Mokai

After spending his youth as an environmental activist, Mokai came down from his tree and began writing unforgettable folk songs that find their way into your heart. Based in San Francisco, Mokai creates and performs songs that inspire and move people to care. The East Bay Express called them “…jazzy, jammy, bluesy structures around earthly laments, tales of ordinary folks, and the human struggle in general.” His original guitar style echoes his life-long love affair with the playing of pre-war era bluesmen and early 60s-era Greenwich Village folk. His moods are reminiscent of classic songwriters like <a href="spotify:artist:0nJUwPwC9Ti4vvuJ0q3MfT" data-name="John Prine">John Prine</a> and <a href="spotify:track:7jRlcnZR4cRNkfwngwuE33" data-name="Towns Van Zandt">Towns Van Zandt</a> .
On his 2019 album, “The Jaybird Said,” Mokai offers the listener a vision and feeling to be appreciated over and over. His third full-length release features songs that demonstrate his considerable songwriting chops and his unique fingerpicking style. James Nash (<a href="spotify:artist:7e8mZUcvLPEmSGXXbKsFcZ" data-name="The Waybacks">The Waybacks</a>), who Guitar Player called one of &#34;50 Transcendent Acoustic Guitarists,&#34; produced the album and adds lead work on acoustic and electric guitar, slide and mandolin. The first single, “Mama’s Got the Blues,” features Nash on electric guitar and Julie Wolf (<a href="spotify:artist:4wM29TDTr3HI0qFY3KoSFG" data-name="Indigo Girls">Indigo Girls</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0AiTwNtYX8m4uhfU7rJ8RD" data-name="Ani DiFranco">Ani DiFranco</a>) on piano and Hammond B3. Mokai&#39;s past studio recordings include performances by a roster of Bay Area talent, including <a href="spotify:artist:3i6RTrWLxO4pi1QMlsZM3P" data-name="Todd Sickafoose">Todd Sickafoose</a> (Ani Di Franco), Jon Evans (<a href="spotify:artist:1KsASRNugxU85T0u6zSg32" data-name="Tori Amos">Tori Amos</a>), <a href="spotify:artist:6rGmRtZrjRNDAhk6n9yGqR" data-name="Matt Eakle">Matt Eakle</a> (<a href="spotify:artist:5udgy2xk333j33hKnwDz8O" data-name="David Grisman">David Grisman</a>) and Philip Brezina (<a href="spotify:artist:7oKVYDiVZxglvgEW2zHcAD" data-name="The Brothers Comatose">The Brothers Comatose</a>).