George Pelecanos
Ridley Pearson
Ridley Pearson
Edgar-nominee, Ridley Pearson is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of (more than 50) award-winning suspense and young adult adventure novels. His novels have been published in two-dozen languages and have been adapted for network television and the Broadway stage. Ridley’s crime novels have earned a reputation for writing fiction that “grips the imagination.”
Ridley’s middle-grade-reader series include, The Kingdom Keepers, Steel Trapp and Lock & Key. The Peter and the Starcatchers series,co-written with Pulitzer Prize winner (and bandmate), Dave Barry, (adapted to the stage by Rick Elice) was awarded 5 Tony Awards.
Ridley’s research has spanned the globe and has included, a prison for the criminally insane in the U.K., exploring the engine room of a cruise liner, and multiple after-hour tours of Walt Disney World and Disneyland.
Ridley plays bass guitar in an all-author rock band comprised of other bestselling writers (Dave Barry, Amy Tan, Mitch Album, Scott Turow, Greg Iles, and occasionally, Stephen King). The Rockbottom Remainders, has raised over 2.5 million dollars for various non-profits. He lives–and writes–in the Northern Rockies along with his wife, Marcelle.
Molly Tuttle
Molly Rose Tuttle is an American vocalist, songwriter, banjo player, guitarist, recording artist, and teacher in the bluegrass tradition. She is noted for her flatpicking, clawhammer, and crosspicking guitar prowess. Wikipedia
“A female flat picker extraordinaire with agility, speed, and elegance who distinctively brings American roots music into the spotlight.”—NPR
“A vibrant blend of bluegrass with flashes of Old West, anchored by Tuttle’s earthy-yet-angelic vocal and the entire group’s ace musicianship.” —Billboard
Raised in northern California, singer-songwriter and bluegrass musician Molly Tuttle moved to Nashville in 2015. In the years since, she has been nominated for a Best New Artist Grammy and won awards for Album of the Year at the 2023 International Folk Music Awards, Female Vocalist of the Year at the 2022 International Bluegrass Music Awards, and Instrumentalist of the Year at the 2018 Americana Music Awards. She also won consecutive Guitar Player of the Year awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association in 2017 and 2018—and was the first woman to win the award, let alone win it twice.
Tuttle and her band, Golden Highway, released their latest album, City of Gold, in July 2023. The Grammy-winning album followed Tuttle’s acclaimed 2022 record, Crooked Tree, which also won a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album. Produced by Tuttle and celebrated progressive bluegrass musician Jerry Douglas, City of Gold was inspired by Tuttle’s constant touring with Golden Highway, during which she and the band have grown and cohered as musicians and performers. Musical Instrument Museum
Her song Crooked Tree (video w/Jerry Douglas) also visits the subject of Alopecia Areata (article) and Molly.
Molly Tuttle has ushered in an exciting new chapter in her career by forming an all-female touring band, stepping away from the four-year run with Golden Highway. This change aligns with the release of her new solo album So Long Little Miss Sunshine, set for August 15, 2025. It signals a stylistic expansion beyond bluegrass, blending pop, country, and rock – a direction further emphasized in her all-female backing band choice.
Robert Galbraith
Location – London and elsewhere in Great Britain
Robert Galbraith a.k.a. J.K. Rowling
When you browse Roaming the Arts you may note that the mission is to drive web traffic to known artists who may be familiar, but not “household names.” Thus you won’t find Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, or authors whose reach is worldwide such as James Patterson or, in this case, J.K. Rowling. They don’t need this post to send fans to their web presence.
You will also note the Word and Film connection, where it is found to be exciting when a great book has been turned into good film or television. That, in our opinion, is not easy, and is a bit rare and extremely exciting when located.
Ms. Rowling, writing as Robert Galbraith, had ducked under our radar, and in all honesty was found by taking note of the HBO series C.B. Strike, where the first four books in the series have been presented with book five, Troubled Blood, in production. Whether looking for a good read or the next show to stream, Galbraith has created characters in Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott who will live in your consciousness for some time.
Good news for fans : Book six in the series, The Ink Black Heart, available August 30, 2022
Fur Peace Ranch
Fur Peace Ranch
Jorma Koukonen
Pomeroy, Ohio
Jorma and Vanessa’s goal was to create a place where musicians could come together and surround themselves with music for several days and emerge with a new found inspiration. Jorma says he wants to “demystify the process of playing music” for those who attend the camp. For students arriving around noon on a Friday and leaving Monday morning with classes scattered throughout the days, the process of demystifying music may come with ease. Guitar is the main language spoken at FPR.
Tom Meyer
Tom Meyer
Tom Meyer has been referred to as an ‘outsider’ artist.
He is indeed a self-taught painter. Working primarily with acrylic on canvas or board, Meyer’s paintings originate from impulses within his soul. He has referred to this collection, his first to be exhibited, as ‘narrative visions’.
His cast of characters that inhabit his paintings give an account of his inner life and his imagination. They tell a story with his themes, “of redemption, forgiveness, acceptance, rejection and love,” as he has described it.
Meyer has said, “I don’t paint things, I paint ideas.” His work is informed and inspired by a variety of ideas, from current events to ancient philosophy. Through an outsider or visionary artist, Meyer’s work is part of a creative tradition with roots that include early American folk art and that has continued to evolve in numerous and dynamic ways up to today. Meyer has created a personal universe with his paintings, as many outsider artists have done. This exhibition is a dazzling display of that universe.
Chris Murray
