What We Do
We bring music from next door to the world. Strawberry pickers in California who hail from a village in Mexico where the clouds touch the earth. A lightning-fast roadhouse guitarist who exemplifies Oakland biker mayhem. An old hand with horses who sings cowboy songs with true depth. A hard-working retired machinist with a gritty blues voice full of the stories of living. Their lives and their music may be very different but they have one thing in common — their incredible music is rooted in fascinating cultural stories and has yet to be discovered.
How We Do It
Enter Jim Pugh and his Little Village Foundation, a non-profit cultural producer and record label that searches out, discovers, records and produces music that otherwise would not be heard beyond the artist’s family and community. Little Village supports the dreams of artists from non-traditional backgrounds. Many of these artists gave up performing careers long ago or make music just as a part of telling their community stories. Through some detective work and the help of an extensive network from his long performing career, Jim learns of great music happening in communities throughout the country, music that has deep roots in American popular and roots traditions. He then offers to record their music at no expense to the artist at all. Usually this is the very first time the artist has been recorded. Not only is there no expense to the artist, Little Village Foundation gives ALL proceeds from sales back to the artists. ALWAYS. This happens with the donations of people like you!
Why We Do It
As a musician who toured internationally over a storied career that continues today, Jim understands the powerful impact of music and how it changes lives and perspectives. His belief that diverse music builds empathy that builds stronger communities and a better world is the guiding force behind Little Village. We record artists and help connect them to their own community by giving them a CD. The CD is documentation of their craft and of their important community and life stories. The CD allows them to share the music with their friends and family, and it gives Little Village a chance to share their music with the world, earning them acclaim and winning them more fans.