Krissy Bergmark - Sprig of That

Sprig of That plays the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Portland on Saturday, October 17. It's a trio of tabla, violin and guitar, and they'll be performing original progressive folk music.

If you're not familiar with the tabla, it's a pair of hand drums from the North Indian tradition, known for a wide range of tones and a rhythmic complexity that's quite distinct from Western percussion. In this lineup, it sits alongside violin and guitar, and the three together make up the sound the group describes as progressive folk.

Much of the project centers on Krissy Bergmark, who plays tabla and is also a percussionist, composer and educator. Her work is built around bringing the tabla into new and cross-genre settings through composition and performance, and she draws on the traditions of the instrument to do it. She performs as a solo artist, with Sprig of That, and with other artists across the US and internationally. She's also a professor at Oakton College, where she studies tabla with Pandit Yogesh Samsi in the Punjab Gharana.

Bergmark's work has received commissions and grants from the Cedar Commissions, the Jerome Foundation, the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council and the Minnesota State Arts Board. The show runs Saturday, October 17, through Sunday, October 18, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Portland, 1000 NE Multnomah St, Portland, OR.