Events
October 6,2022: Woody Guthrie Tribute Showcase, NewWorlDeli, Austin, 7-9 pm
Doster & Engle – Djibouti and Eritrea – 2019
Stephen Doster and Greg Engle traveled to Djibouti and Eritrea on the Horn of Africa in October 2019 sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Arts Envoy program. They gave several public performance in each country, including a concert in Eritrea’s iconic Cinema Roma. They also had jam sessions with local artists and conducted songwriting-workshops for budding young musicians. In each country, they visited local orphanages to meet the kids and play music for them. The kids’ excitement with the music and visit were what made this tour so special.
September 18, 2019: Greg Engle at NeWorlDeli, 7-9 pm
September 12, 2019: Woody Guthrie Tribute Concert, Cactus Cafe, 8-10 pm
June 27, 2019: Annie’s Cafe and Bar, ABIA, 1-3 pm
June 20, 2019: Peace Corps Connect Conference, Austin Public Library
Doster & Engle — Côte d’Ivoire 2018
Greg Engle and Stephen Doster traveled to Côte d’Ivoire as “art envoys” in July 2018, sponsored by the U.S. Embassy and the U.S. Department of State’s Arts Envoy Program. They had the distinct honor of performing with the a capella Heaven Singers and well known ahoko player Jean Pierre Konan at the U.S. Embassy’s July 4th reception and other shows. They conducted a songwriting workshop for National Music School students, entertained children at two local orphanages and had a rousing discussion and jam session with professional Ivoirien musicians. They were also interviewed by Radio Synergy about their music and their program in Côte d’Ivoire.
March 31, 2018: Greg Engle and Steve Snyder at NeWorlDeli, 7-9 pm
Friday, October 20, 2017 Greg Engle and Stuart Burns at NeWorlDeli, Austin, Texas, 7:00-9:00 pm
Wednesday, January 28, 2017 Greg Engle at Zanzibar, San Salvador, 9:00 – 10:30 pm
Doster & Engle — Mauritania 2016
Greg Engle and Stephen Doster performed, played music with many fantastic local musicians and had a great time talking to high school students about songwriting during their July 2016 trip to Mauritania. The trip, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Arts Envoy Program and organized by the U.S. Embassy in Nouakchott, afforded yet another opportunity to reach across international borders to connect with people through music.
Mauritania, at the edge of the Sahara, is steeped in Sahelian musical traditions. The musicians Doster & Engle had the pleasure to play with each had his or her own way to weave together rich Sahelian, African and Arabic styles with more modern genres. The Sahelian roots of the blues were striking.
Two events were standouts. One was the Embassy’s Independence Day reception at which Doster & Engle played with Mauritanian songwriter and musician Cheikh Lebiad, who spontaneously made up and sang verses to “This Land Is Your Land” in Hassaniya — music diplomacy at its finest.
Equally inspiring was an evening with Malouma, one of Mauritania’s best known and beloved musicians, who also happens to be a member of the the country’s Senate. It was an honor and a thrill to play for and then with Malouma and her band.
Saturday, June 4, 2016 Steve Snyder and Greg Engle at the Waco Farmers’ Market, 9:30 am to 1:00 pm
Saturday, May 28, 2016 Greg Engle at Texas Keeper Cider, 4-6 pm
Wednesday, May 25, 2016 Greg Engle at the NeWorlDeli in Austin, TX, 7-9 pm
Sunday, March 21, 2016 SXSWest Anarchy Songwriters’ Showcase, NeWorlDeli, 4101 Guadalupe, Austin, TX, from 1-4 pm, with some excellent Austin singer-songwriters.
Friday, January 8, 2016 Atticus Records podcast with Stephen Doster and Greg Engle discussing their participation in the State Department’s Arts Envoy Program and their trips to Swaziland and Lesotho.
Saturday, October 17, 2015 Sweet Anarchy Songwriters’ Showcase at Paco’s Tacos (1304 E. 51st Street, Austin, TX) from 5-8 pm, with Christy Moore, Claudia Gibson and Gregg Miller
Doster & Engle — Lesotho 2015
Greg Engle and Stephen Doster reprised their roles as “music ambassadors” in the Lesotho in June/July 2015 under the U.S. Department of State’s Arts Envoy Program. For two weeks, they performed, gave radio and television interviews, conducted songwriting workshops for youth and held master classes for traditional and contemporary musicians in southern Africa’s Mountain Kingdom.
Reaching out with songs like “Enough for Everyone,” from Doster’s recently released Arizona album, and Engle’s songs about Africa, they used their music to span the cultural divide and make the point that songwriting is at its best when driven by the personal experiences and values of the songwriter. What they learned, in turn, from Lesotho’s traditional musicians, playing on homemade instruments, Basotho choirs, with their superb harmonies, and both aspiring and established contemporary musicians and producers was beyond measure.
The highlight of the two-week program was being accompanied by the acclaimed Serumula Choir during a performance at the U.S. Embassy’s Independence Day reception. The beauty of the choir’s southern African harmonies was unsurpassed, as was the cross-cultural energy when Engle’s “Woody Walks This Land” evolved into by a full-throated, enthusiastic rendition of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land.”
Doster & Engle — Swaziland 2012
In May 2012, Greg Engle and veteran Austin musician and producer Stephen Doster performed and conducted songwriting workshops in Swaziland under the U.S. Department of State’s Arts Envoy Program. Performing at schools and orphanages and exploring songwriting with the kids was a richly rewarding experience, and they were deeply impressed by the enthusiasm and innate ability of these budding young musicians even when the instruments they had available to them were barely playable. Doster came back to Austin and founded Guitars for Swaziland, which has since sent many guitars and recording equipment to Swaziland to be shared by young musicians. Immediately after the Swaziland program, Engle took a position as Peace Corps Country Director in Ethiopia, putting his musical pursuits on hold until 2015 for another cause near and dear to his heart.
Doster & Engle’s big performance in Swaziland was at Bushfire, which has become a major annual music festival in southern Africa. They teamed up with country duo Dusty & Stones for a lively set. The highlight of the performance, for Doster & Engle, was being accompanied by the SOS Children’s Village Choir on two of Engle’s songs about Africa, “Nelson” and “Lady Africa.” Reviewing Bushfire, The Swazi Observer gave the performance a solid thumbs up: “Standout acts included South African one-man band Jeremy Loops, Japan’s Sakaki Mango and Limba Train Sound System and the cross-cultural music collaboration between America’s Doster & Engle and Swaziland’s Dusty & Stones.