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!
An evening of readings and music featuring Sophia Shalmiyev, Leni Zumas, and Ivy Ross Ricci plus new works by special guests!
Leni Zumas won the 2019 Oregon Book Award for her national bestselling novel RED CLOCKS, which was also shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction and the Neukom Prize for Speculative Fiction. Red Clocks was a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice and was named a Best Book of 2018 by The Atlantic, the Washington Post, the Huffington Post, Entropy, and the New York Public Library. Vulture called it one of the 100 Most Important Books of the 21st Century So Far.
Zumas is also the author of FAREWELL NAVIGATOR: STORIES and the novel THE LISTENERS. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Granta, The Times Literary Supplement, Guernica, BOMB, The Cut, Portland Monthly, Tin House, and elsewhere. Her work has received support from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, the Regional Arts & Culture Council, and the New York Foundation for the Arts. She lives in Portland, Oregon, and directs the creative writing program at Portland State University.
www.lenizumas.com
Sophia Shalmiyev tells us on the first page of her striking, lyrical memoir, Mother Winter. To understand the end of her story we must go back to her beginning.
Born to a Russian mother and an Azerbaijani father, Shalmiyev was raised in the stark oppressiveness of 1980s Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). An imbalance of power and the prevalence of antisemitism in her homeland led her father to steal Shalmiyev away, emigrating to America, abandoning her estranged mother, Elena. At age eleven, Shalmiyev found herself on a plane headed west, motherless and terrified of the new world unfolding before her.
Now a mother herself, in Mother Winter Shalmiyev recounts her emotional journeys as an immigrant, an artist, and a woman raised without her mother. Depicted in urgent vignettes that trace her flight from the Soviet Union and back again to find the mother she never knew, Shalmiyev’s story is an arresting, impassioned account that is equal parts refugee-coming-of-age tale, feminist manifesto, and a meditation on motherhood, displacement, gender politics, and art. Her years of travel, searching, and forging meaningful connection with the worlds she occupies culminates in a searing observation of the human heart and psyche’s many shades across time and culture.
www.sophiashalmiyev.com
Ivy Ross Ricci is a nationally recognized, musician, writer, educator, and activist who incorporates philosophy, poetry, humor, storytelling, and a radical understanding of human potential into accessible songs and social service. She believes in the power of everyday life lessons to draw us all into the heart of Creativity, Empathy, and Awareness. Her work with youth and adults aims to dismantle discrimination based on gender stereotypes. She has been recognized for her contributions and leadership in the fields of girls’ empowerment, literacy, public art, women’s health, juvenile justice & youth advocacy, music, teen peer leadership training, implementation of anti-bias curricula, and creative after-school programming.
Most recently, Ivy has been touring a music video for a song that she wrote entitled ‘Girls Sit Screaming’ in schools nationally and facilitating conversations with students, teachers and parents about how we can create a world in which mainstream constructs of gender don’t limit any of our amazing youth as they come of age.
It is an honest song of defiance and freedom that exposes the many double standards that girls and women experience in the classroom, in the workplace, and in our society in general. It is an anthem for the cultural shift we are experiencing in which women’s voices are heard, believed, and valued.
While her work focuses on the experiences of girls and women, Ivy is dedicated to establishing an inclusive environment that pays attention to the needs of all gender identities.
Photo by Eve White
This event is free, all ages, and open to the public!
Members of Sun City Girls, Pendejo, Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, Sad Horse, Sea Donkeys, and the Evolutionary Jass Band perform The Beatles’ classic studio LP from 1969: Abbey Road in its entirety!
Photo by Marc Sullo
Come celebrate with us! Creativity! Community! Solstice! The ‘Eternal Return’ of the Sun!
Green Hills Alone is the songwriting vehicle for Portland-homed, Northern California-born Chris Miller. Five years ago, Miller released a “Self-Titled” LP that explored metaphysical themes of death and transformation. This year Miller released a followup album called ‘Eternal Return.’ Miller is joined by Mark Robertson, Weezy Ford and Joseph Anderson.
Read all about the new album and hear the songs in this Vortex Magazine “Artist to Watch” Feature:
https://www.vrtxmag.com/articles/artist-to-watch-the-truth-seeking-mantra-of-green-hills-alone/
This event is free, all ages, and open to the public!!
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!
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!
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!
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!