Live Music: Weezy Ford

Weezy Ford is a musician and songwriter who lives in the Columbia River Gorge. Her first musical endeavors incorporated slide guitar, vintage feels, garage-rock fuzz, and tap dancing on her EP Bobbypin Graveyard. She got tired of carrying around a box to dance on, and began writing songs on a tiny synthesizer that would eventually become her first full-length record titled Sugarcane in 2019. She collaborates with her partner, Mark Robertson (multi-instrumentalist, engineer) in their homestead studio where they mostly grow vegetables. None of the knobs are labeled. During the pandemic they recorded a handful of acoustic songs onto tape released as all at once. She started a twangy side project with her sister, Sallie Ford, called The Barbaras and recorded Oh My God Barbara in 2020 on Orcas Island, WA. Her latest album “In the Movement” was released in March, 2024. 

TOMO NAKAYAMA LIVE AT THE SOU’WETER

2/15/2025 | FREE AND OPEN TO ALL | 7PM

Live Music: Tomo Nakayama

Born in Japan and raised in Seattle, Tomo Nakayama is an artist whose melodic, complex and emotionally compelling music has been praised by the likes of NPR, New York Times, and The Stranger. Beginning as frontman of indie bands Asahi and Grand Hallway, and a successful solo career spanning two decades as a singer, songwriter, composer, producer, actor, and curator, Nakayama is one of the most active and recognizable figures in Seattle music. His music has been placed in the Netflix hit “House of Ninjas”, HBO Max’s “Sex Lives of College Girls”, and the Sundance Grand Jury nominated indie dramedy “Touchy Feely”.

After the critically acclaimed indie-folk albums “Fog on the Lens” and “Pieces of Sky” (named “Best Folk Act” by Seattle Weekly), Nakayama surprised his fans by releasing “Melonday” (Porchlight Records), a collection of instantly memorable and undeniably danceable synthpop songs. Co-produced by Yuuki Matthews (The Shins, Sufjan Stevens) and mastered by Dave Cooley (M83, Paramore, Tame Impala), “Melonday” was named one of the Top Albums of the year by Seattle Times, KEXP, and Seattle Met Magazine, and debuted at #1 on KEXP’s NW Charts. The following year he composed the music for Megan Griffith’s feature film “I’ll Show You Mine” and the KUOW podcast “Ten Thousand Things” hosted by Shin Yu Pai, and collaborated on a song with Dave Matthews to benefit SMASH (Seattle Musicians Access to Sustainable Healthcare).

Nakayama has toured across the US and Japan, sharing the stage with Cornelius, Built to Spill, Thao, Daði Freyr, Fleet Foxes, Buffalo Daughter, Sons of Kemet, Twilight Sad, and Shugo Tokumaru. He has performed and collaborated with Sera Cahoone, Jherek Bischoff, Jeremy Enigk (of Sunny Day Real Estate), Donnie Emerson, and experimental dance company Malacarne. A former Artist in Residence at Seattle’s Town Hall, his sound installations and compositions have also been featured at the Museum of Northwest Art and Wing Luke Museum.

BABES IN CANYON LIVE AT THE SOU’WETER

2/22/2025 | FREE AND OPEN TO ALL | 7PM

Live Music: Babes in Canyon

Eloquently blending synth-folk, moody pop, and soaring vocal harmonies, Babes In Canyon crafts music that is eminently engaging and very much of the moment. Born of a spontaneous writing session during a blackout, the band wandered naturally into the land of heavy beats, lyrics with an element of storytelling, and synth-folk instrumentation with a twist.
 
With a spate of tours, festivals, and live performances under their belt, songwriters Nathan Hamer and Amanda Ebert conjure up layered soundscapes, “looping keys, beats, percussion effortlessly in an electric, raucous live performance” (Atwood Magazine).

With their first two EPs and latest single receiving praise from the likes of Under The Radar, Magnet, and Atwood Magazine, Babes In Canyon’s debut album “The New Loud” is set to release in 2025. Genre-defying, expertly arranged, and profoundly catchy, Babes In Canyon stands ready to soundtrack your adventures – spontaneous or otherwise.

GRETTA SEABIRD LIVE AT THE SOU’WETER

3/1/2025 | FREE AND OPEN TO ALL | 8PM

Live Music: Gretta Seabird

 Gretta Seabird is the new moniker from frontwomen, Lee McDonnell (from Lee and the bees, Bevelers) that is packed with soul and pop. Lee and the band are set to release their first single ‘Cycling’ off their upcoming EP February of 2025. 

Lee has played locally in Portland for 13 years and has performed her songwriting across the US and Canada. 

Over the years she has shared bills at large and intimate settings with notable bands including Kaleo, Waxahatchee, Taylor John Williams, Nicki Bluhm, Shook Twins, Moorea Masa, Jesca Hoop, Mutual Benefit, among others. 

Her new project began with a simple songwriting challenge. Every two weeks, Jeremiah Brunnhoelzl would email guitar tracks from his flat in Brooklyn, NY to Lee McDonnell in Portland, OR, who would then give herself a mere day to pen down lyrics and melody. As the songs formed at a rapid, yet natural pace, the pair began to believe in the poetry they were creating, in the little moments caught in time. Thus, Gretta Seabird was formed, and with it the debut EP “Cycling.”

Lee McDonnell and Jeremiah Brunnhoelzl first met in 2011 near the beginning of their music careers, which found them each playing in various projects across Portland’s independent music scene. McDonnell formed projects ‘Bevelers’ and ‘Lee and the Bees’ and Brunnhoelzl began performing under the moniker ‘Arlo Indigo,’ allowing each artist to develop their own voice as they maintained a friendship over the years. The pandemic years brought about a transitional period for both artists: Brunnhoelzl relocated to Brooklyn, NY, while McDonnell battled vocal challenges that led to the loss of her singing voice for over a year.

“Losing my singing voice was absolutely frightening and I felt like I was losing my identity.” McDonnell said. “I felt like this EP was a revisit to getting back into music and falling in love with the processes and production.”

The EP is fresh, buoyant, each of its tracks a tiny love letter to the human condition. McDonnell’s voice floats above Brunnhoelzl’s playful guitar work, her rich harmonies and backing vocal flourishes adding a warmth to the spacious mix which explores an indie-pop sound that brings to mind The Blow, or Lucius. The sonic experimentation was a conscious decision on the part of McDonnell, who was eager to break free from the bounds of her guitar and embrace a new and unrestrained territory of exploration. It speaks to her philosophy as an artist, which renders her songwriting urgent and off the cuff.

BLAIR BORAX LIVE AT THE SOU’WETER

4/5/2025 | FREE AND OPEN TO ALL | 8PM

Live Music: Blair Borax

Born on the East Coast, and home to the West, Blair Borax’s musical journey began unexpectedly in 2016, when a friend gifted her a cheap guitar. Since then, Borax has become a prolific songwriter, recording artist, and performer, known for her distinctive voice, captivating melodies, and thoughtful songwriting that taps into the heart of being human. Since she quit her day job in 2022,  she has released two full length albums and played over 300 shows across the country.  With more sophisticated songwriting, a newfound confidence in fingerpicking guitar, and a move towards dynamic acoustic folk production, her latest record, “Tender Lately” (2024),  offers gentle reminders to quiet the inner critic, find joy in the small things, and embrace the precious brevity of our time on Earth. She is poised to release her third full length record, The Color Green, in 2025.

ROSE GERBER LIVE AT THE SOU’WETER

4/12/2025 | FREE AND OPEN TO ALL | 8PM

Live Music: Rose Gerber

Known for the unique juxtaposition of her wry wit and ability to pen a heartbreaking ballad, Rose Gerber has been a fixture in the Portland, OR music scene where she’s honed her signature sound of rock meets country. Her songs are a melting pot of essential American sounds, bringing a high lonesome rock vibe to the familiar sound of the pedal steel whine. Think Natalie Merchant-fronts-The Cardinals.