HuDost

Many years before receiving praise from NPR, ranking on the Billboard and radio charts, or winning prestigious awards, something magical happened; a teenaged Moksha Sommer was reading the lush words of the Persian poet Rumi in her Montreal apartment and wildly decided to join friends for a spur of the moment trip to North Carolina for a Rumi Festival put on by Turkish Sufis. It was there that, from across a room of dancers, Jemal Wade Hines was playing frame drum and heard Sommer’s voice cutting through the crowd and jolting his heart awake. That moment was the beginning of HuDost. 

Sommer and Hines married as a couple, as musicians, as activists, and as parents. In all of those they are guided by love. They are highly engaged activists, doing advocacy work as Representatives for ONE (a non-profit organization dedicated to end extreme poverty) and joining forces with other non-profit organizations. They have discovered the alchemy of joining music and activism.

HuDost has a new album, ‘Anthems of Home’, receiving rave reviews that was released in early 2022. It reached #4 in the Canadian National Folk/Roots/Blues Chart (March, 2022) and #9 in the US Folk Radio Charts (January, 2022). HuDost’s last album 'of Water + Mercy' received rave reviews and as an independent release reached #24 in the BILLBOARD SALES CHARTS for Folk/Americana also winning the 2020 Independent Music Award for Social Action Song. In the last year they also received two of the 'Best of Nashville 2020’ awards. On past albums HuDost has worked with GRAMMY Award-winning producer Malcolm Burn (Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Peter Gabriel) and GRAMMY Award-winning mixers Oz Fritz (Tom Waits, Bill Laswell, Primus) and Vance Powell (Jack White, Chris Stapleton, Pearl Jam, Willie Nelson, Buddy Guy, Beyonce, Beck, Alicia Keys, Melissa Etheridge, Kings of Leon). 

HuDost’s new album defines real, honest love and is a lush, breathtaking original collection of compositions that ask important questions. In this time of loss and awakening HuDost’s new album gives powerful voice to this journey in a way that will remain timeless and will prove the resilience that we all share. Special guests on the album include Jars of Clay, The Accidentals, Christie Lenée and others. Their early release from the new album, ‘Our Words Will Be Louder’, included additional music video cameos from Kevin Clash (Elmo), Kevin Hearn (from the Barenaked Ladies), Cy Curnin (from The FIXX), GangstaGrass, Alana Bridgewater, Nawal, Hymn for Her, Jai Uttal, and more. HuDost worked with minister/activist William J. Barber II and all proceeds from it went to the Poor People’s Campaign. It received press coverage in over 130 major news publications and radio including CTV News, The Observer, Roots Music Canada, All Access Music, and received the ‘Best Music Video of the Week’ from Blues and Roots Radio. 

HuDost's music is a powerful voice for life's journey and discovery. In 2008, Moksha went through a painful process of brain surgery due to a tumor. The healing from this included re-learning language skills, losing and regaining proper sight, and experiencing seizures. This could have been staggering but instead served as learning that has fueled a potent desire to bring healing through sound. Since then, they have had two amazing sons and have consistently been guided by love as they create new music and travel the world. It is through music that the losses and gains, pains and triumphs, and excruciating beauty of life can be given a voice of empathy. Both critics and fans have said time and time again that the music of HuDost is this very expression.

Highlight Performances/Collaborations: 

Highlight performances include Bonnaroo, Resident band at FloydFest, Vancouver Island Musicfest, LEAF Festival, BhaktiFest, World Café Live, Blissfest, The ARK, Alex Grey’s CoSM, the Salvador Dali Museum, Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival, headlining The Islands Folk Fest (Vancouver), Hillside Festival, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Wild Goose Festival, WMNF’s Tropical Heat Wave Festival, The Levitt Pavilions, WoodSongs at the Kentucky Theater (on PBS), Nashville’s Bluebird Café, Music City Roots, Tim Robbins’ WTF?! Fest, The Montreal Folk Festival, The Stan Rogers Folk Festival, Riverhawk, and many more. 

Highlight performances/collaborations include Ani DiFranco (opener), Philip Glass (opener), Jon Anderson (YES) (co-writer), Snatam Kaur (performances), Steve Kilbey (The Church) (co-wrote full album), Ramy Essam, California Guitar Trio, Bell Orchestre, Neko Case, Jim Lauderdale, Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Mercan Dede, Malcolm Burn, Oz Fritz, Vance Powell, Kevin Clash (Elmo), Kevin Hearn (from the Barenaked Ladies), Cy Curnin (from The FIXX), GangstaGrass, Jai Uttal and many more.