Brianna Tam’s Electric Cello Carries A Dark Undercurrent

WUNC | By Frank Stasio,

Grant Holub-Moorman

Published March 10, 2020 at 11:53 AM EDT

Brianna Tam’s cello nearly disappears when turned sideways. The sleek, black instrument is just an outline with strings. No wooden body is needed for resonance, as the notes feed directly into a loop pedal. Patiently and with great precision, she taps a button with her foot to build and weave layers of her own playing together. Brianna Tam is a string quartet unto herself, evoking shadowy symphonic universes. The young Greensboro-based artist plays with hip-hop artists and singer-songwriters, but joins host Frank Stasio live at the Triad Stage as a solo act.

Tam's band, Camus and Crew will perform at Bull's Tavern in Winston-Salem on Friday, March 13 at 9 p.m.

Frank Stasio

Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.

See stories by Frank Stasio

Grant Holub-Moorman

Grant Holub-Moorman is a producer for The State of Things, WUNC's daily, live talk show that features the issues, personalities and places of North Carolina.

See stories by Grant Holub-Moorman