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It’s only 50 days until we will all be heading for the Farm and today’s Featured Bonnaroo Artis is Jon Muq. Born in Uganda and now living in Austin, Texas, music is part of a larger conversation Jon Muq is engaging in with the world. Drawing from African as well as Western musical trends and traditions, he creates songs as offerings to the world, designed to settle into everyday life and provoke reflection and resilience.
Hot on the heels of his “Hear My Voice” (listen above) release (produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach), Muq is making Bonnaroo part of his North America Tour this Spring and Summer, on which he’ll be able to share his universally uplifting craft.
Being from such a different part of the world, Muq is looking forward to “discovering more” about the U.S. “It’s always a pleasure to tour with amazing musicians. I’m excited,” he says.
Muq’s experiences as a child in Uganda and as a man in America give him a unique perspective on the world he’s addressing. “I grew up in a very different life, where so many people pass through hard times just because they don’t have much. Our biggest issue was food scarcity. Then I came to a different world, which gave me a picture of how to write a song that can find balance with everyone wherever they are, whether they have a lot or not much.”
As he completes his debut album with producer Auerbach and tours with Billy Joel, Norah Jones, Mavis Staples, Amythyst Kiah, Corinne Bailey Rae, and others, Muq is expanding the scope of his music to speak to more and more people.
After first coming across western music through finding a CD of supergroup U.S.A. For Africa’s charity single “We Are The World” (the 1985 benefit single featuring Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, and Cyndi Lauper, among dozens of others) and hearing the song’s message and intention, Muq was led to pursue music even more fervently. I was just following instinct. I always thought, if I can communicate with people through music, it will make me feel like I am not alone. I can speak to people very intimately using music… Everything happened because I was following sound. I was chasing it. I was just singing.”
Look for Muq at the Who stage in OuterRoo on the 12th!
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