For Bioneers’ 36th conference, we are excited for art to play a vital, celebratory, and transformational role at the conference. Check out this year’s contributing artists.
2025 Performers
Thursday, March 26th
March 26th | 8:50 am to 9:05 am | Zellerbach Hall
Deb Lane
Drummer and Water Conservation Administrator
Deb Lane has been playing the drums for most of her life. Formerly a member of the Santa Cruz World Beat Band, Pele Juju, she performs with artists throughout the Bay Area and beyond. In addition to her musical endeavors, Deb is a leader in water-use efficiency and works as a Water Conservation Administrator.
Afia Walking Tree
Percussionist, Educator and Facilitator
Afia Walking Tree, M.Ed., a Jamaican-born feminist percussionist, educator, and facilitator working at the “crossroads of rhythm, land, and liberation,” is an adjunct professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), an Artist-in-Residence with the African American Policy Forum, and One Billion Rising/V-Day’s Jamaica Coordinator. Afia has returned to Jamaica to steward a 25-acre regenerative land-based sanctuary and learning hub (Solidarity Yaad), where she curates nature-immersed healing journeys and eco-experiences rooted in ancestral wisdom, agroforestry, food security, and community care, prioritizing BIPOC women, and gender-expansive, queer, and trans-masculine people.
March 26th | 10:25 am to 10:37 am | Zellerbach Hall
Garth Stevenson
Musician and Composer
Garth Stevenson, a highly accomplished double bassist and composer especially known for creating music in direct communion with the natural world, traveled to Antarctica with the legendary biologist Dr. Roger Payne in 2010 to study whale communication and was able to imitate those calls on his double bass, attracting a dozen sei whales to their icebreaker. He has continued that work, most recently during a 2025 trip to Baja, Mexico to play for humpback whales, an extraordinary episode that was captured on film by National Geographic director Andy Mann.
Strange Exchange (SE) is a hyper-local, community-focused project that extends the useful life of small household items, reduces waste and knits local non-profits and individuals together through reuse. SE is an “exchange” only in the aggregate, i.e., people don’t need to bring something to take something. All items are free. To-date, 6,700+ lbs of items have been “reshuffled!” Come participate in the non-monetary economy and experience the thrill of reshuffling. Perhaps you’ll be inspired to start a Strange Exchange of your own.
Strange Exchange will be accepting the following items (please bring in clean and in good condition): eyewear (sunglasses, prescription glasses, eyeglass cases, soft cloths and repair kits); small pet items (bowls, leashes, collars, toys); paper products (greeting cards, postcards, envelopes, unused journals and notebooks, post-its & 2026 calendars); costume jewelry (including broken jewelry and single earrings); small hardware (hooks, nails, screws, knobs, tools, locks) and accessories (shoelaces, wallets and men’s belts). Some of these items will be offered back to the community (for free, of course!) and others will be delivered to our non-profit partners.
March 26th | 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm | On Allston Way just outside of the Marsh Theater
For all artists, people employed in the arts and art enthusiasts of all stripes: Come meet some of the artists whose work is featured at Bioneers this year and mingle and connect in this casual space. You are welcome to bring your lunch, pop in and out, or stay the whole time. This is an unstructured mixer, and not a facilitated networking event.
March 26th | 1:30 pm to 2:45 pm | The Marsh Cabaret
Music for Defenders of Land and Life is a musical set by Nēkajun, an Iranian American musician, organizer, and farmer. Through original songs and storytelling, she examines how extractive systems shape people’s livelihoods, ecosystems, and futures, while uplifting movements working to defend land and life. The performance centers frontline narratives and uses music to connect political struggle, ecological survival, and collective responsibility. Grounded in real struggles for land, food, and dignity, this set is offered in solidarity with those working to protect life on earth.
March 26th | 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm | The Marsh Main Stage
In this inspirational workshop, pioneering “engaged” performers and artist/educators Hila the Earth and Aaron Ableman join forces, drawing from their respective, award-winning, viral projects that sit at the intersection of music, art, activism and comedy in a special Bioneers collaboration designed to make us get systems change and ecological consciousness into our bodies and spirits. It is their firm belief that artists can be essential drivers of systemic change who can activate strategic shifts in how communities engage with their challenges. They will share “music-for-impact” and other narrative frameworks we can use to harness the emotional and spiritual power of art to align our inner values with outer systemic change.
March 26th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | The Marsh Main Stage
Friday, March 27th
March 27th | 8:50 am to 9:05 am | Zellerbach Hall
Afia Walking Tree
Percussionist, Educator and Facilitator
Afia Walking Tree, M.Ed., a Jamaican-born feminist percussionist, educator, and facilitator working at the “crossroads of rhythm, land, and liberation,” is an adjunct professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), an Artist-in-Residence with the African American Policy Forum, and One Billion Rising/V-Day’s Jamaica Coordinator. Afia has returned to Jamaica to steward a 25-acre regenerative land-based sanctuary and learning hub (Solidarity Yaad), where she curates nature-immersed healing journeys and eco-experiences rooted in ancestral wisdom, agroforestry, food security, and community care, prioritizing BIPOC women, and gender-expansive, queer, and trans-masculine people.
Deb Lane
Drummer and Water Conservation Administrator
Deb Lane has been playing the drums for most of her life. Formerly a member of the Santa Cruz World Beat Band, Pele Juju, she performs with artists throughout the Bay Area and beyond. In addition to her musical endeavors, Deb is a leader in water-use efficiency and works as a Water Conservation Administrator.
March 27th | 10:30 am to 10:40 am | Zellerbach Hall
Destani Wolf
Singer and Musical Educator
Destani Wolf, a Berkeley, CA-based singer and musical educator, celebrated by Jazz Times as “one of the West Coast’s most inventive vocalists…and an accomplished improviser,” has gained renowned for her powerful, soulful voice, impeccable control, effortless vocal range, and original, genre-defying songs. Hers has been a remarkable musical trajectory from performing at 15 at the Great American Music Hall to recording on over 40 albums including 3 that were GRAMMY-nominated, to being a lead vocalist of Cirque du Soleil, to currently being a Professor at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a member of the legendary Bobby McFerrin's MOTION.
Come get a taste of the variety of performances at the Marsh! This casual cabaret is perfect for anyone who wants to sample some of what the Arts Hub of the Bioneers Conference has to offer this year. Bring your lunch and enjoy!
March 27th | 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm | The Marsh Main Stage
Sit across from a stranger and draw each other…badly. In this playful Bad Art Club workshop, we invite participants to pair up with a stranger to create intentionally bad portraits in order to help us slow down, make eye contact, and let go of perfection in favor of connection. Come draw badly and leave with a portrait and a new friend. Low-pressure, drop-in friendly, and accessible for all abilities.
March 27th | 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm | The Marsh Cabaret
Fever Pitch, a powerful multimedia performance by Taína Asili, channels two decades of art and activism into a visionary call for climate justice. This one-hour experience fuses live music, dance, and cinematic visuals to explore the intersectional issues related to the urgency of climate change, and to uplift the frontlines of movements rising with courage and creativity. Featuring Asili’s original music, the show integrates emotionally-charged songs and choreography and projected video drawn from her award-winning films and music videos. Fever Pitch invites audiences into an immersive journey of resistance and renewal, while offering a creative space to imagine and embody a more just and sustainable world.
March 27th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | The Marsh Main Stage
An epic eco-fashion show featuring a line-up of local designers, including Natalie Walsh, Ash Rex Something, Susan Goldie, Amanda Hayami, Sophia Chen, Aurie Stetzel, Minkah Taharkah and more!
March 27th | 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm | The Marsh Main Stage
Bioneers is delighted to be able to present a uniquely diverse musical showcase of two extraordinary performers. Opening this remarkable double-bill is Garth Stevenson, a renowned musician, composer and eco-activist who has appeared on some 50 albums, collaborated with leading musicians from all over the globe, and counts among his mentors the legendary biologist Roger Payne, the first to record humpback whales in the 1960s. Garth has played his double bass not only for people around the world but also among seals, penguins, icebergs, and in the bow of small boats where he imitates whale calls on his bass. He will perform music based on those extraordinary interspecies exchanges accompanied by stunning video footage.
The closer will be Berkeley’s own powerfully soulful, deeply original and inventive, genre-defying vocalist and improviser, Destani Wolf, who has appeared on over 40 albums including 3 that were GRAMMY-nominated, been a lead vocalist for Cirque du Soleil, and is a Professor at SF Music Conservatory and a member of Bobby McFerrin’s MOTION.
Note: This event is not included in the conference registration, so Bioneers attendees must register separately for it.
Doors are at 7:45 pm, show starts at 8:15 pm.
March 27th | 8:15 pm to 10:30 pm | Freight & Salvage
Note: A separate $45 fee is required for this event.
Saturday, March 28th
March 28th | 8:50 am to 9:05 am | Zellerbach Hall
Deb Lane
Drummer and Water Conservation Administrator
Deb Lane has been playing the drums for most of her life. Formerly a member of the Santa Cruz World Beat Band, Pele Juju, she performs with artists throughout the Bay Area and beyond. In addition to her musical endeavors, Deb is a leader in water-use efficiency and works as a Water Conservation Administrator.
Afia Walking Tree
Percussionist, Educator and Facilitator
Afia Walking Tree, M.Ed., a Jamaican-born feminist percussionist, educator, and facilitator working at the “crossroads of rhythm, land, and liberation,” is an adjunct professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), an Artist-in-Residence with the African American Policy Forum, and One Billion Rising/V-Day’s Jamaica Coordinator. Afia has returned to Jamaica to steward a 25-acre regenerative land-based sanctuary and learning hub (Solidarity Yaad), where she curates nature-immersed healing journeys and eco-experiences rooted in ancestral wisdom, agroforestry, food security, and community care, prioritizing BIPOC women, and gender-expansive, queer, and trans-masculine people.
March 28th | 10:50 am to 11:00 am | Zellerbach Hall
The Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company
The Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company (DAYPC) is a diverse group of teens that collaborates with professional artists to create dynamic, original productions. Combining hip hop, modern and aerial dance, theater, song, and rap, company members take the stage to tell stories that stem from their lived experiences and express their visions for a world transformed. Since 1993, DAYPC has performed original work for up to 25,000 audience members annually, garnering critical acclaim and widespread community support for both their technical prowess and their commitment to advancing inclusivity, equity, and justice.
