American band concludes visit to Jordan as ‘musical diplomats’

AMMAN — “Music is the universal language that connects people regardless of their nationality, religion, or the colour of their skin.” This is the message that the American bluegrass band Della Mae wanted to convey in its performances over the past week in Jordan, which included a jamming session with the oriental ensemble Naya and concerts in Amman, Karak, Jerash and Salt. 

Celia Woodsmith (singer), Courtney Hartman (guitar) and Zoe Guigueno (Cello) joined guest artists Phoebe Hunt and Maya de Vitry, travelling all the way from Boston in Massachusetts to represent American Music Abroad, fostering a cross-cultural, people-to-people connection by delivering America’s musical traditions to Jordanian audiences.

“We were all very excited to come here and the experience has been very positive,” Guigueno said in a roundtable held on Sunday, noting that “Jordanians were very interested in our music and the cultural exchange was very satisfying.”

Asked about the similarities between the American folk and the Jordanian traditional music, Hartman expressed that “it was very easy to play with Naya, and, even with the language barrier, there was an instant musical connection.”

“It was very satisfactory to play Jordanian songs, and to see the crowd erupting in cheers and claps as we played,” Hunt said. 

“One important thing I have learned is that you can not rely on the media to tell you how people are or live in a certain culture,” Woodsmith highlighted, noting that “the media from both countries create misconceptions that are broken down as soon as you start engaging with the culture.”

This was Della Mae’s first visit to Jordan, adding to the band’s long list of trips abroad with the aim of using music as a “unifying force”.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Brazil, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are a few of the countries the band performed in, playing concerts and collaborating with local musicians and children’s music education programmes. 

“During our travels around the world, we have been able to build deep connections with the people we met, and, while the message of peace was already in our hearts, music is the tool we use to convey it,” Hartman stated. 

“It has become a big part of our lives, and we are proud to be a part of it,” Woodsmith said about the band’s work as “musical diplomats”. 

“It has been incredible to be able to connect with people who don’t know a lot about the American culture, and to learn about their music as they learn about ours,” the singer said, expressing that “it has really opened our eyes as people and musicians, and hopefully it has had the same effect on the people we have met on those trips.”