(PITTSFIELD, Mass.) – Experimental world-rock ensemble Hudost kicks off a new songwriters showcase at Mission Bar + Tapas on Sunday, April 1, 2012.

The core of Hudost is singer-songwriters Moksha Sommer from Montreal and Jemal Wade Hines from New York, who write and harmonize organically. The duo often performs with other musicians as full-fledged ensemble featuring percussion, flutes, bass guitar and other instrumentation.

The duo’s work embraces a panoply of styles, based in mainstream folk-pop and accented with taste of traditional Sufi music, Eastern European influences, Turkish, Arabic, and Asian flavors. The group’s most recent album was produced by Daniel Lanois protege Malcolm Burn, and some of the tracks demonstrate the hard-charging influence of epic-rock bands such as the Lanois-produced U2.

The WordXWord Festival and Mission Bar + Tapas are teaming up to create an ongoing showcase for songwriters. Beginning April 1, 2012, the WordXWord Festival will host a twice-weekly songwriters showcase at Mission. The Songwriters Room is similar to the weekly Writers Room at yBar, in that it is an opportunity for songwriters to try out new material in front of a welcoming audience in an informal setting.

According to Jim Benson, WordXWord founder and director, “The Songwriters Room is another way that WordXWord and Mission team up to support the creation of new work by both aspiring and experienced artists, from near and far, and to extend the impact of the WordXWord Festival year round and enrich the cultural life of our community at the same time.”

The dynamics will vary from week-to-week depending on the songwriter, but the intent is to offer an ongoing forum for the presentation of new work and to foster conversations about the process of writing and presenting songs.

The Songwriters Room kicks off April 1 with HuDost, followed by Justin Allen on April 4, continuing Sunday and Wednesday nights through the spring. Performances are at 9 p.m. and open to the public without cover charge. A complete schedule of performers is available at WxWSWR.org.

Songwriters interested in participating in the Songwriter’s Room Program can find out more at Songwriters Room.

The WordXWord Festival celebrates the transformative power of words – written, spoken and sung. The festival is held annually for 8 Days in August, taking place in various venues in downtown Pittsfield, MA. Venues range from bars to barbershops, parks to parking lots, and stores to stages. The artists presented include writers working in fiction and creative non-fiction; playwrights; song writers; and spoken word performers. In addition to the August festival, WordXWord hosts the Tuesday Night Writers Room, a weekly series featuring novelists and poets who share their completed work as well as works-in-progress; 10×10 Poetry which presents 11 poets in 11 days during the 10×10 On North Festival; and the 30/30 Poetry Challenge.

Songwriters Room
Sundays and Wednesdays, 9 p.m.
Mission Bar + Tapas
438 North Street
Pittsfield, Mass.
free