Thea Hopkins | 2019 Native Launchpad Artist

ARTIST WEBSITE

Tribal Affiliation: Aquinnah Wampanoag

Artistic Discipline: Singer/songwriter

Somerville, MA

I consider myself first and foremost a songwriter. My love of words emerged at an early age. I was obsessed with the opera Carmen at the age of seven. I began writing poetry at eight. A summer afternoon back then would find me with a pile of books, curled up on my grandfather’s sofa in Aquinnah, listening to his collection of Gershwin and Rogers. I wrote my first song as a teen after a friend's death. Throughout my life, both lyrics and melodies have come to me in dreams. My music first came to greater public notice when my song, “Jesus Is On The Wire” was recorded by Peter, Paul & Mary in 2004 and again in 2010 with the Prague Symphony Orchestra. “Jesus Is On The Wire” was dedicated to the memory of Matthew Shepard. Since that time my music has brought me to stages across America and the UK , most recently in Newcastle, UK, at the Summer Tyne Americana Festival. I am a member of the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe of Martha’s Vineyard and honored to have received a fellowship from the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation in 2017. My fourth CD, “Love Come Down” was released in 2018.