Deaf singer makes it to ‘America’s Got Talent’ semifinals

A Colorado singer moved into the semifinals of “America’s Got Talent” after performing a song she wrote called Mara's Song. The judges stood and gave Mandy Harvey a standing ovation when she finished. Mandy Harvey lost her hearing as as teen. Here's a video of that performance.

Terps visualize noise for deaf fans at Lollapalooza

Amber Galloway-Gallego has choosen not to use a traditional style of interpreting: Instead of avoiding movement that might distract from music performances or trying to represent the musical instruments, she and some other ASL interpreters hope to bring their work to life with a full-immersion style of communicating. Read the story here.

Happy Birthday Bob Hiltermann!

Deaf since the age of 4, Bob Hiltermann was born on this day (August 1, 1952) in Germany, the tenth of eleven children born. A bout with meningitis left him deaf but he wasn't diagnosed until the age of ten. Hiltermann learned ASL while attending Gallaudet University in Washington, DC and later formed MuSign (a Signing/Mime company). He acted with Marlee Matlin in Children of a Lesser God, was featured in See What I'm Saying and The Hammer, he created ASL videos called Shut Up and Sign and is drummer for Beethoven's Nightmare.

No Terp for Jazz Fest

A deaf woman says it is "frustrating" that the Montreal International Jazz Festival denied her request for a sign language interpreter. Natasha Luttrell told the CBC, "I asked for one performance, only one performance to have an interpretation and they refused." Read the full story here.

Terps at Chance The Rapper's concerts

image from ChancetheRapper twitter feed

Chance the Rapper is hiring his own ASL interpreters for all of his concerts. They are from DEAFinitely Dope. InTouch Weekly reports here that he is the first rapper to pay for his own terps.

Deaf Musician on American's Got Talent

Deaf singer and Florida native (now living in Colorado) Mandy Harvey appeared on America’s Got Talent this week. She earned cheers and applause from the crowd and a “golden buzzer” from Simon Cowell. Harvey is 29-years-old having lost her hearing when she was 18 from a degenerative ear disease. She said, "Music is an expression of the soul, and for me it's always been the way I could communicate.” Watch her audition here.

a new South Texas Festival

The Good Vibrations Music and Arts Festival took place for the first time in San Antonio yesterday. KSAT-TV says it was "specifically for the deaf and hard of hearing community and has this video report.

The Good Vibrations Music and Art Fest

The Good Vibrations Music and Art Festival takes place Saturday in San Antonio. There will be craft booths, food, a lightshow and a deaf-accessible concert. The current Miss San Antonio, deaf singer Emma Rudkin, will perform. KSAT-TV has more in a video report.

The Good Vibrations Music and Arts Festival

Organizers of a Texas music festival set for the summer claim it will be the first to be completely accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing community. KHOU-TV has a video report.