Chris Pierce, a highly acclaimed, socially-conscious singer/songwriter/musician, has been described as “one of America’s most talented, gifted, and affecting artists.” He has toured or played nationally and internationally with such luminaries as Neil Young, B.B. King, Seal, Al Green, Steve Earle, Allison Russell, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, Rodrigo y Gabriella, Jill Scott, Keb’Mo, Blind Boys of Alabama, Aaron Neville, Allison Russell, Sara Bareilles, and others. He has performed at many prestigious venues from The Kennedy Center to NPR’s World Café to the Newport Folk Festival. His most recent albums are 2021’s American Silence, widely viewed as one of the best folk albums of that year, and 2023’s Let All Who Will. In addition to his solo career, Chris Pierce performs/records with Sunny War as “War and Pierce,” with the Americana/roots band Leon Creek, and occasionally with the Black Opry Revue.

Learn more at chrispierce.com

Performance by The Local Honeys at Bioneers 2024

The Local Honeys (Montana Hobbs and Linda Jean Stokley) is a highly acclaimed musical duo from Kentucky that was formed a decade ago. Montana and Linda Jean are solidly anchored in the Appalachian culture and music they grew up in and deeply respectful of those roots, but their innovative songwriting, storytelling and musicianship are not constrained by tradition, as their music is very much of its time, elegantly and powerfully capturing the beauty, struggles and complexities of contemporary Appalachian life. Their most recent album is the eponymous, The Local Honeys, on La Honda Records.

Performance by Rising Appalachia at Bioneers 2023

Rising Appalachia is an internationally touring Appalachian and world folk ensemble founded by Atlanta-raised, New Orleans-based sisters Leah and Chloe Smith, whose soulful folk-roots sound traces back to their open-minded musician parents and to grassroots music communities in the hills and valleys of the Deep South as well as urban Atlanta.