J.S. Ondara grew up in Kenya, listening to music on his sisters’ battery-powered radio and learning to sing without any instruments available to play. At age 20 (2013) he won a green card lottery and moved to Minnesota, since that’s where his hero Bob Dylan was from. After a few years of learning guitar and playing cafes and other small venues, he was discovered by the local public radio station and was eventually able to record his first album, Tales of America (2019). Ondara had written more than 100 songs for it, all based on an immigrant's life in America. Four years, two albums and a Grammy nomination later, he’s continuing to build his fan base, and his tour takes him to the Asheville Masonic Temple on Wednesday the 20th.
Live in Studio B, Wednesday at 3pm: Ondara
