Ladies Of Midnight Blue

Afro-Latin Percussion & Brass Duet

Biography

Ladies of Midnight Blue are an Afro-Latin percussion & brass duet comprised of Hannabiell Sanders (Bass Trombone, African & Latin Percussion, Mbira) and Yilis del Carmen Suriel (African & Latin Percussion, Mbira). They create a powerful and upbeat fusion of trance drum rhythms that produce a melodic percussive sound by weaving combinations of percussion, brass, vocal chants, and mbira.

The Ladies of Midnight Blue have performed all over the world and in the last 10 years they have been workshop facilitators and guest artists for various projects and residencies. Their art and music workshops focus on community building and raising awareness concerning issues of inequality on all levels.

Hannabiell & Yilis are the co-founders and organizers of Harambee Pasadia, the first Afro Fusion Music, Dance & Camping festival, based in the North East of England. Harambee in Swahili means ‘let’s get together’ and Pasadia in Spanish means ‘to spend the day.’ The festival is a 4-day family camping extravaganza which hosts world-renowned performers, practitioners, and foods of fusions found in the African diaspora.

Hannabiell is an African American Jamaican, originally from New Jersey, currently living in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. She received a PhD in Music Performance and a Masters in Music from Newcastle University, and BFA in Music Education from Mason Gross School for the Art, Rutgers University.

Yilis was born in the Dominican Republic and moved to the USA at the age of 9, currently living in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. She received a Masters in Fine Arts from Newcastle University and a BFA with a concentration Printmaking and Latino and Hispanic studies from Mason Gross School for the Arts, Rutgers University.