Percussionist

Guitarist

When guitarist and composer Yasmin Williams sits down to compose music, she doesn’t scour her subconscious for unheard melodies or clever chord progressions. Instead, she goes granular—fixating on a single note. She’ll play it over and over, sustaining it, varying the attack or the release to change its essence, eventually adding notes to form chords. In addition to the crisp fingerpicked guitar that helped establish her as a fast-rising star of instrumental folk, Williams plays kora, harp guitar, banjo, and electric guitar and bass—all with authority.

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Yasmin Williams + Special Guests

National Sawdust

Born in New York City to Haitian emigrants and activists, Leyla McCalla finds inspiration from her past and present—her music vibrates with three centuries of history and influences from around the globe. McCalla possesses a stunning mastery of the cello, tenor banjo and guitar and, as a multilingual singer and songwriter, has risen to produce a distinctive sound that reflects the union of her roots and experience. In addition to her solo work, McCalla is a founding member of Our Native Daughters (with Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah and Allison Russell) and alumna of Grammy award-winning Black string band The Carolina Chocolate Drops.

Leyla McCalla with Yasmin Williams

UCSD Price Center

Join us for an enchanting evening with Yasmin Williams, one of the country’s most imaginative young solo guitarists, at the West Michigan Symphony Orchestra. This special performance is set to take place on Friday, October 25, 2024, at 7:30 pm at The Block. Yasmin Williams is renowned for her unique fingerstyle guitar technique that seamlessly blends folk, blues, and ambient elements, promising to take audiences on a spellbinding musical journey unlike any other.

This concert is a highlight of our season and offers a variety of subscription packages for those interested in experiencing more of what we have to offer. Available packages include Premier (12 concerts), Unplugged (6 concerts), and Unplugged Plus (7 concerts), ensuring there's something for every music enthusiast. Subscribers enjoy the best seats at the best prices, with subscriptions currently on sale and individual tickets available from early fall.

Don't miss this opportunity to witness a groundbreaking performance by Yasmin Williams, a guitarist whose style is untethered to any one tradition, offering a fresh and captivating musical experience. For more information and to secure your seats, visit our website or contact the box office today.

Yasmin Williams – Fingerstyle Guitar

The Block

Yasmin Williams is an acoustic fingerstyle guitarist with an unorthodox, modern style of playing. Her music has been commonly described as refreshing, relaxing, and unique and has been called some of the most imaginative guitar music out today. She utilizes various techniques including alternate tunings, percussive hits, and lap tapping in her music to great effect. She has won various local talent shows, was a finalist in the Rolling Stones Young Gun guitar competition, was the Grand prize winner of New York University’s Ultra Violet Live talent show, and won the Gold Prize in the Instrumental category of the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest. She has been featured on several radio and television programs including New Sounds Soundcheck Podcast, NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday show, NPR Night Owl, NPR All Songs Considered, Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour, and WUSA9, along with high profile magazine features such as Acoustic Guitar Magazine and Vintage Guitar Magazine.

Yasmin Williams

Garth Newel Music Center

This evening features an all-star cast of some of the most innovative string voices across the globe. Featuring Maeve Gilchrist on the Celtic Harp, the groundbreaking guitarist Yasmin Williams and innovative Old-time duo, Tatiana Hargreaves and Allison De Groot- this evening will have the audience reimagining what acoustic string music means as we take our respective time-old traditions and reframe them in a contemporary light. This is simply going to be a party that you’re not going to want to miss!

Global Strings

Shalin Liu Performance Center

Yasmin Williams sits on her leather couch, her guitar stretched across her lap horizontally with its strings turned to the sky. She taps on the fretboard with her left hand as her right hand plucks a kalimba placed on the guitar’s body. Her feet, clad in tap shoes, keep rhythm on a mic’d wooden board placed under her. Even with all limbs in play, it’s mind boggling that the melodic and percussive sounds that emerge are made by just one musician, playing in real time. With her ambidextrous and pedidextrous, multi-instrumental techniques of her own making and influences ranging from video games to West African griots subverting the predominantly white male canon of fingerstyle guitar, Yasmin Williams is truly a guitarist for the new century. So too is her stunning sophomore release, Urban Driftwood, an album for and of these times. Though the record is instrumental, its songs follow a narrative arc of 2020, illustrating both a personal journey and a national reckoning, through Williams’ evocative, lyrical compositions.

Yasmin Williams / William Tyler

Krannert Center for the Performing Arts

Join us for an enchanting evening with Yasmin Williams, an extraordinary acoustic fingerstyle guitarist, on May 12, 2023, at Caramoor in Katonah, NY. This solo performance, set to begin at 8:00pm in the American Roots Music Room, showcases Williams' unique and modern approach to guitar playing. Utilizing techniques such as alternate tunings, percussive hits, and lap tapping, she creates a radiant sound that has positioned her as a pivotal figure in the evolution of solo guitar music.

Yasmin Williams, hailing from Alexandria, VA, has captivated audiences and critics alike with her innovative playing style. Her music, rich in harmony and exuberance, draws comparisons to guitar legends while forging its own path. Williams' journey began after being inspired by the video game Guitar Hero 2, leading her to teach herself various guitar styles and ultimately focus on the acoustic guitar for its versatility. With a discography that includes the critically acclaimed albums "Unwind" and "Urban Driftwood," her work has received high praise from major publications like The New York Times, NPR Music, and Rolling Stone.

Tickets for this must-see event start at $40. Don't miss the opportunity to experience the captivating artistry of Yasmin Williams in the intimate setting of Caramoor's Music Room. For tickets and more information, visit the Caramoor website.

Yasmin Williams, guitar

The Rosen House at Caramoor

Yasmin Williams is an acoustic fingerstyle guitarist with an unorthodox, modern style of playing. Her style utilizes various techniques including alternate tunings, percussive hits, and lap tapping. Her “radiant sound and adventitious origins have made her a key figure in a diverse dawn for the solo guitar” (New York Times). Williams’ music is rich and harmonious, while “challenging widespread preconceptions about the music made by young Black people or acoustic guitars” (Washington Post).

Somerville Theatre

Two of today’s most acclaimed guitarist-composers present a new collaborative work for themselves and chamber ensemble. Tyler plays "cosmic country," folk, indie folk and pop rock. Based in Alexandria, VA, Williams is an acoustic fingerstyle guitarist with an unorthodox, modern style of playing. She utilizes various techniques including alternate tunings, percussive hits, and lap tapping in her music to great effect.

Percussionist, Guitarist

Yasmin Williams

Events

Past events

Sep 20, 2025

Yasmin Williams + Special Guests · National Sawdust

Dec 11, 2024

Leyla McCalla with Yasmin Williams · ArtPower at UC San Diego

About

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