New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ KeyMedia PR) Originally from the
Boston area, Berke has won an award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers; has toured around the nation and abroad; and has been interviewed on local and regional media outlets. Within the last two years, she completed two musical residencies in China, first as a lead singer with R&B band The Soulcasters at the Kerry Center in Beijing in 2012 and then as a nightly performer at the Intercontinental Hotel in Hong Kong in 2013.
Last summer, she opened for jazz organ legend Dr. Lonnie Smith at the
Soul'd Out Festival and collaborated with the Portland Youth Ballet in a performance choreographed to the songs on her recently released full-length original album, This Bright Before. The new record features lush arrangements styled in a unique and powerful mix of soul, jazz and alt pop.
Berke will perform with singer Moorea Masa, whose voice has the power to move mountains or move people to tears. Her songs can transport listeners from lush green forests to dimly lit juke joints. An Oregonian native, Masa has been performing professionally since the age of 15. She attended the Liverpool
Institute for the Performing Arts and studied with Flamenco musicians while living in the cave dwellings of Granada, Spain. In her former project, The Ruby Pines, she performed at venues like The Blue Note in New York City and The Wonder Ballroom in Portland. She currently sings with Ural
Thomas and The Pain (Willamette Week's Best New Artist in 2014), a throwback soul band fronted by a former collaborator of
James Brown and Otis Redding. Masa is completing work on her debut solo EP.
Berke, Masa and Hayden are performing at the third concert in the "Peace, Love and Good Vibrations" concert series. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12.50 at the door. They can be purchased at the church or online from brownpapertickets/event/761365.
A freewill offering will be taken to benefit p:ear, an organization that helps homeless and transitional youth through education, art and recreation. Stay up to date on future concerts by following Mission of the Atonement on Facebook. Concert venue Mission of the Atonement is a progressive, ecumenical and engaged community of ELCA Lutherans and Roman Catholics, located in Beaverton, Oregon.
