Nahko and Medicine for the People

Nahko and Medicine for the People is an American world music group. The six-member band is headed by frontman Nahko Bear.

Nahko and Medicine for the People
Background information
OriginUnited States
GenresAlternative world music
Years active2008–present
LabelsMedicine Tribe Records
Side One Dummy Records
Associated actsXavier Rudd
Trevor Hall
Michael Franti
Websitenahko.com
MembersNahko Bear
Justin Chittams
Chase Makai
Patricio
Zuñiga Labarca
Max Ribner
Tim Snider
Past membersDon Corey
Hope Medford

The band

Nahko Bear

Born in Portland, Oregon, of Puerto Rican and Filipino descent, he was adopted at a young age and raised by a white family. It wasn't until his early twenties that he would meet his birth mother. He wrote the song "Early February" shortly before this meeting; it describes a woman far too young to be pregnant putting her baby in the bed of a woman she'd never met. Bear says his creative inspiration is the desire to bridge cultural gaps,[1] and that he has been musically inclined since the age of six, when he started learning to play the piano.[2] He has also worked as a piano teacher and music director.[2] In 2012, he began traveling around the United States in a van with his dog.[2] In 2017, Nahko released a solo album titled My Name Is Bear, under the name Nahko.[3]

On July 8, 2020, Nahko resigned from the board of Honor the Earth as a result of accusations of sexually inappropriate behavior.[4] As of October 28, 2020, a petition on Change.org for venues to stop booking Nahko had reached over 3,000 signatures.

Other members
  • Justin Chittams (drums)
  • Joe Hall (lead guitar)
  • Patricio Zuñiga Labarca (bass guitar)
  • Max Ribner (trumpet, flugelhorn)
  • Tim Snider (electric violin)
  • TJ Schaper (trombone)[5]

Past members
  • Hope Medford (hand percussion and rhythms)
  • Don Corey (bass) (recorded on Dark as Night)
  • Chase Makai (lead guitar)

Tours and festivals

Nahko and Medicine for the People have toured with Nattali Rize, Rebelution, Michael Franti, Trevor Hall, Dispatch, Xavier Rudd, and SOJA.[1] Nahko Bear has also performed duets with Leah Song of Rising Appalachia.[6][7]

The band largely appears at alternative music festivals,[1][5] including the Greenbelt Festival,[8] the ARISE Music Festival[9] and Tour de Fat.[9]

Discography

Nahko and Medicine for the People

Studio albums

  • Dark As Night (2013)
  • On the Verge (2014)
  • HOKA (2016)
  • Take Your Power Back (2020)

Singles

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US
AAA
[10]
"Wash It Away" 2014 — Non-album single
"Lifeguard" 2019 36 Take Your Power Back
"Slow Down" —
"Garden" 2020 —
"Honor the Earth" —
"—" denotes single did not chart or was not released in that territory

Nahko
  • My Name is Bear (2017)

Music videos
  • Nahko and Medicine for the People (2012). Me and Mr. Washington (video). A film by Grototote. Kosmo Mimzi. Retrieved 2015-05-14.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Nahko and Medicine for the People (2013a). Budding Trees (video). Grototote + Mari Kari. Retrieved 2015-05-14.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Nahko and Medicine for the People (2013b). Manifesto (video). Film by Dominik Walczuk. Grota Film. Retrieved 2015-05-14.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Nahko and Medicine for the People (2014a). Black as Night (video). Grototote. Retrieved 2015-05-14.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Nahko and Medicine for the People (2014b). Ghosts Embodied (video). Medicine Tribe Records. Retrieved 2015-05-14.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Nahko and Medicine for the People (2014c). I Mua (video). Medicine Tribe Records. Retrieved 2015-05-14.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Nahko and Medicine for the People (2016). San Quentin (video). Max Moore. Max Moore. Retrieved 2016-10-30.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

References
  1. D’Angleo, Chris (February 20, 2015). "Nahko: Medicinal music". TheGardenIsland.com. The Garden Island. Archived from the original on 2015-02-23. Retrieved 2015-03-19.
  2. James Wood, Kevin (January 18, 2016). "Sex, Drugs and Spirituality: An Interview with Nahko Bear". Kevin James Wood. Archived from the original on 2018-04-01. Retrieved 2018-05-05.
  3. "Singer-Songwriter Nahko Discusses How Politics & Meeting His Birth Mother Influenced Solo Album 'My Name is Bear'". billboard.com. 17 October 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  4. "Honor the Earth Board Statement Regarding Nahko, July 8,2020". Honor The Earth. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  5. Hucka, TJ. "Nahko and Medicine For The People". LifeIsBeautiful.com. Archived from the original on 2015-03-25. Retrieved 2015-03-19.
  6. Nahko Bear & Leah Song "Black As Night" Unplugged in the Streets of Portland, ME. YouTube (Video). July 25, 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-07-10. Retrieved 2015-03-19.
  7. Bliss, Terri. "Nahko Bear & Leah Song". YouTube. Retrieved 2015-03-19.
  8. "Greeenbelt Festival 2016 Lineup". Greeenbelt Festival. Archived from the original on 2017-08-24. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  9. "New Belgium announces Tour de Fat schedule". Coloradoan. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
  10. "Nahko and Medicine for the People Triple A Songs Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-07-20.

Further reading
Reviews


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