Tyler Richart and Kora Kana

The newest and possibly most exciting musical project that Cort is currently working in is called Kora Kana, and is fronted my Seattleite Tyler Richart. Cort and Tyler met through the Seattle bluegrass scene. At Darrington Bluegrass Festival in 2008, Tyler put his mandolin down and picked up his kora, inviting Cort to jam with some traditional West African songs. Cort's resophonic guitar blended perfectly with the sound of the kora, and the 2 musicians had such a natural interaction from the start, that at times you couldn't tell the guitar from the kora. It's taken a couple years for the project to emerge, but now the pair have built a band around this unique "Americana" approach to traditional African music. Sean Divine adds harmonica and Kia Armstrong adds bass to Kora Kana, whose name derives from traditional kora music being performed by musicians of the "Americana" tradition.

For more info about Tyler Richart and Kora Kana, visit the band website.

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