SOU’WESTER EVENTS!

Discover what’s happening during your next stay or plan a visit around our free live music, workshops, wellness offerings and more!

Jul
29
Sat
Blair Borax: Presented by Sou’wester Arts @ The Sou'wester
Jul 29 @ 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm

 

Blair Borax: Presented by Sou’wester Arts

Blair Borax is a singer-songwriter who writes tender folk-pop songs to make you feel less alone. 

With vocal stylings reminiscent of 1920s jazz, songwriting that is unafraid to tackle the taboo, and pop melodies that stay with you for days, Blair Borax has something special to offer. She conjures a vocal charm somewhere in between Regina Spektor and First Aid Kit, wordsmithing inspired by folk songwriting greats like John Prine, and moody vulnerability like Haley Heynderickx and Big Thief’s Adrienne Lenker.

After releasing her first EP ‘everything is light work’ in May of 2021, Blair released her debut album “Keep Walking” in June 2022.  “Keep Walking” will take you on an emotional rollercoaster, through the stages of anger, grief, and joy beyond trauma and heartache. It is the perfect companion to help you keep walking too.  She is working on her sophomore record, “Tender Lately” this year.

 

Aug
5
Sat
Hemlock Live at The Sou’wester @ The Sou'wester
Aug 5 @ 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm

Hemlock 

Live at The Sou’wester Lodge

hemlock is the “phone-fi” bedroom folk project of swamp-raised musician Carolina Chauffe and various rotating collaborators, currently based in Chicago, IL. Bare-boned and bittersweet, this is means-to-an-end modern-day folk art for the open-hearted – a practice of gratitude to the here and now, swaying with rich, sun-glinted harmonies and tender finger-picking.
 
A self-proclaimed memory-hoarder, Carolina created hemlock in their home state of Louisiana in 2018 with the intention to further explore the practice of songwriting as a heart archive – erring on the side of the imperfect, eager, prolific. The songs of their several releases are often accompanied by intimate voicemails and field recordings – sonic collages spanning the many places they’ve called home – Astoria, OR being one of the most beloved of them. They are honored and thrilled to be back in the Pacific Northwest for a moment to share song with you.
 
Live music presented by Sou’wester Arts
Aug
12
Sat
Ritchie Young and Rebecca Sanborn @ The Sou'wester
Aug 12 @ 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm
 
 
Ritchie Young, the lead singer and songwriter for the Portland-based indie rock band Loch Lomond. The band has released several albums and has gained a following both nationally and internationally.
 
 

Rebecca Sanborn began writing songs at age six, starting an early pattern of straying creatively from sheet music. Her piano instructor taught her to write the music down, which seemed like a magical power. She also fell in love with theatre and writing, pursuing all of these arts with equal passion.  Rebecca got her first agent at age ten and landed starring roles in commercials. One director hired her on the spot because she had a voice “like Lauren Bacall”. In High School she would wake at 5 am to jump rope in the driveway and then pound out short works of fiction on the typewriter in the garage so as not to wake anyone. The love affair with stories and music continued and at eighteen, she left her native Portland, Oregon to study at The College of Santa Fe, in New Mexico—majoring in Theatre and immersing herself in the free, unpredictable world of the Contemporary Music Program. Every Thursday night a Forum was held where new music was emphatically encouraged. Rebecca had found her home. She studied under the experimental composers Joseph Weber and Peter Gordon and was moulded by Martha Graham’s personal demonstrator, Juanita Barry, in rigorous modern dance classes for four years.

Upon returning to the Northwest after college, Rebecca met her husband and musical partner, drummer Ji Tanzer. They are both members of the adventurous jazz quintet, Blue Cranes, the art pop trio, Swansea, and Portland’s veteran indie group, Loch Lomond. Rebecca and Ji also starred in the film “Light of Mine”, which garnered a coveted spot at the A.F.I. Fest in 2011. “Light of Mine” was the only independent film from The States to be included in the festival. Rebecca plays in the all-female, cape-wearing, fog-machine-loving synth trio, Eccoh Eccoh Eccoh with Kyleen King (Brandi Carlile) and Jenny Conlee-Drizos (The Decemberists).

In 2021, Rebecca was invited to write an original set of music for the Montavilla Jazz Fest—composing and arranging eight songs in two months. She performed these tunes with her long-time mentor and hero, pianist Randy Porter, bassist Jon Shaw, and of course, Ji Tanzer. The work now stands as a collective entitled “Shadow Work”. Several pieces have since been arranged by Douglas Detrick, and were performed at the 2022 Montavilla Jazz Fest with the 12-piece Portland Jazz Composers’ Ensemble as a part of “The Heroine’s Journey” – an evening with Marilyn Keller, Darrell Grant, and Rebecca Sanborn. In 2023, Rebecca was awarded a RACC grant to record “Shadow Work”.

Throughout all of the years of hard touring and performing, Rebecca never lost touch with the written word. She earned a spot in the highly competitive Tin House Winter Workshop in 2016, mentoring under Mitchell S. Jackson. She has completed five novels and continues to work on her literary, musical, or theatrical craft on a daily basis. When Rebecca isn’t engaged in art or teaching, she can be found chasing after her costume-obsessed five-year-old daughter or trying to get some sleep.

Aug
26
Sat
Starover Blue: Presented by Sou’wester Arts @ The Sou'wester Lodge
Aug 26 @ 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm
 
 
The nostalgic tones of a Juno-106 combine with ambient layers, sparkling guitars, and airy, bittersweet vocals to define Portland dream pop band Starover Blue
 
Founding members Kendall Sallay and Dirk Milotz began the group in 2007 while studying music at San Jose State University, then relocated to Portland in 2016 where they reformed as a six-piece. The band’s penchant for lush vocal harmonies, textural experimentation, and subtle use of odd meters appeals to fans of acts ranging from Cocteau Twins, Beach House, and Big Thief to The Joy Formidable, The Velvet Teen, and Wye Oak.
 
A new EP is underway for 2023 release, taking inspiration from heavier-hitting indie rock versus the synth pop textures of 2019 LP Ordinary Magic and 2016 debut Spacegeist. 
Aug
31
Thu
Sonic Ceremony: Sound Bath + Acupuncture @ The Sou'wester Lodge
Aug 31 @ 7:00 pm

QUADRAPHONIC + ACUPUNCTURE + SOUND BATH 

AUGUST 31 • 7PM

Featuring Sonic Ceremonies with Dr. Kade Rose (they/them) of Celestial Window Restorative Arts.

Harmonize your body with the healing waves of a sound bath combined with the flow of intuitive acupuncture.

  • $88 WITH ACUPUNCTURE
  • $44 SOUND BATH ONLY

Join us along with certified acupuncturist, Kade Rose, here at the Sou’wester Thursday August 31st for a unique wellness experience. This event will be held in our spacious Pavilion on the grounds of the beautiful Sou’wester and will be open to 15 participants. 8 reservations will be for a sound bath and acupuncture combination where Kade will be performing intuitive acupuncture while the sounds of her polyphonic analogue synthesizer offer deep relaxation and realignment. The remaining 7 reservations are for sound bath only where you can lay in a state of deep relaxation while the sound waves wash over you. 
The event will be an hour and a half long and we request you bring your yoga mats, blankets, pillows or anything that will make you more comfortable laying on the floor for an extended period of time. We are very excited to welcome you all to join us in wellness.
 

 

Sep
2
Sat
Olivia Awbrey Live at The Sou’wester @ The Sou'wester
Sep 2 @ 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm

Olivia Awbrey Live

Presented by Sou’wester Arts

Olivia Awbrey is a weathered songwriter based out of Oregon. Her debut full-length album, Dishonorable Harvest, gained international recognition amongst independent music enthusiasts and earned her a spot at festivals across the Northwest and in Canada. Flood Magazine notes that, “each of Awbrey‘s songs is an intricate story in itself.” An old-soul folk musician with a modern indie lens, Awbrey reflects on nuanced perspectives within conflict, drawing from the buttressing of urban and rural settings, searching for an honest moment that cuts through the noise of assumptions. She recently began pressing vinyl by hand. Her next album is forthcoming.

Sep
9
Sat
Ezza Rose Live at The Sou’wester @ The Sou'wester
Sep 9 @ 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm

Live at The Sou’wester

Since 2009, Ezza Rose and band has been cultivating a sound of their own. Drawing on several influences from the likes of Mazzy Star, Patti Smith, and their residency in Portland, ERB writes and performs music which reflects the listeners’ lives back at them while hinting at a new perspective. The fluidity of love, the ebb and flow of relationships, and getting caught in the machine of expectations, all are deconstructed with flowy rhythm, aggressive electric guitars, and dreamy vocal melodies. Ezza is excited to strip these songs down to their roots and perform for you acoustic this evening! She is currently working on a solo acoustic record to be released late in the year 2023. 
 
“More electrified and slightly more ominous than the simple, lilting sound she previously established, this is Rose at her best so far.” – Willamette Week
 
“…an intense studio album with a sudden and unexpected beauty.” – Oregon Music News
 
“Her beautifully delicate, mournfully classic voice floats amongst the loosely bound, misty particles in the air and our minds and fills the cracks with a sound that’s chilling and comforting, all at once.” – Vortex Music Magazine
 
“Ezza’s singer/songwriting talents push on. Her voice is consistently smooth and clear, ethereal, and from the gut.” – ElevenPDX
Oct
7
Sat
Lindsay Clark Live at The Sou’wester @ The Sou'wester
Oct 7 @ 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm

LIVE AT THE SOU’WESTER

Lindsay Clark

Presented by Sou’wester Arts

Lindsay Clark finds balance between traditional folk, English folk, country and her own version of experimental folk that seems to come from within. With influences ranging from the Beach Boys, Elizabeth Cotton, Joni Mitchell, Appalachian folk, her classical upbringing and her father’s record collection, she blends many worlds into a uniquely warm sound. She has carved out a unique and vibrant place as an artist with her penchant for poetry, rich harmony and a style of self-taught fingerpicking influenced by Nick Drake, John Fahey, and others.

Originally from the small gold rush town of Nevada City, CA, she now resides in Portland, OR. She has shared the stage with musicians such as Alela Diane, Adam Torres, Nat Baldwin (Dirty Projectors), Ryan Francesconi (Joanna Newsom), Jolie Holland, and Michael Hurley. Her sound has been described as “folk with angelic vocals washing over smooth edges” (1859 Magazine), with her recent album Carpe Noctem called “stunning” by NPR Music. The album features William Tyler, Alela Diane, Sage Fisher (Dolphin Midwives), & Andy Rayborn (Paper Gates) and was engineered, co-produced, co-arranged with Jeremy Harris (Fruit Bats / Hand Habits). She has also recently contributed to Michael Hurley’s latest release, Time of the Foxgloves.

Oct
14
Sat
Nick Jaina live at The Sou’wester @ The Sou'wester
Oct 14 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Live at The Sou’wester

Nick Jaina

Presented by Sou’wester Arts

Nick Jaina is a musician and author living with his wife and stepson in Oakland, California. He has published three books, released over a dozen albums, produced several ballets, and composed various film scores. He teaches writing workshops online and in person, and hosts magical tea services that involve music, reading, and color immersion. He was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award in 2015. He has collaborated with dancers from the New York City Ballet and Oregon Ballet Theater.

Oct
19
Thu
Lê Almeida Live at The Sou’wester @ The Sou'wester Lodge
Oct 19 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Lê Almeida Live at The Sou’wester

10/19/23 Free & open to the public

Sou’wester Lodge Living Room

Presented by Sou’wester Arts

“Lê Almeida is the mastermind of an unlikely and noisy indie scene that emerged in the suburbs of RIO DE JANEIRO in the early 2000s. A prolific producer, initially labeled _lo-fi_, he was called the ‘Brazilian answer to Robert Pollard’ in a report in _The Guardian_ which makes less sense as his sound has incorporated elements of kraut, free jazz, afrobeat, hip hop and Brazilian music.” Excerpt from the biography available on DATABASE.FM/LEALMEIDA

October 2023 marks the release of I FEEL IN THE SKY, LÊ ALMEIDA’s new solo album. The album was recorded between 2022 and 2023, during the tour of his band ORUÃ, with more than 100 shows in the USA and Europe. The album will be presented at SouWester, during Lê Almeida’s first artistic residency in the United States, which takes place in Seaview, Washington.

His independent label Transfusão Noise Records was born in his bedroom in 2004 in Vilar dos Teles, Baixada Fluminense, and emerged in the center of Rio de Janeiro in 2013 with the creation of Escritório, a space for recording, rehearsals and shows. More than 100 releases have been made since then. Lê played a major role in recording and mixing most of these albums, where many of the visual ideas came from his collages, associating fantastic realism with improbable combinations of environments and colors.

Since 2011 he has dedicated himself to the visual arts, taking part in exhibitions and collage workshops, both individual and collective. His solo albums Paraleloplasmos (2015) and Todas as Brisas (2016) made him travel the art world beyond the usual music scene between tours of Brazil. Both albums were released by IFB Records, a small Atlanta-based label that presses his LPs independently and distributes them throughout the United States.

Oruã, his main band, was created at the end of 2016 and since 2018 he has been traveling extensively, promoting his first albums recorded in the office on old cassette tapes. 2018 was the year Almeida left Brazil for the first time. He went to play drums with Built to Spill in Chile and with Oruã in Uruguay. His story with Built to Spill began in mid-2018 when he joined the band for its first shows in South America and the following year he traveled between the United States and Europe playing more than 130 shows, 60 of them opening for Oruã. He recorded and mixed the latest BtS release, When the Wind Forgets Your Name (2022, SubPop), where he also acted as drummer.

I FEEL IN THE SKY is out on October 6 on the Transfusão Noise Records website

https://on.soundcloud.com/gDnYT

Pic by Melanie Radford (Central Park, 2023)