Ida Jane has an eclectic style. Her music is Influenced largely by folk, alternative rock, and indie musicians such as: Fruition, Lucinda Williams, Mazzy Star, Jessica Lea Mayfield, Niel Young, Kacy & Clayton. Ida provides a mix of pensive, thoughtful songs as well as more upbeat, friendly, folk rock.

Kelli Schaefer: Presented by Sou’wester Arts

A few years disappeared into the forest of a global pandemic, but Kelli Schaefer and her brand new band trod through a new record this year, and it is expected to leap from the woods in 2023. With two full-length records and two EP’s already under her belt, her new record is another pivot in stylistic choice. This time, with a fresh take on the age-old singer-songwriter trope, Schaefer delivers haunting melodies over swirling woodwinds, piano, classical guitar, and upright bass. These songs could be the soundtrack to a modern gothic, a playlist for a trudge through the forest, the accompaniment to a subconscious mantra. As expected, Schaefer again demonstrates her refusal to confine herself to a single genre. Along with her bandmates Andrew Jones (bass), Ayal Alvez (piano, keys), Joey Binhammer (guitar), Schaefer is working to finish the record and planning tour steadily in the foreseeable future. The record was recorded live at Color Therapy with Ryan Oxford (Y La Bamba) and mixed by Alex Bush (Damien Jurado).

Crowey: Presented by Sou’wester Arts

What began as the solo project of Joey Binhammer (Die Geister Beschwören, Elektrokraken, Meeping, Whales Wailing), Crowey has grown into a psychedelic/folk soundscape project and collaboration between Joey and Kate Kilbourne (Mordecai, June Rose Band, Sweeping
Exits). Both multi-instrumentalists from Portland, OR, the duo crafts sweeping vistas of finger-style guitar, strings and vocal harmonies, exploring the deep well of human emotion and finding beauty in its darkest crevices. Layers of intricate orchestration evoke the sound of moving clouds. 

Brad Parsons: Presented by Sou’wester Arts

Brad Parsons is a singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist from Astoria, OR. His career collaborators include John Craigie, Bart Budwig, Horse Feathers, Cabinet, Fruition, TK & The Holy Know Nothings. In 2017, he released his debut album “Hold True,” followed by an EP, “The Starbird Sessions,” in 2020. Parsons has toured nationally and been a mainstay at festivals such as Northwest String Summit and Sawtooth Valley Gathering. 

monica: Presented by Sou’wester Arts

‘monica’ is songwriter Caitlyn Faircloth’s melancholy dream of electric guitars and dusty amplifiers. This project lingers in sleepy, asymmetrical indie rock using soft, lonely melodies to create a nostalgic soundscape for listeners. Caitlyn lives in Quilcene, WA on the Olympic Peninsula.

Lou Trove is the nom de plume for Adam Torres’ new experimental electronic music project, which prominently features the sounds and textures of digital mellotron flute to narrative incisive compositions inspired by precious geologic formations from the Earth’s core. Aesthetically and thematically sparkly, Lou Trove makes music for meditation, hearing as seeing, and as a portal to depart upon adventures of the imagination.

“Barn Rave, 2011” by Tori Wheeler

ON VIEW
JULY 27 2023 – OCTOBER 12 2023

Tufted, and interactive artwork, Barn Rave, 2011 encapsulates the frenetic, feral exchange of energy found in a packed dance floor. The modular work recalls a night in a remote barn outside of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Its tessellated pieces intertwine, forming a hazy, abstracted scene of kids drenched in sweat, a barn filled with fog, hay, pulsating music, and a mix of suspicious substances. This ephemeral experience imprints neural pathways.

The puzzle-like components and imagery pay homage to a transformative and hedonistic celebration of youthful exuberance. The liberated sensuality and sometimes-brainlessness of infectious bassy beats become the unyielding desires to relinquish the burdens and constraints of adolescence in small town surroundings. The pieces move and connect, at times surpassing a perfect fit. Capturing the raw energy of dancing amidst others. Capturing unbridled energy. Their arrangement allows for infinite reconfigurations—a reflection of the ever-shifting nature of the dance floor.

Tori Wheeler is an artist, designer, and dancer whose work is influenced by ecstatic human exchange, touch and tactility, music-and-nature-induced-trance-states, and a dash of trickster humor. Their creative practice mirrors that of a desire path.

Tori holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design from the Kansas City Art Institute and works as a textile artist, gold leaf gilder, and fairweather graphic designer.

Curated by Nikki Cormaci

Blair Borax: Presented by Sou’wester Arts

Blair Borax is a singer-songwriter who writes tender folk-pop songs to make you feel less alone. 

With vocal stylings reminiscent of 1920s jazz, songwriting that is unafraid to tackle the taboo, and pop melodies that stay with you for days, Blair Borax has something special to offer. She conjures a vocal charm somewhere in between Regina Spektor and First Aid Kit, wordsmithing inspired by folk songwriting greats like John Prine, and moody vulnerability like Haley Heynderickx and Big Thief’s Adrienne Lenker.

After releasing her first EP ‘everything is light work’ in May of 2021, Blair released her debut album “Keep Walking” in June 2022.  “Keep Walking” will take you on an emotional rollercoaster, through the stages of anger, grief, and joy beyond trauma and heartache. It is the perfect companion to help you keep walking too.  She is working on her sophomore record, “Tender Lately” this year.

Hemlock 

Live at The Sou’wester Lodge