Artists:Allette Brooks

Allette Brooks is a passionate and articulate singer-songwriter, committed to working towards healing on individual, community and global levels. She is a dedicated yoga practitioner, teaching yoga at home in New Haven, CT and on the road.

Allette has released three self-produced CDs and toured nationwide. She's a classically trained vocalist now singing acoustic folk. She didn't pick up her instrument of choice, a guitar, until she was studying ecology in Botswana as a college junior. She played until her fingers bled (this actually happened!) and then jumped into national touring four years later, playing over a hundred shows each year and winning fans from Astoria, OR, to Brunswick, ME.

In 2004, Allette took a hiatus from touring to pursue her longtime vision of studying music about HIV/AIDS in Botswana. In May 2006, Allette completed her MA in African Studies at Yale University with a thesis titled, "Music and HIV/AIDS in Botswana: Rearticulating Relationships Through Song."

Allette released her latest album, "Swim With Me" in November 2001, and continued to tour extensively including stops at the National Women's Music Festival, the Tucson folk Festival, and the Emerging Artists Showcase at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. Known after the title of her second album, as the "Silicon Valley Rebel", Allette was interviewed as part of a BBC syndicated radio documentary about the development of Silicon Valley. Her songs Rolling Blackout and Driving were featured in the musical accompaniment to the program. Allette's deep connection with the earth is evidenced in her songs, as comments on ecological issues mingle with colorful imageries of the natural world. Recognizing this, Whole Earth Magazine recently included Allette in their feature on Eco-folk music. As part of her Swim With Me tour, Allette opened several shows for Al Stewart and entertained audiences across the country at venues ranging from house concerts to Club Passim and the Freight and Salvage.

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