An Energetic, Salsa Filled Night with Las Guaracheras

By Payne Austin

If you love salsa music, high-energy performances and dancing the night away, clear your schedule for the Las Guaracheras concert on the Woodstock Arts Event Green Saturday, April 12. 

This all-female salsa sextet from Cali, Colombia has been lighting up stages across the world since 2017 and performing at some of the biggest music festivals.

Luckily for Woodstock residents and our surrounding community, Las Guaracheras are bringing their catchy rhythms and powerful message to Woodstock Arts.

Las Guaracheras take inspiration from some of the great legends of salsa, like Joe Cuba, New Swing Sextet, Grupo Latin Vibe and Cadáver Exquisito, adding their own modern, fiery and completely unique twist to the genre.

Since they became a group, Las Guaracheras have taken the salsa world by storm. They blend vibraphone, percussion, bass and piano into rich harmonies to create a sound that is impossible to resist. Their performances are full of joy, energy and the kind of improvisation that makes every show feel like a one-of-a-kind experience. 

“Guaracha” is a style of music that was once played in working-class dance halls and theaters in the late 19th and early 20th century. Now, Las Guaracheras are keeping that tradition alive, bringing it into the modern era with a fresh and powerful sound.

More than just a band, Las Guaracheras are a movement dedicated to uplifting female voices in Afro-Latin music and creating space for women in the salsa world. Whether you’re a lifelong salsa fan or just love a good live performance, Las Guaracheras will have you on your feet all night long.

To get tickets to see Las Guaracheras, click here.

The Pitch Perfection of Carolina Sound

By Payne Austin

If you love the electrifying harmonies of Pentatonix, Voctave, Levitical Rise or even have found yourself singing along to the Pitch Perfect movies, this is the concert for you! Carolina Sound, a professional a cappella group from North Carolina, is bringing their powerhouse vocals to the Woodstock Arts Event Green on March 22nd as part of the 2025 Lantern Series—and you don’t want to miss it!

Hailing from the University of Mount Olive, Carolina Sound is an elite ensemble of 12 graduate students, hand-selected for their exceptional musical abilities. Their performances aren’t just about hitting the right notes—they’re about creating an experience that moves audiences.

“The idea behind Carolina Sound is for us to be able to go into any setting and perform, sing and promote the University,” says Lester Rector, who, alongside his wife Holly Rector, leads the group. The couple brings a wealth of experience, having previously performed at Walt Disney World’s Voices of Liberty, known for its breathtaking vocal artistry.

Carolina Sound’s genre-spanning setlist means there’s something for everyone– whether you love pop, gospel, jazz or classic hits. Their seamless blend of voices and intricate harmonies create a live music experience unlike any other, proving that instruments aren’t necessary when talent is this strong.

“We want to be impactful in our music,” says Rector. 

Whether performing in intimate venues or grand stages, Carolina Sound captivates audiences with raw vocal power and emotional depth.

Don’t miss the chance to witness Carolina Sound’s vocal mastery live on the Event Green at Woodstock Arts. Come celebrate with music, community and the pure magic of the human voice.

To get tickets, click here.

Mended: The Art of Healing and Reparation

By Payne Austin

Mended is a collection of multimedia works that explore emotional suffering, corporeal pain and issues surrounding mortality and loss, curator Cynthia Nourse Thompson said.

Each piece tells a story of transformation that captures the way these artists have processed pain. Their work is a physical depiction of how they’ve pieced themselves back together. Whether through hand-stitching, embroidery, ceramic or canvas, the exhibit presents a wide range of materials and methods that mirror the messy, nonlinear nature of the healing journey.

The deeply personal elements the Mended artists infused into their work provoke thought and encourage empathy. The chosen materials, lace passed down from grandmothers, worn fabric and intricate textiles, symbolize the connections individuals carry through time and generations. No two healing stories are the same and the artwork reflects this raw, intimate and yet, universally understood process. 

Among the featured artists, Patricia Miranda stands out for her piece, “Lamentations for a Reasoned History,” made from lace donations received through her project, The Lace Archive.

The Lace Archive began with Miranda’s own connection to the lace passed down from her grandmothers. As she dyed these pieces and shared the process on social media, strangers started sending her unsolicited textile donations including lace, linens, skirts, aprons, handkerchiefs and tablecloths—each with their own family history attached.

Through this collection, Miranda reclaims the labor and love behind these textiles, turning what were once considered “grandma’s doilies” into large-scale works that challenge traditional notions of art and craftsmanship.

“My response to the machismo of big installations is through a soft object,” Miranda explains. “In their exaggerated scale and insistent tenderness, the works are feminist manifestos of softness.”

Her work embodies the idea that mending is not just about repair, but about honoring and reimagining the past. Each thread, each knot and each piece of fabric carries a history of care, labor and love.

Mended is more than an art exhibit; it is an invitation to reflect on our own experiences with loss, resilience and renewal. Through the universal themes of grief, trauma and repair, the exhibition encourages viewers to engage deeply with the intricate ways we piece ourselves back together.

“I am honored to serve as the curator of Mended,” says Thompson. “(This exhibit is)…relevant to our communities in its concerns of collective trauma, healing, and grief, (which have been experienced) universally over the past several years.”

Mended reminds us that art, like healing, is both delicate and powerful. Just as a ripped seam can be stitched back together, our stories, no matter how fragmented, can find new life through art, memory and care.

If you’re looking for an exhibit that is both visually stunning and emotionally profound, Mended is not to be missed.

Featured Image “Lamentations of a Reasoned History” by Patricia Miranda