ROXBURY — The Roxbury Arts Group will open its 2026 presenting season on Friday, May 29, with a performance that treats American music less as a genre than as a conversation across cultures.
The American Patchwork Quartet will take the stage at Hilt Kelly Hall at the Roxbury Arts Center at 7:30 p.m., offering a program that blends traditional folk with global influences and contemporary improvisation.
Led by Clay Ross, a multi-Grammy Award-winning guitarist and vocalist known for founding the Gullah ensemble Ranky Tanky, the quartet brings together a group of internationally recognized musicians. The ensemble includes Harini Raghavan, whose work draws from South Indian classical traditions; Moto Fukushima, an Issei bassist with a global performance career; and Rudy Royston, a drummer shaped by both jazz and African American church traditions.
Together, the group reimagines American roots music through a layered lens—interweaving country, jazz, West African rhythms and East Asian tonal elements. The result is a sound that reflects the country’s cultural intersections, where inherited traditions meet contemporary expression.
The program is conceived as both performance and reflection. Each piece, organizers say, explores themes of migration, identity and shared history, offering audiences a chance to hear familiar forms refracted through a broader, global perspective.
The concert will be held at the Roxbury Arts Center, 5025 Vega Mountain Road. Tickets are available at tiered pricing—$12, $21 and $28—with free admission for those 16 and under. Additional information and reservations are available at roxburyartsgroup.org or by calling 607-326-7908.
