Music Performers

Sara Henya is a Philadelphia based fantasy composer and harpist. Most recently, you may have heard her compositions on the app Pocket Bard; an interactive music app for TTRPGs. Henya is interested in story-telling of all kinds, and after putting out her Fantasy-Pop album Pop Goblin in 2023, produced epic music videos rife with lore that can be found on her Youtube channel (@sarahenya). More recently she’s been scoring short films and theater plays, performing comedy music in giant yarn beards, and live scoring choose-your-own adventure tales with audience participation.  If you’re interested in hearing more, find Sara Henya’s music on her website sarahenya.com, on her Youtube page, Bandcamp, and most streaming services. 

Devin Russian’s music has been compared to that of a 90’s alternative band doing an unplugged session; it blends thoughtful lyricism with indie-folk melodies, often reflecting themes of introspection and a connection to nature and astronomy. Devin, who considers himself an alt-rock singer-songwriter, is member of the Pittsburgh Songwriters Circle; the host of their Saturday Invitational event at the Starlite Lounge in Blawnox, PA; and the co-host of the Wednesday Open Mic at the Starlite as well. For a list of his releases, videos, links to social media, and upcoming shows, check out devinrussian.com.

Twilly is a symphonic sorceress who weaves spells made of glamourous, synth-infused pop and fiery metallic edge to put her listeners under her spell. Her music calls out to the witches, misfits, rebels, and oddballs who crave a haven, then she fills that haven with her dark, danceable jams. Twilly’s music, which blends furious metal riffs and clean pop hooks, is glam yet grim, edgy yet polished, fierce yet vulnerable. But Twilly revels in the contradictions. Like the fabric that inspired her name, Twilly weaves that chaos into something comfortable and authentic. Her music is a sanctuary for those who feel like they are too much, but also not enough. Come – Rage. Rave. Rise.

The Denebian Slime Devils is a Baltimore-based filk group that has been writing and performing sci-fi, media, and pop culture parodies since the late 1970s.  The group’s members are Regina DeSimone, Cathy Dougherty, Melissa James, and Denise Masters.  Way back when, in planning Shore Leave 2, a group of friends who also happened to be on the con committee decided to do some filking to fill in some time during filksing. And they’ve been at it ever since, appearing annually at Shore Leave and other conventions, and even performing for a bar mitzvah party! This year, the Slime Devils are happy to make their first appearance at Confluence.

Bisexual Harry is a Milwaukee-based wizard rock project founded by Lan Flynn for trans liberation and Azkaban abolition. Their music explores political themes through the language of fandom as well as the raging bisexuality of one Harry James Potter.

Hallie Dolin is a medical microbiology fellow, wannabe writer, and super-nerd living in Cleveland, Ohio. She has been singing for more than thirty years and playing the guitar on and off for twenty, and returned to songwriting last year after a hiatus of almost a decade. Hallie is incredibly excited to play at Confluence and to gush about cool stuff in song. When she’s not trying to memorize bacterial colony appearances, Hallie knits, writes fiction and poetry, and spends time with her cat Scrump (also pictured). 

Alexandra Higgins (aka the Platypus Princess) is a self-taught singer/songwriter whose folk-indie sound evokes the spirit of Joan Baez (direct quote heard randomly and unprompted at every performance!). Her voice, often described as angelic, carries melodies that mix ethereal beauty with sharp wit and compassionate wisdom. Inspired by video games, movies, comic books, and disability advocacy, she blends cosplay, wordplay, and colorful guitar play — with a pinch of sass.

Chris Wozney discovered filking when she enlisted as an Army medic during Operation Desert Storm (the actual military effort, not the Tom Smith song). She sang filk around the military base in Germany and during field training exercises: songs by Lackey, Fish, Kipling, and McQuillin.  Back stateside, she started joining house filks and circles at conventions and contributing to the Xenofilkia zine (among others). One wonderful night at a California con, she realized she was actually in the same room as the celebrated filkers Cat Faber, Frank Hayes, Kathy Mar, and Bob Kanefsky — heaven on earth indeed!  For 20 years she worked as a teacher, and her “Literature of SF and Fantasy” class was a perennial favorite with students. Now she works as an editor, both freelance and for Penmore Press, but she credits music with keeping her young.

With performance ASL for select concerts by Judi Miller

Judi Miller has been active in the filk community since the 1980s. She won the Pegasus Award for Best Performer in 2006 and 2017 and was admitted to the Filk Hall of Fame in 2017. Judi is best known for her sign-language musical interpretation, which she has done for concerts at our conference and elsewhere for many years. She was our 30th Anniversary Honors Guest in 2019 and we are very glad that she can be with us again.

Music-Programming Coordinator
W. Randy Hoffman a member of the Filk Hall of Fame, has been coordinating Confluence’s music programming for three decades. When he isn’t at a concert or convention either appreciating or wrangling performers, he does business analysis for the Enterprise Reporting team serving the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs and fields trouble tickets from diplomatic posts around the world.
He has written an enormous number of songs, has won numerous songwriting contests, has been nominated for seven Pegasus Awards and has been running the music program at Confluence—which he considers his home convention—since 1995. (Well, he also lives with his parents near Williamsport, PA, and plays board games with them when they aren’t too busy watching Fox News.)

Sound Technicians:
Mark Peters has been a member of the filk community since at least 1999. In addition to running sound here at Confluence and at Ohio Valley Filk Fest (OVFF) and Marcon in Columbus, OH, he is a member of the OVFF convention committee, often providing a calm voice in a sea of chaos. Mark has a passion for filk, advocating for filkers and other performers who might be overlooked or not as well-known as they should be. He was inducted to the Filk Hall of Fame in 2022.

Roberta Slocumb has been a member of the filk community for many years and has run the music programming at Marcon in Columbus for the past decade or so.