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!
Portland-based folk rock band, The Builders and the Butchers, announce their forthcoming album, The Spark, due out May 19th. The band’s fifth LP will be released on Badman Recordings Co, which will be their third release with the label.
Their last album was hailed by Consequence of Sound, who said, “The Builders and the Butchers make records the way the bards used to pass on stories. They’re poetic and captivating, and do to songwriting what Clint Eastwood does to movies,” and this new record follows the same, narrative-driven path.
With glowing album and show reviews coming from Pitchfork and The Wall Street Journal, among others, their brand of folk-rock is best served live. Audiences can look forward to lively performances, where fourth wall is broken and the audience is able to participate in call and response sing-a-longs. Sometimes the band will hand out instruments for fans to play, and they’ll even get down off stage to perform right on the floor.
The Builders and The Butchers formed in 2005. Ryan Sollee fronts the band, sings and plays guitar, joined by Willy Kunkle (bass, guitar, vocals, percussion), Justin Baeir (drums, backup vocals, percussion) and Harvey Tumbleson (mandolin, banjo, guitar, vocals, percussion). The Portland-based band gained a strong following after years of playing anywhere and everywhere across the city. They quickly grew to become one of the most exciting live bands in Portland and throughout the Pacific Northwest.
The band toured throughout the US and Europe from 2007-2012, playing music festivals, such as Sasquatch and Lollapalooza, and acting as support for Portugal. The Man, Heartless Bastards, Amanda Palmer and Murder By Death. To support their forthcoming release, The Spark, the band will be playing their first US and European tour in multiple years.
This new album features a wider array of sounds and shorter, hard hitting songs, while remaining a Builders’ record at heart. The process of creating The Spark was the longest of any Builders’ record to date. They spent the last five years writing the music and a year mixing. With several band members living out of state (Justin in Colorado, Willy in Malta, Harvey in Washington and Ryan and Ray in Portland), many parts were recorded remotely. Drums and much of the electric guitar were recorded at Revolver Studios and the rest was laid down piece-by-piece and mixed by Edgar McCrae at his home studio. Influences for the record range from Tom Waits to The White Stripes.
www.thebuildersandthebutchers.com
This event is free, all ages, and open to the public!
New Year’s Eve Dance Party All Night Long!
DJ Cuica – playing international dance hits!
Sahel Sounds- International dance jams * primarily from West Africa!
Coldyron- electronic & interstellar dance music! Bring in the New Year with the grooves and moves!
Dance party begins at 10pm, there will be a toast to the New Year at midnight in the lodge, and the dancer with the best moves wins a gift certificate for a free weekend stay at The Sou’wester!
Please call the front desk 360-642-2542 (9am-9pm) to book a spot if you want to stay at the Sou’wester during this dance.
Jay Manzanita can easily be described as Portland’s best kept secret. As the front man and vocalist of power trio Bitches of the Sun this singer-songwriter has a knack for melding lyrics with wit and sorrow. With his musical roots stemming from the Chicago jazz scene this saxophonist gone guitar hero produces a refreshing and timeless sound sure to keep you coming back for more.
www.bitchesofthesun.com
This event is free, all ages, and open to the public!
The International Konsortium of Harmony & Tonality specialists who make up The Plastic Harmony Band have undergone years of rigorous training in the higher, lower & middle paths of enlightenment. The sensory deprivation of years of aestheticism; the sensual overload of multi-dimensional libidinous ecstacies; the ability to vault over the hurdles of Nihilism with effortless grace; the guile & wit necessary for survival in the ever-present, ever-shifting NOW.
All of this is at their disposal, and now it is at yours.
https://plasticharmonyband.bandcamp.com
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The Shelby Foundation Video Presentation
A series of short original films by Portland OR, filmmaker Shelby Menzel ranging from cultural documentary to stop motion adventures.
This event is free, all ages, and open to the public!
Winter 2020 Workshop Series
Real Red, True Blue & Fast Yellows: Using Ancient Natural Dyes to Create Lasting Beauty with instructor Iris Sullivan Daire
11am-3pm class each day: Fri, Sat, Sun Jan 17, 18, 19
(optional open studio work time 4-6pm Friday and Saturday)
Indigo, Madder, and Weld – the names are an incantation for the trinity of natural color in the ancient world of Europe and the Near East. Meanwhile in the Americas, they created amazing textiles and painting manuscripts with Indigo, Cochineal and Marigolds starting over 6,000 years ago.
In this three day immersion workshop we will delve into the potential of these 5 nature based dyes to create pure and long lasting colors. Each day will focus on one of the three primaries. Sourcing directly from the raw materials, we will create vibrant hues on cloth and paper.
This class will provide a strong foundation for working with natural dyes, including the science that makes it all work, how to best prepare fibers, and growing dye plants.
The students will work together creating a full rainbow of dyed cloth samples, and experience the alchemy of making pigment lakes that can be turned into inks and paint. Each student will take home a detailed instruction booklet, a rainbow cloth, and the dye portfolio they create for future reference.
(An optional small final project can be completed during the open studio hours outside of class.)
Friday: Royal Reds- Madder Root & Cochineal Bugs
Dye Session, and making a Madder Lake
Saturday: The Sky and Sea – Indigo Blues
Dye session, and Mayan Blue pigment
Sunday: Yellow like the Sun- Pure Weld & Sacred Marigolds
Dye session and Weld Lake
Iris Sullivan Daire is fascinated with plants and color. She lives with her family in Astoria Oregon where she grows dye plants, and is slowly mapping the color potential of the wild plants that grow in and around the Columbia River. She learned how to weave on a floor loom at age seven, and has been working with natural dyes and pigments for over 25 years in her work as an artist. Happily there continues to be new things to learn all the time. Her website is DreamBirdStudio.com
COST: $135 plus a $100 material fee (Please pay material fee directly to the instructor.)
BRING: Apron or studio work clothes, notebook, scissors. Please bring a sack lunch and/or snack. Hot coffee and tea provided. Optional items: a dip pen or personal paint brushes, up to 8 ounces of wool yarn made into 1 ounce skeins, or 1 yard of prewashed natural fiber fabric.
Children 10 and up with a high interest in the topic are welcome when signed up with an accompaning adult. 12 students max.
RSVP: via souwesterfrontdesk@gmail.com or 360-642-2542 between 9am-9pm
The Sou’wester Lodge at 3728 J Place, Seaview, WA 98644
Susannah Weaver, or Little Sue, as she has been affectionately known since she was a teenager, grew up in West Virginia and moved to Portland in 1992. She has been a fixture in the local folk and alt-country scene in Portland for over 25 years and a big part of the Laurelthirst scene. Her quirky lyrical style, solid guitar playing, and bee-stung voice have won over music lovers of every age and stripe. Sue has released 7 CDs including the 2019 20th anniversary re-release of her 1999 album Crow, and her new CD titled Gold. Sue also has sung harmony on over 50 Oregon releases, including Jerry Joseph, The Minus 5, Fernando, Casey Neill, Lynn Conover, and kindie artist Mo Phillips. She has opened with her own music for Roger McGuinn, Loudon Wainwright III, and most memorably for folk hero Bob Dylan. Sue was recently honored as a 2019 inductee to the Oregon Music Hall Of Fame.
www.littlesue.bandcamp.com
This event is free, all ages, and open to the public!
Winter 2020 Workshop Series
Knots and Sailing Basics with instructor Randi Whipple
This is a nautical workshop that will teach the most useful knots on a sailboat: rope splicing, whippings, and the basics knowledge of how a sailboat works. This class is a great introduction into the sailing world. You will leave with a knot booklet and personal ditty bag with Amsteel sailing rope to continue practicing your knots after the class is over.
Randi is an international sailor and artist living aboard her 80yr old wooden boat she is rebuilding. Her website is www.thewindwitch.com
COST: $30 plus $20 materials fee (Please pay material fee directly to instructor.)
BRING: All supplies provided. Please bring a sack lunch and/or snack. Coffee provided.
14 students max.
RSVP via souwesterfrontdesk@gmail.com or 360-642-2542 between 9am-9pm
The Sou’wester Lodge at 3728 J Place, Seaview, WA 98644
This class is part of the Winter 2020 Workshop Series at The Sou’wester. All classes are open to the public and all skill levels welcome. Visit www.souwesterlodge.com/art/workshops to see the full schedule of artist-led workshops.
Walk down any street in Portland, Oregon and you are sure to encounter a mustachioed Brazilian spaghetti western rock and roll troubadour named Johnny Franco. Recently moving from Sao Paulo, Johnny has developed a cult following in Portland for his high energy street performances and stylish music. Signed by music producer Sterling Fox (Lana Del Rey, Elle King) on his label Blanket Fort, Johnny has put together a debut EP that feels instantly timeless. The debut single “Treated Like Grass” combines Dylanesque vocal stylings with a unique jangly Brazilian influenced beat. The EP Experience Report #1 is due out in early 2020.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4JrSPyzLVPKQlEHHpqt4c3
Photo by Sean May
This event is free, all ages, and open to the public!
Workshop Series Winter 2020
Beginning Traditional Rughooking with Heidi Grevstad
This class will introduce students to traditional rug hooking. As a result of the class students will have the materials needed to complete their first traditional rug hooking project. The class includes a pattern hand drawn on monks cloth, wool strips needed to complete the pattern, a basic rug hooking booklet and instruction.
Heidi Grevstad is a McGown Rug Hooking Certification trainee. Her rugs have been featured in Rug Hooking Magazine’s Celebrations Editions in 2018 and 2019. She has been teaching adults in classroom settings for over 10 years and is enthusiastic about the art of traditional rug hooking. Heidi loves to get people started in this artisan craft. Heidi’s website is www.portlandcottagewool.com.
COST: $30 plus $40 materials fee (Please pay material fee directly to instructor.)
BRING: All supplies provided. If students already have a hook and/or rug hooking frame, they should bring them to class. Heidi has hooks, hoops and/or frames that students may use in class. If students wish to purchase these items, Heidi will have a variety for students to choose. Please bring a sack lunch. Coffee provided.
10 students max.
RSVP via souwesterfrontdesk@gmail.com or 360-642-2542 between 9am-9pm
The Sou’wester Lodge at 3728 J Place, Seaview, WA 98644
This class is part of the Winter 2020 Workshop Series at The Sou’wester. All classes are open to the public and all skill levels welcome. Visit www.souwesterlodge.com/art/workshops to see the full schedule of artist-led workshops.
The Blank Tapes is the moniker of Los Angeles & Joshua Tree based multi-instrumentalist, Matt Adams, who has produced over a dozen albums of 1960’s inspired folk-rock-surf-psych-soul-pop on Volcom, Burger Records, Antenna Farm, and others. Their latest ’Super Bloom’ EP features Avid Dancer & Will Halsey (Sugar Candy Mountain) on drums, as well as Jason Cirimele (Guantanamo Baywatch, The Donkeys) on bass and was co-mixed by Nathan Sabatino (Dr. Dog, Jim James). The band has toured throughout the US, UK, Europe, Canada, Brazil, Japan & even Costa Rica. Matt also sometimes plays & records with Sugar Candy Mountain & has produced and/or performed on numerous projects by other artists including The Regrettes, The Pesos & Kath Bloom. Matt is also the artist behind his band’s posters & album covers as well as art for the Grateful Dead, CRB, FolkYeah & more!
“Alternating between dreamy and driving, dappled with delirious solos and seductive harmonies. The Blank Tapes radiated Ultraviolet Californian chords” – Backmatter blog
Photo by Cristian Sigler
This event is free, all ages, and open to the public!