A west side farmer and musician is merging her farm work with her music career under a new project called Roots & Riddim, a hopeful story for a community still recovering from storm damage.

• Chardonnay, long a farmer but publicly known for music, is now combining both into one project.
• Roots stands for the farm, rhythm for the music, and she plans to build a space where families can learn food security and animal care.
• West side families are still repairing damage from the recent hurricane, with some homes losing power for almost a week and food supplies running short.
• On AI in music, she sees the flood of machine-made sound as a reason to lean into being real, cracks and all.
• A water-saving tip: thick wood chips or mulch around banana trees and taro patches slow evaporation under the strong sun.

Outlook: Recovery work continues on the west side, with a push to be better prepared before the next big storm.