SOU’WESTER EVENTS!

About 10 years ago, singer/songwriter Ezza Rose hitchhiked to the Pacific Northwest from Los Angeles, riding with semi-truck drivers the whole journey north. After graduating, Rose decided to make Portland her permanent home.“It seemed like a really accessible town for a creative person to live in,” Rose says.She’s currently getting ready to release her fourth LP, No Means No, which draws inspiration from the disconnect between language and intention. Growing up, Rose says her mother would use contradictory expressions like “no means no” and “sorry isn’t good enough” (which is also the title of a song on the record). These phrases were confusing to her, since one reinforces the power of words while the other implies that sometimes, they aren’t enough to merit forgiveness.In her own life, Rose feels like her words haven’t always been taken seriously. “When we disconnect the meaning from a word, it holds no value anymore and communication is gone,” she explains.No Means No is moodier than Rose’s earlier albums, like 2014’s Poolside and 2015’s When the Water’s Hot, which pull from her bluegrass influences. The driving force of Rose’s music, though, is still her voice, which sounds fit for a smoky jazz lounge.

Lewi Longmire: Presented by Sou’wester Arts

“Lewi Longmire’s preferred list of his own recordings runs 42 albums—the complete discography (from acoustic to rock to Valvoline ad spots) would choke a Nano. Regarding live shows, it’s more likely the 37-year-old Portland musician has a gig scheduled around town than not. ‘The peak of the madness was 2003,’ says the local legend. ‘I played 282 shows that year. I musta been nuts…and young. Peter Buck recently joked about my presence around town. He thought it was weird to go see a band in Portland and find I wasn’t playing in it.’

Born to a family of musicians in a Rio Grande farming community, Longmire has a famed versatility (he plays electric and upright bass, pedal and lap steel and traditional guitar, organ and piano, mandolin, drums, harmonica, banjo, trumpet, fitful violin and, as a Universal Life Church minister, has been known to marry bandmates), which led to him being called “the session musician’s session musician.” He started early, mastering instruments in school and playing whatever was needed for those few bands available. After a brief stint at the University of New Mexico, Longmire started touring a folk-punk project around the West Coast, and, a decade later, finally settled ’round Portland. He says he ‘devoted [him]self to being a hired gun in the Americana circles.’ 

The Barbara’s & Chris King : Presented by Sou’wester Arts

The Barbara’s are sisters Sallie and Weezy Ford. 

According to singer Seth Avett of The Avett Brothers, Sallie Ford’s songs have that “rare quality of somehow combining fun with emotional and artistic integrity” and she “fills the room with it” and reminds him of the “energy of early rock ‘n’ roll.

Chris King of Chris King & The Gutterballs know the secret to creative success; movement is key to progress. Whether by gust of tornado-wind or rubber against the road, to push forward is all there is in a life, buoyed and scarred by love. The band infuses this propelling urgency in all of its performances, into all of its songs and it starts with King’s dynamic, uncorked-fire-hydrant of a voice.

Erisy Watt & Jeremy Ferrara : Presented by Sou’wester Arts

Erisy Watt is a Nashville-raised folk artist based in Portland, OR. Consistently referred to as “the next-in-line to the likes of Joni Mitchell and Norah Jones, her music is an exercise in what contemporary folk today sounds like at its peak.”

Inspired by both her time spent studying and working along the central coast of California and in remote regions of Thailand, Indonesia, and Nepal, Watt’s music invites listeners to rejoice in the beauty and freedom of wilder places. With several US and international tours over the past years, Watt’s shared the stage with acclaimed artists John Craigie, Hurray for the Riff Raff, L.A. Salami, Mr. Little Jeans, Shook Twins, Kuinka, Dustbowl Revival, Royal Jelly Jive, T Sisters and Rainbow Girls and released her debut album on July 26th, 2019.

Jeremy Ferrara

What good is a song if it doesn’t make you feel something? Jeremy Ferrara knows this, and refuses to waste a minute of your time. His staggeringly sincere songs are made to wash 10-foot waves of emotion over listeners. Much like the sea, Ferrara’s music is deep, complex, and full of life. His unique songwriting style features unabashed poetic professions of his most vulnerable moments and intimate inner thoughts. Sometimes sorrowful and slow, other times content and forward-moving; Ferrara’s debut full-length album (Out May 1st) finds him inviting us to follow along as he wanders through a broad spectrum of feelings.

Corinne Sharlet: Presented by Sou’wester Arts

“With a voice that radiates ethereal mystery while staying grounded in guttural richness, Corinne Sharlet is singing her way into a bold new sonic world.” – Glide Magazine

Brush Prairie & Friends Summer Solstice: Presented by Sou’wester Arts

Mike Coykendall: Presented by Sou’wester Arts

Veteran songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Mike Coykendall has been amazingly prolific over the last three decades or so. Currently most well known for his duties as a sideman, producer, and recordist via his work with M Ward, Blitzen Trapper, She & Him, Annalisa Tornfelt, & Tin Hat Trio, to name a few, Coykendall has been making his own unique outsider records since the mid ’80s.

Three For Silver : Presented by Sou’wester Arts

A full-time trio of gypsy jazz mercenaries and multi-instrumentalists, Three For Silver has won the praise of audiences across the region since they formed in 2012. The trio combines the distinct vocal styles of the sultry/sweet Willo Sertain and the abrupt shards of Lucas Warford.

Joshua Thomas: Presented by Sou’wester Arts

Robert Meade: Presented by Sou’wester Arts

Robert Meade’s a singer/songwriter, solo acoustic musician who’s been living and performing throughout the Northwest area for over a decade. His brand of upbeat Rhythm ‘n’ Blues & Americana music is bound to lift the spirit.