Songwriters in the Round

Maria Quiles is a folk Americana songwriter whose music lives at the crossroads of grit and grace. With a voice that carries equal parts tenderness and fire, she writes songs about love, loss, resilience, and the quiet courage of becoming.

As the frontwoman of the nationally touring duo Quiles & Cloud, she released music with Compass Records, won the FreshGrass Duo Competition, and shared stages with Jerry Douglas, Aoife O'Donovan, and John Craigie. Now based in Carrboro, North Carolina, she is returning to the stage with a new body of work, and she teaches music, yoga, and her voice-centered practice, BodySong.

Wes Collins writes songs that dig deep and go to uncertain, sometimes scary places. Come for a haunting melody and some intricate fingerpicking, and stay for the wit and deep literary intelligence. There is always more to find in a Wes Collins song.

A former librarian and avowed record nerd, Wes can imitate the sound of outmoded computer voice simulations, though he hasn't found a way to make that pay yet. He has played from coast to coast, including the Blue Bird Cafe in Nashville and the Kerrville Folk Festival, and he is a winner of the Grassy Hills New Folk Competition and a North Carolina Arts Council Songwriting Fellowship.

Bill West is a musical shapeshifter: an aspiring drummer turned guitarist and singer, band veteran turned solo powerhouse, and a songwriter who is as at home by a crackling campfire as under theater spotlights. He has played over 2,500 shows and shared stages with Counting Crows, the Goo Goo Dolls, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and Sister Hazel.

His raw, road-polished solo act has earned more than 9 million streams worldwide, with fan-adored covers of David Gilmour's "Murder" and Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door." His philosophy about playing live: send out energy, let the audience send it back, and build something unforgettable. He calls it the invisible bridge.