NCFF + Flat Iron Present: Local Folk ft. Rissi Palmer +Mayia Warren

RISSI PALMER’s gift lies in reaching across boundaries. One of our most compelling singers, she is at home in R&B but made her mark in country, bringing the entire spectrum of popular music to bear on music she calls “Southern Soul.”

Her new album, Revival, is her most powerful work to date. The product of a mature artistic vision, laser-focused social consciousness, and a voice with the power and grace only experience can bring, it is also her most important work. Revival finds Rissi dealing with some of the most pressing issues of the times, as well as with the personal realms of love, loss, and identity.

The daughter of Georgia natives, Rissi was born near Pittsburgh and spent her adolescent years in Missouri. Raised in a family that loved both country and R&B, she sang in a singing troupe sponsored by a local television station at 16. She was offered her first publishing and label deals at 19, and in 2007 released the album Rissi Palmer, charting with the singles, “Country Girl,” “Hold On To Me,” and “No Air.” She followed with an independently released children’s album, Best Day Ever, and an EP called The Back Porch Sessions. Rissi has performed at The White House, Lincoln Center, and the Grand Ole Opry, has appeared on Oprah & Friends, CNN, and the CBS Early Show. She has shared stages with Taylor Swift, The Eagles, and Charley Crockett, and she has been featured in Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal, People, Parade, Ebony, Newsweek, and The Huffington Post.

*

MAYIA WARREN, a dynamic independent Gospel artist and worship leader from Raleigh, North Carolina, is known for her rich, soulful sound that resonates across generations. Her music, rooted in the Gospel yet influenced by Neo Soul, R&B, and Jazz, exudes power, vulnerability, and hope—inviting listeners into an authentic encounter with God. As a gifted storyteller, she uses her songs to guide audiences through deeply personal themes like trauma, identity, and the transformative power of God.