Kiki Connelly & the Understory is an intimate, listening-centered ensemble rooted in voice, presence, and collective attention. Led by vocalist and songwriter Kiki Connelly, the group approaches performance as a relational act — one that privileges care, restraint, and deep listening over resolution or spectacle.
For this performance, the Understory features:
- Kiki Connelly on vocals
- Arista Hawkes on upright bass and vocals
- Anna Lumiere on keys and vocals
Together, the trio works with sparse, spacious arrangements, layered harmony, and text-driven song forms that invite listeners to sit with ambiguity, vulnerability, and the weight of what is heard — and what is not. Their music does not seek to soothe or resolve, but to remain present with complexity, cultivating listening as an ethical and communal practice.
In the context of Listening as Activism, Kiki Connelly & the Understory offer a performance shaped by attentiveness, humility, and an awareness of complicity — an offering that understands listening not as passive reception, but as a responsibility.
