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!
Blair Borax is a Portland, Oregon based singer-songwriter, who writes raw and honest lyrically-driven folk songs that are as powerful as they are vulnerable; songs that make you think and feel and laugh and cry; songs that make you feel a little less alone. Blair Borax released her debut EP ‘everything is light work’ in May 2021 and is working on her next. You can find Blair writing in her bedroom, recording at Groundswell Studios, and performing on stages across Portland and beyond.
With rich lyrics and a voice like molasses, Blair Borax makes music that moves you to the heart of being human, offers you a warm cup of tea, and invites you to stay a while.
Immerse yourself in a sense of place and explore the ecology of the Long Beach Peninsula through an artistic and scientific lense. This unique series of workshops is led by one of our internal staff members and is offered every other week on T, W, and Th from Jan 18th – March 31st. Registration for the other Arts & Ecology staff-led workshops is recommended but not required.
Register here then follow the link in the registration confirmation to submit payment.
- Youth After-School Program Ages 7-11
- T, W, Th 3:30-5:30
- $75/week + materials fee
- 20% off when you sign up for all After-school Workshops!
- Sibling discount an additional 10% off
- Scholarships Available
- Transportation available from OB Schools
Kate Dinsmore is a singer-songwriter based in Seattle, WA. A dynamic performer and vocalist, Dinsmore brings her songs to the stage with an undeniable presence. She found her passion for songwriting when she returned to the Pacific NW after almost a decade spent in Oklahoma.
Her music is powerful and emotional, with influences ranging from Jazz to Rock to Americana. Dinsmore’s performances quickly gained a following in Seattle, allowing her to open for notable artists such as Colin Hay and the Dip.
Her voice is at one triumphant and intimate. The perfect soundtrack to dropping off the last of your ex’s stuff and driving off into the sunset.
Led by local multimedia artist, Laura Brown, students will use various artistic properties and mediums to explore aspects of local ecology. Registration for the other After-school workshops is recommended but not required.
For youth ages 7 and up every T, W, Th 4-6PM April 12-June 9th. $75/week, includes all materials. Scholarships and bus transportation from OB schools is available. Email souwesterarts@gmail.com for more information
Lucas Benoit : Presented by Sou’wester Arts
Born in McMinnville to an extended family of blue-collar musicians, Lucas Benoit is an inveterate song-maker and a founding member of the NW folk-rock favorites, The Hill Dogs.
Troubadour to the life sick, sidewalk prince of an invisible garden. Peter Pan meets Bob Dylan, they split a Mountain Dew. Donnie falls for Tina and it’s happily hardly after. Artful Dodger, a Midwest wanderer, stealing moments from a day, Lucas’s sing along choruses, jangling melodies and lyrics are junk drawers of metaphor and sweet treasures from the pockets of careless lovers. Tokens of wisdom scratched onto napkins by old friends. Lucas is at home with his arms wrapped round an old wood guitar and with paint and engine oil under his nails. His crooked smile and honest voice are doors and windows to the world.
Led by local multimedia artist, Laura Brown, students will use various artistic properties and mediums to explore aspects of local ecology. Registration for the other After-school workshops is recommended but not required.
For youth ages 7 and up every T, W, Th 4-6PM April 12-June 9th. $75/week, includes all materials. Scholarships and bus transportation from OB schools is available. Email souwesterarts@gmail.com for more information
Forest Veil : Presented by Sou’wester Arts
Forest Veil is the solo work of Portland multi-instrumentalist/producer Monica Metzler. Following the echoes of her elusive muse, Forest Veil makes mystical psych-folk that maps the emotional terrain of humanity and its place in the cosmos. Melding a voice that sounds like smokey quartz with psychedelic guitar riffs and enigmatic lyricism, Forest Veil’s sound evokes a haunting nostalgia for other worlds. Though she primarily writes on her own, Forest Veil records and performs with others. An avid guitarist for over 20 years, Forest Veil’s music showcases virtuosic guitar shredding and dynamic musicality.
Forest Veil’s newest album, Solita, will be released on Spirit House Records on June 7, 2019.
Solita, in Spanish, means “little lonely one” or “little alone one”. Forest Veil’s sophomore album is an anthem to just that; to finding your inner strength and standing alone. Recorded over the course of 2 years, Solita was arranged with dynamic intention that showcases the depth of Forest Veil’s musical landscapes and intricate artistry.
Metzler recorded the bones of Solita as a trio with Luke Hall (who also engineered and mixed the album at MVM Studios) and Chris Johnedis before overdubbing additional parts on her own. When Forest Veil was snowed in during the infamous Portland snowapocalypse of 2015, she challenged herself to write one song, everyday, for 10 days; the majority of these ended up on Solita. Forest Veil’s fierce guitar playing and potent lyricism are supported by a compelling interplay of drums and bass that give force to the honest storylines of love, loss and self-empowerment.
Led by local multimedia artist, Laura Brown, students will use various artistic properties and mediums to explore aspects of local ecology. Registration for the other After-school workshops is recommended but not required.
For youth ages 7 and up every T, W, Th 4-6PM April 12-June 9th. $75/week, includes all materials. Scholarships and bus transportation from OB schools is available. Email souwesterarts@gmail.com for more information
Arran Fagan : Presented by Sou’wester Arts
Arran Fagan is a folk musician based in Portland, OR. A product of the grassroots music movement of Southern Oregon, Arran has spent the greater part of his life pursuing music, creating wistful and evocative songs that explore themes beyond his age – love, loss, divorce, and the endless passage of time.
Often compared to artists like Joan Shelly, Josh Ritter, and Nathaniel Rateliff, Arran Fagan has been working his way into the northwest folk scene for some time, getting his start playing countless coffee shops and house shows for college classmates and eventually opening for northwest favorites like Leif Vollebekk, HorseFeathers, Kris Orlowski, and Jeffrey Martin. Praised for his introspective lyrics and vivid storytelling, Arran has garnered a following in his native Oregon with his uncanny ability to weave the personal and universal.
In 2015, Arran recruited fellow University of Portland students Jack Pfeffer and Jonathan Wiley, and the three worked to perfect a sparse, melodic sound influenced by their individual backgrounds. Fueled by introspective lyrics and nostalgic melodies provided by the intimate combination of viola, bass, and acoustic guitar, his music explores themes of loss, growth, and the passage of time with fresh eyes. Arran’s third album, Weight of Time, debuted in January of 2018 to a sold-out release show and was followed by a tireless West Coast tour. Praised by outlets like half&half and Elsewhere for its powerful stories, cathartic songwriting, and ability to “[weave] concrete images and abstract feelings,” Weight of Time saw Arran establish himself as a surefooted and exciting fixture in the Portland folk scene.
The “Warmth / Death” EP was released in early 2019. For the duration of 2019, Arran was on hiatus while conducting a Fulbright Grant working as a secondary English teacher in a rural school in Sarawak, Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Returning to Portland in January 2020, Arran can now be found playing shows around the Portland area and is working on his next solo musical project.
Led by local multimedia artist, Laura Brown, students will use various artistic properties and mediums to explore aspects of local ecology. Registration for the other After-school workshops is recommended but not required.
For youth ages 7 and up every T, W, Th 4-6PM April 12-June 9th. $75/week, includes all materials. Scholarships and bus transportation from OB schools is available. Email souwesterarts@gmail.com for more information