Neftali Kirkland (they/them)

Although Neftali’s musical journey started on the guitar, they have spent most of their adult life branching out from strings and finding the musicality in many more sounds and art forms. Before finding their way behind the kit, Neftali developed a love for rhythm in middle school when they and their best friend at the time started teaching each other how to break dance. That led to building a crew in high school of kids all looking to express, to learn, and to find a safe space to be themselves through the arts. On the stage, in the community, and in battles, Neftali started honing their skills as an MC and also as a teaching artist as the head of their high school hip-hop club. In breaking, every dancer is a teacher and everyone has something to share of their style and from their experiences. Neftali has carried this as one of their core principles as a teacher: any learner who is passionate and is ready to speak in their own voice and listen has something valuable to share with us all! Around the same time, Neftali started making beats, encouraging their friends to rap/sing on them,  and taking music classes at school such as guitar and marching/concert band.

After high school, Neftali continued their education at Cornish College of the Arts where they received their BFA in Film Directing/Writing. After departing from dancing during college, Neftali started to find a place among some of the punk musicians in Seattle where being on the drums gave them a very natural outlet to fill the space that breaking created for them. Finally having a space to practice on acoustic kit, Neftali started jamming and playing with anyone who would take the time to with them. This eventually lead to them joining one of the bands they currently play in called The Molly Sour. They have played with groups such as Hell Baby, OK Bucko, and singer/songwriters such as Ron Gallo. Neftali is excited to work with kids of all ages and helping them all find their voice to play through. Neftali believes that music is a great resource for finding and building community which is a great skill to develop through something we all love.