', swayin' and timeless Americana reminiscent of front porch storytelling, of ghosts and the living, times of laughter and tears.

“Their eclectic musical background has brought new, unexpected arrangements to classic Filipino songs like ‘Dahil Sa Iyo’ and ‘Bahay Kubo’. Their rendition of the political anthem Bayan Ko, is heart-wrenching, with gorgeous harmonies and an elegant flute solo by guest artist John Calloway.” - Elaine Elinson, Positively FIlipino Magazine

“Folk singer-songwriter Aireene Espiritu works in the elemental substance of vernacular American music with an uncanny ease. Whether blues, hillbilly, soul, folk or R&B...demonstrates masterly command of each. Her original compositions mix deft lyrical construction and classic form just as impressively...An authentic, authoritative vocalist and with distinctly sensitive manner of phrasing...”  - Los Angeles Times 

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