Revered Japanese-American musician, composer, and singer Kishi Bashi returns to Chapman University on March 3, this time online.  He is joined by Mexican-American singer-songwriter Davíd Garza. The pair will share their hearts on the powerful topic of incarceration and perform some of the songs they’ve been inspired to create.  

In order to advance the conversation in preparation for his return next year, Kishi Bashi was invited to propose a topic to be included in this cultural equity series. Rooted in the uncompromising musical statement of his album, Omoiyari, which channels the unconstitutional incarceration American citizens of Japanese descent,  Kishi Bashi expressed alarm over the turbulent sociopolitical atmosphere of present-day America and the wide-spread incarceration both on the border and throughout the country. At Musco Center’s request, he invited his fellow musician and arts activist Davíd Garza, to join him @THEMUSCO to expand on the past and present of this vital issue.

Garza, a third-generation Mexican-American Texas native, is known for his extensive work as a producer, session musician, composer, and visual artist. His use of songs from the 1970’s Chicano civil rights movement in protest of family detention and separation in El Paso, brought to light the impact music has in fighting injustice. His subsequent recording on the border with Chamanas native Paulina Reza singing on the Mexican side, and American-native Garza’s singing in the United States, brought a more modern meaning to the decade-old bolero ballad about family separation entitled “Béseme Mucho.”