The Washington Post praised Yasmin Williams for “challenging preconceptions about what music by young Black artists or acoustic guitarists can be — and making that challenge sound calming and beautiful.” A Northern Virginia native, she grew up playing rock and go-go, listening to Hendrix and Nirvana. She studied composition at NYU and developed her own fingerstyle approach to the guitar, often playing it on her lap, sometimes even pairing it with kalimba or kora. Her music is both deeply technical and deeply human — she’s just as likely to tap out a rhythm on the body of her guitar as she is to let a single note ring for what seems like forever.
This year, Yasmin released her latest project, Acadia, on Nonesuch Records — a breathtaking collection that Acoustic Guitar Magazine calls “a celebration of connections — between genres, cultures, and people.” Her music invites us to slow down, to notice, to listen — not just to the notes, but to the space between them.
