SOU’WESTER EVENTS!

Johnny Franco: Presented by Sou’wester Arts

Johnny Franco is a Brazilian rock n’ roll marauder who now resides in Portland, and who crafts inventive spaghetti western/folk-rock stompers. Armed with propulsive, spindly guitars, Dylanesque vocals, and adventurous vibes, Franco recently signed to label Blanket Fort.

“A sly blender of old-school country & western and modern Americana, “Treated Like Grass” thrives on its rollicking rhythms and catchy, twangy melodies” – Impose Magazine

Eleanor Elektra : Presented by Sou’wester Arts

Eleanor Elektra fuses  elements of folk, jazz and classical music within the songwriter idiom to create unique cinematic songs. Largely a self taught guitarist, her playing is both technical and idiosyncratic, skillfully supporting songs that are rich in both composition and execution. Her latest project, Exquisite Corpse explores topics of declining social and environmental systems and evokes artists such as Joni Mitchell, Aoife O’Donovan and Jesca Hoop.

Eleanor has toured extensively throughout the United States and Canada. She is based in Boston, MA and is a mainstay of the local music scene, performing at such venues as the House of Blues, the Lilypad, and Club Passim and holding residencies at Bow Market, Grendle’s Den, and Union Street Restaurant & Bar.
 

“Exquisite Corpse is grander than Elektra’s debut full-length, “The Lumberjack,” a dynamic record that extracted maximum catharsis from just a pair of guitars and Elektra’s voice. On “Exquisite Corpse,” the complexity of her compositions, their sinuous melodies and unexpected cadences, deepens. A group of sensitive young musicians — drummer Ivanna Cuesta Gonzales, fiddler Zosha Warpeha, bassist Tyrone Allen, pianist Jacob Hiser and trumpet player Milena Casado — fill out the sound, merging with effortless liquidity.”

— Wbur The ARTery (Boston’s Local NPR)

!mindparade is a psychedelic/experimental project that formed in Bloomington, Indiana. Originally the solo bedroom project of Alex Arnold, the live show and recordings are fleshed out by a revolving cast of musicians utilizing electronics and orchestration. !mindparade’s beautiful cacophony of bombast is pleasantly bewildering. Wild flourishes of dreamy psychedelic instrumentation zoom past you in all directions like standing in the middle of a busy intersection.

Currently based in Portland, Oregon, USA.

terrehaunt (of Death Parade): Presented by Sou’wester Arts

Hayley Lynn : Presented by Sou’wester Arts
Hayley Lynn is a Portland based west coast indie rock artist with folk fashioned storytelling.  Lynn has been quietly growing songs and albums from her hometown over the last five years. Now, with a new album on the horizon, Lynn unveils a twist in her sound with her single “Tail Lights,” a 90s indie-rock throwback that shows us that Lynn’s powerful pop-rock sensibility and bold lyricism is just beginning.

Joe Vann’s new record is a literal and spiritual homecoming. The singer-songwriter’s debut solo LP, Found In The Smoke, is an intimate rummage through his past: it weds the freewheeling experimental aesthetics of his beloved indie band, From Indian Lakes, with the music traditions on which he was reared while growing up in a trailer on an acreage in rural northern California. The result is an emo-meets-outlaw Americana love letter—like Justin Vernon and Townes Van Zandt locked in a cabin in the Sierra Nevada for months—with phosphorescent synths, hushed vocals, and hardy guitar work.

Support from Mikayla McVey

http://mikaylamcvey.com/

Palm Sunday : Presented by Sou’wester Arts

Palm Sunday is a genre bending Portland based band spearheaded by songwriter Merle Law. They started this project in Atlanta GA in 2018 where they recorded the debut EP “Wishful Thinking” later released in New Orleans LA. They are currently cooking up their first full length record in Portland, OR. The tropical rhythms overlap with personal reflective songwriting. These tunes pair well with walking in the morning or laying in a hammock by a lonely beach. The feeling of being elevated by something familiar or of swooning over hot air balloons. Each current member brings out the melodic rhythmic and southern elements that carry one another. 

Weezy Ford & Brittain Ashford: Presented by Sou’wester Arts

“…There is a profound sense of artistic and spiritual liberation throughout Sugarcane; Ford’s talents for recognizing them and using them to her advantage make for an engaging follow-up to her debut EP.”

-Ryan Prado, Portland Mercury

“On “Shakey Knees,” Weezy Ford introduces herself to the world through a wall of distorted guitar and a shroud of vocal reverb. It’s a striking sound, reminiscent of the grimy rockabilly from her native North Carolina (think Flat Duo Jets with a hitch in its step). But the track isn’t without a few surprises, as Ford literally tap dances her way out of the song. It’s a risky and playful choice that ultimately pays off and leaves the listener wanting more.”
-Jerad Walker, OPB Music

TODD DAY WAIT

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Todd Day Wait is a Missouri native with an easy-going, good humored nature that will have you singing along faster than you know the words. We originally met while I was on a trip to New Orleans, and reconnected at Santa’s Pub in Nashville one Sunday evening. We talked of this and that, drank cheap beers and had a good time. He even mowed my lawn the next day. That’s Todd’s secret you see; he’s a good guy.” – GemsOnVHS

KRISTINA MURRAY

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Georgia-bred, Nashville-based songwriter Kristina Murray plays Americana and country music rooted and steeped in troubadour storytelling, southern-rock grit and the footsteps of country queens of yesteryear. Kristina’s songwriting springs from a deep and personal desire to share her truth, her opinions and convictions, and the simple joys and tragedies of life. Her songs adhere to the adage “write what you know,” and her delivery is as fluid, rhythmic, and steady as her right hand on her 1963 J-45, a beloved companion whom she endearingly calls Lil’ Sister in a nod to an early musical hero, one Elvis Presley.

Kristina currently lives in Nashville, where she is active in the underground independent country and Americana music scene that pays homage to the jangle of an acoustic guitar, the sting of a Telecaster, tight harmonies and a walking bassline—the sweat and grime and heartache of country legends—rather than, say, the synth and drum machine of contemporary pop country. One listen and you’ll believe every word that drips from her honky-tonk hewn, honeyed vocal style.

Released on her own label, Loud Magnolia Records, her second full length album, Southern Ambrosia conveys a fierce and witty perspective on southernisms, hard truths, heartbreak, and the eternal magical mystery and saving grace of melody, music and song.