Every show has its own lineup, drawn from the Monsters below

Sapporo, Japan

Born in Sapporo in 1984, Masahiro Nitta took up Tsugaru shamisen at 14 under his father, Hiroshi Nitta, and won the national competition in Kanagi in 2000 and 2001. Masahiro also performs with his father as the duo Nitta Oyako, and has played the Kennedy Center.

Misawa, Japan

Raised in northern Japan, Kevin Kmetz became the first foreigner to win awards at Japan's Tsugaru shamisen tournaments, in 2005. Kevin leads the band God of Shamisen and played shamisen on the soundtrack of Kubo and the Two Strings.

Los Angeles, California

Mike Penny took up Tsugaru shamisen in 2004 as a student of Kevin Kmetz and placed at a national Tsugaru shamisen tournament in 2006. Mike has also performed with Fishtank Ensemble and the Taiko Center of Los Angeles.

Sundsvall, Sweden

An early student of Kevin Kmetz, Grant Reimer travelled to Japan with Kevin between 2007 and 2010 and joined Monsters of Shamisen performances there. He has lived in Sweden since 2014, where he owns and runs Stoked Coffee Roasters.

Santa Cruz, California

Kyle Abbott started shamisen at 13, and founded Bachido (the international shamisen community) in 2011. Producer of the Monsters of Shamisen albums Stellar and Resonance, as well as several solo albums and the Waves of Harmony project, Kyle performs with his wife Su Bunjamin as MK Fufu.

Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo-born Reigen Fujii took up shamisen at 12 and won the Tsugaru Shamisen Japan Championship in 2012. Reigen developed a chord theory for shamisen and has worked with artists including Arashi and Momoiro Clover Z.

Santa Cruz, California

Su Bunjamin is a shamisen performer, educator and min'yo vocalist. Co-founder of Shamisen Berlin in 2014 and founder of the teaching platform Shamisen-Zentrale, Su performs with her husband Kyle Abbott as MK Fufu.

São Paulo, Brazil

Rodrigo Junji is a composer and shamisen player, and the founder of Sawari, a shamisen school in São Paulo. In 2021 Rodrigo won three categories at the first Latin American Tsugaru Shamisen Competition.

Portland, Oregon

Truman Wilson has studied shamisen since 2021 under Yumi Torimaru (Kotori Oyama) in Portland. He is also the maker of ZenGo Bachi, a small workshop producing custom handmade acrylic bachi for Tsugaru shamisen players worldwide.

Atlanta, Georgia

Elton Shinji began playing Tsugaru shamisen in 2021 and studied independently until 2025, when he began lessons with Abe Kinzaburo. Originally from Brazil, he studies in Atlanta and won the Video Division at the 13th Biwako Tournament.

Los Angeles, California

A graduate of the University of Miami's jazz guitar program, Edwin Itoh performs, teaches, records and produces music in Los Angeles. He has played shamisen since 2020, and records and produces for Waves of Harmony, Kyle Abbott's world-fusion group.

Portland, Oregon

Adrian Crovetto took up shamisen while living in Ogori, Fukuoka, largely self-taught from Bachido's free online lessons. Back in San Jose in 2012, Adrian competed with Team Bachido at the Hirosaki national tournament and helped Kyle Abbott teach and play festivals. Adrian is back after a long break, and likes to mix genres.

Portland, Oregon

Yumi Torimaru studies under Ryuhiro Oyama of the Oyama-kai and received a natori, a master's name, in 2019. Yumi founded and directs Takohachi and the Kotori Kai Shamisen School, and teaches shamisen at Lewis & Clark College.