The migration of professional Chinese instrumentalists to North America often places them in a cultural conundrum, compelling them to transition from the realm of “classically trained musicians” to that of “folk musicians.” In the late 20^th century, a new paradigm of Chinese music emerged, heavily influenced by Western conventions. Within this framework, students studying traditional Chinese instruments were groomed in a “classical” style conducive to concert performance. However, upon relocating to North America, many immigrant musicians have found themselves adapting to local musical traditions, modifying their performance practices to align with a more “folk” aesthetic suitable for the multicultural Western music scene. This paper delves into the nuanced landscape of diasporic music-making, employing autoethnographic methodologies and ethnographic fieldwork to explore the transformative journey of professional Chinese instrumentalists in North America. Music serves as a fertile ground for examining complex social dynamics, cultural intersections, and power structures (Born, 2012). As John Street (2011) states, “music does not just provide a vehicle of political expression, it is that expression.” The historical power differentials between China and the West in the twentieth century precipitated substantial reforms in Chinese musical traditions. The transition of immigrant Chinese musicians from “classical” performers in China to “folk” artists in North America represents a manifestation of this asymmetrical power dynamic, illustrating the process of “ethnification” within the context of musical diaspora.

From October 2022 to April 2023, the Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum (PIEAM) in Long Beach, California, hosted Jam Sessions, a monthly concert series featuring island reggae performances by six diasporic Pacific Islander groups. Collaborating with Island Block Network, a Samoan-owned concert company, PIEAM, the only Pacific-Indigenous-themed museum in the continental US, aimed to celebrate ancestral wisdom within temporal cycles. This initiative coincided with the museum’s exhibition, Te ‘Iti Nei Te Marama: The Moon Is Rising, challenging Western perceptions of time through the Pacific ancestral lunar calendar. Participated in the moon phrase of the time, the Jam Sessions concerts marked as a rest time and a reunion party for Pacific ancestors and descendants in the exhibition. These concerts, showcasing island reggae—a musical genre combining the island reggae roots from Hawai‘i and urban island music from Southern California—became a practice of the Pacific-Indigenous time in the continent. By engaging with Black popular music, particularly reggae, these diasporic Islanders narrate their stories on the continent within their own historical timeline. Incorporating Mark Rifkin’s concept of temporal sovereignty (2017) and the affirmation of the diaspora’s Indigeneity by Native Pacific cultural scholars (Diaz and Kauanui 2001), I introduce the concept of “continental islandness” to contextualize Southern Californian Islanders’ Indigneity within their temporal framework of islands. I argue that, despite their proximity to Hollywood and reliance on the entertainment industry, diasporic Islander reggae artists resist settler temporal framework, asserting their island heritage and continental roots through music and performances in their Pacific Indigenous time.

Following the 1979 revolution in Iran, many musicians migrated abroad due to the restrictions imposed by the Islamic Republic of Iran, particularly on cultural activities, including music. More recently, migration has significantly increased due to censorship and political issues. Regarding the diaspora and Iranian music, the focus has often been on Iranians in Los Angeles, United States (Hemmasi 2020), while insufficient attention has been given to the diaspora of Iranian musicians in New York City, especially women musicians. This shows the need for a more extensive examination and description of women's musical activities in this city. I argue that the impact of female musicians on Iranian culture and identity, the challenges they face in the New York music scene, and their experiences of success and failure in this industry underscore the importance of studying and analyzing this subject. The method of this article includes interviews with women musicians living in New York City and attending their concerts. The research findings prove that women's musical activities in New York City have distinct characteristics and challenges. I explore how the role of women musicians in preserving and enhancing Iranian cultural identity, their impact on the local community, and their contributions to cultural exchanges between Iranians and non-Iranians.