Sedona singer-songwriter Damiyr Shuford had council members, staffers and the members of the public in the audience jamming along to his beat during the Sedona City Council’s first Moment of Art of the new year on Jan. 10.
Shuford opened with his song “My Prayer,” a slow number on keyboard making a plea for connectivity, compassion and awareness of the earth. Offering a broad appeal to local schools of spiritual thought, the lyrics conjoined the names of Buddha, Jehovah and Gaia and brought tears to the eyes of Economic Development Director Molly Spangler.
“My Prayer” was followed by another of Shuford’s compositions, the more lively “Kingdom Come.”
“Nurture the root,” Shuford urged his audience. “Don’t focus on the flower or fruit. Nurture the seed. You already have everything you need.”
His vocals and fingerwork on acoustic guitar had Vice Mayor Holli Ploog bopping with the rhythm up on the dais, along with a good quarter of the audience.
“That is a great message to give us right before we start our meeting,” Councilwoman Jessica Williamson enthused after the show. Mayor Scott Jablow called his performance “fabulous.”
“I thought these were great for the beginning of the year,” said Nancy Lattanzi, the city’s arts and culture coordinator.
A New York subway busker who relocated to Sedona three years ago, Shuford has had television roles on “America’s Got Talent,” “Law & Order” and “The Blacklist,” among others, and performed at the 2022 Sedona VortiFest. He previously appeared at The Operating Room at the Old School Studios in Jerome for the First Saturday Art Walk on Jan. 7
