About Me
An entirely self-taught musician, Kabir Green has been singing and songwriting most of his life. He penned his first song "Let's Go Fly A Kite" in fifth grade, and hasn't looked back since. Raised in the quiet hills of Chester County outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Kabir is a songwriter who sees life as an opportunity to tell a story. From an early age, he was keenly aware of the thread that connects blues, rock and country, and the soulfulness and spirituality of American roots music. He was instilled with a love for music that arises out of such deep cultural wellsprings, what he calls "The Music of Place." He began to study and perform traditional American music in high school, and began to find his voice as a writer.After graduating from nearby Haverford college, Kabir spent four years in New York City working as the musical and artistic director of an Off-Broadway show in 2003, and directing and scoring several short films. It was during this time of creative exploration that Kabir began to formulate his own personal approach to music. He began to collaborate with several veteran musicians and explore themes of spiritual connectedness and universality. The group formed out of those collaborations, called The Illumination Band, took inspiration from the poems of the great Sufi poet, Rumi, and set those ideas and images to a mix of bluegrass, blues, and gospel—almost entirely written and arranged by Kabir. His interest and investment in music, both deeply rooted and spiritually inspired, can be attributed, in part, to his time with The Illumination Band's gifted and experienced musicians. After several years of touring and collaboration with some of America's most influential poets—Coleman Barks and Robert Bly, among others—Kabir decided to strike out on his own as a singer-songwriter. The results are astonishingly unpretentious and evocative.With delicate songwriting, soulful melodies, and an uncommon emotional integrity, Kabir deftly lifts the fear that we've lost touch with each other, and turns it into a sense of belonging in spite of a rushed and difficult world. With an intimate voice, accompanied by his own acoustic guitar, and occasionally a full band, Kabir creates a sound that recalls many influences, but claims a space entirely its own. His songs, filled with all the love, loss, and life that his generation is heir to, somehow break free of cynicism and encourage trust in our human spirit and ability to relate to each other. Take notice: here is music that's new and old, strong and vulnerable, unassuming and unashamed.Kabir currently resides in Portland, Oregon, and has just completed his first record as a solo artist, the EP "Five Dollar Club."
