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The Musicambia Songbook

Live in Concert

Date: Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Venue: Roulette, 509 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217

Time: 7:30 PM EDT

About the Album

The Musicambia Songbook features 18 original compositions written over the last 11 years by current and formerly incarcerated songwriters from Musicambia’s educational programs across multiple correctional facilities.

Spanning a wide variety of styles ranging from rap, R&B, and pop-punk to heartfelt ballads and classical string quartets, often decorated with elaborate string and brass arrangements, The Musicambia Songbook offers one of the most sonically ambitious albums to emerge from America’s correctional system.

💿 Release Date: June 26, 2026, via Long Echo Records

🎵 Listen to our single, "Pride."

Out now is “Pride,” the first single, by D.S., a current student in Musicambia’s Flagship Program at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, with vocals by Alumnus Kenyatta Emmanuel. Through his lyrics, D.S. explores what self-accountability looks like under the weight of systemic oppression.

“This album represents our community like a family photo album: The songs are snapshots of times and places in the past, some more recent than others, and of the stories told by different members of the community. The Songbook is a story of our struggle, of our wins and our losses, our ups and our downs, and our challenges and tribulations.”

-Musicambia Alumnus and Board Vice President Ivan Calaff

The Musicambia Songbook Credits:

    1. "Victory" by Alfred Roberts & Yoshi (Xiao Bao He).

    2. "No Father There Town" by Lingo.

    3. "State of Emergency" by Izzy Ali.

    4. "Wake Me Up" by A.T.

    5. "Don't Ever Tell" by Robbie Pollock.

    6. "You Don't See My Pain" by O.M.

    7. "Pride" by D.S.

    8. "Decision to Love" by J.W.

    9. "Is it the Distance?" by M.H & Elliot Cole.

    10. "The Price of Freedom" by A.S.

    11. "Process" by A.M.

    12. "Under Dark" by H.D.J.

    13. "Hey There Serrano" by Kenyatta Emmanuel.

    14. "Breathe Darlin’" by I.M. & Tiffanie Irwin.‍ ‍

    15. "Dying Moon" by A.S.

    16. "Go Through the Night" by Yoshi.

    17. "Estela" by V.H.

    18. "Today, I Felt Like Crying" by Shadrich Blackwell & Nathan Schram.

    • Izzy Ali, vocals

    • Trina Basu, violin

    • Hamilton Berry, cello

    • Shadrich Blackwell, words

    • Ivan Calaff, vocals, percussion

    • Sarah Elizabeth Charles, vocals

    • Elliot Cole, vocals, piano, bass

    • Kenyatta Emmanuel, vocals, backup vocals

    • Jan Esbra, guitar

    • Sarah Goldfeather, vocals, violin

    • Katie Hyun, violin

    • Lingo, vocals

    • Robbie Pollock, vocals, backup vocals

    • Alfred Roberts, vocals

    • Karl Ronneburg, drums

    • Nathan Schram, viola, strings and electronics

    • John Carlson, trumpet

    • Nick Grinder, trombone

    • Peter Hess, saxophone

    • Myosha Tane, vocals

  • Produced and mixed by Elliot Cole.

    Arrangements by Elliot Cole.

    Additional mixing by Christopher Botta.

    Mastered by Joseph Branciforte.

    1. "Victory" by Alfred Roberts & Yoshi (Xiao Bao He). Credits: Alfred Roberts, vocals; Jan Esbra, guitar; Elliot Cole, bass; Karl Ronneburg, drums.

    2. "No Father There Town" by Lingo. Credits: Lingo, vocals; Jan Esbra, guitar; Elliot Cole, bass; Karl Ronneburg, drums.

    3. "State of Emergency" by Izzy Ali. Credits: Izzy Ali, vocals; Jan Esbra, guitar; Elliot Cole, bass; Karl Ronneburg, drums.

    4. "Wake Me Up" by A.T. Credits: Sarah Elizabeth Charles, vocals; Jan Esbra, guitar; Elliot Cole, bass; Karl Ronneburg, drums.

    5. "Don't Ever Tell" by Robbie Pollock. Credits: Robbie Pollock, vocals; Jan Esbra, guitar; Elliot Cole, bass; Karl Ronneburg, drums.

    6. "You Don't See My Pain" by O.M. Credits: Elliot Cole, vocals; Kenyatta Emmanuel, backup vocals; Robert Pollock, backup vocals; Jan Esbra, guitar; Elliot Cole, bass; Karl Ronneburg, drums.

    7. "Pride" by D.S. Credits: Kenyatta Emmanuel, vocals; Jan Esbra, guitar; Elliot Cole, bass; Karl Ronneburg, drums.

    8. "Decision to Love" by J.W. Credits: Myosha Tane, vocals; Elliot Cole, bass; Karl Ronneburg, drums.

    9. "Is it the Distance?" by M.H & Elliot Cole. Credits: Elliot Cole, vocals and piano.

    10. "The Price of Freedom" by A.S. Credits: Jan Esbra, guitar.

    11. "Process" by A.M. Credits: Katie Hyun, violin 1; Trina Basu, violin 2; Nathan Schram, viola; Hamilton Berry, cello.

    12. "Under Dark" by H.D.J. Credits: Katie Hyun, violin 1; Trina Basu, violin 2; Nathan Schram, viola; Hamilton Berry, cello.

    13. "Hey There Serrano" by Kenyatta Emmanuel. Credits: Kenyatta Emmanuel, vocals; Jan Esbra, guitar; Elliot Cole, bass; Karl Ronneburg, drums.

    14. "Breathe Darlin’" by I.M. & Tiffanie Irwin. Credits: Sarah Elizabeth Charles, vocals; Jan Esbra, guitar; Elliot Cole, piano and bass; Karl Ronneburg, drums.

    15. "Dying Moon" by A.S. Credits: Elliot Cole, vocals; Jan Esbra, guitar; Elliot Cole, bass; Karl Ronneburg, drums.

    16. "Go Through the Night" by Yoshi. Credits: Sarah Goldfeather, vocals; Jan Esbra, guitar; Karl Ronneburg, drums.

    17. "Estela" by V.H. Credits: Sarah Goldfeather, violin.

    18. "Today, I Felt Like Crying" by Shadrich Blackwell & Nathan Schram. Credits: Ivan Calaff, vocals; Shadrich Blackwell, words; Nathan Schram, strings and electronics.

ABOUT
MUSICAMBIA

Musicambia (“music” + “change”) helps people in prison and jail write, play, and perform music, cultivating collaborative communities that benefit the health and well-being of everyone involved. Its Flagship Program, which began at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in 2014, meets weekly from September to June, providing over four hours of weekly instruction to 30 incarcerated participants. Musicambia has created programs in 12 facilities across six states.

ABOUT
THE CAMBIA COLLECTIVE

The Cambia Collective is Musicambia’s band of Teaching Artists and Alumni, performing exclusively music written by incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people. The Collective, which performs exclusively music written by incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people, has appeared at the Cutting Room, Cell Theater, DiMenna Center, and Abraham House in New York City, and at Green Ossining’s Earth Day Festival, the Sing Sing Prison Museum’s UNSUNG conversation series in Westchester County.

PRESS CONTACTS

Shawn Jaeger, Executive Director, Musicambia
shawn@musicambia.org
musicambia.org

Jan Esbra, Long Echo Records
music@longechorecords.com
longechorecords.com