SOU’WESTER EVENTS!
See what’s happening during your next stay or plan a visit around our free live music, workshops, wellness offerings and more!
Pony Hunt : Presented by Sou’wester Arts
Pony Hunt is a New Orleans based band that plays like a ghostly jukebox; hazy melodies with sweet, lingering waves of nostalgia.
Born in California, raised in Chicago, transformed by Oakland and set alight by New Orleans, Jessie Antonick’s heart and hands are continually consumed by her passion for songwriting, building, and creating space—an eternally braided compulsion for crafting and evoking emotion, for creating worlds where one’s spirit can roam free—where a wandering mind can find home.
Antonick discovered a love for music early in life in the live venues and record shops of Chicago. Captivated by doo-wop artists as a child and thrilled by indie and punk rock as a teen, it was her discovery of classic American styles that inspired her to learn to play the guitar.
Longing for the ocean air, she soon settled in Oakland, CA, living on a sailboat whilst building and repairing sails as the push and pull of the tides slowly found their way into her blood, then to the page, and finally to her guitar. The rising and falling pulse of her heart and the chatter of her mind pushed her to create an elegant, transportable canvas cottage where she set in solitude to discover the melodies and rhythms passing through the light and upon the sea air. Antonick soon discovered a new home in her ‘78 Chevy van and she followed the sound of the rushing Mississippi River down to New Orleans where she found herself humbled by cultural beauty and set ablaze with inspiration.
It was in New Orleans where Antonick began writing the new Pony Hunt release VAR!. In VAR! she investigates the heart and mind entangled, looking to understand how to be at home with one’s self, exploring the dualities of mind at play within her journey of emotional connection, societal imposition, gender, lost identities and the lesser understood–– discovered variables amongst the seemingly ever still.
Drew Martin : Presented by Sou’wester Arts
Drew Martin is a songwriter from Maui, Hawaii.
Noah Kite : Presented by Sou’wester Arts
The son of an acting coach and a therapist, Kite seems to have it in his DNA to blend the dramatic and analytic. Each musical wave crest and fall mirrors a turn in the story. Instruments rest for minutes before suddenly emerging. Emotions and motifs sustain and then drop into oblivion. The tone switches suddenly from accusation to epiphany. It is the sound of someone going through it.
Alongside the the musical tumult, the steady voice of Kite never loses his cool despite the searing intimacy of the song’s content. He thoughtfully guides us through the story of his relationship, in as well as struggles with friends, substances, sex and codependency. He has been clearly affected by the proceedings, but is determined to stare into them without blinking.
Lindsay Clark : Presented by Sou’wester Arts
“A rare exhibition of the weight that minimalism can bear in contemporary, reflective folk music. ”
Lindsay Clark finds balance between traditional and english folk, country, and her own version of experimental folk that seems to come from within. Exquisite and pitch perfect, her music speaks of quiet revelation, with a background of (usually her own) multi-tracked vocal arrangements. With influences ranging from the Beach Boys, Elizabeth Cotton, Joni Mitchell, Appalachian folk, her classical upbringing, and her father’s record collection, she blends many worlds into a uniquely warm sound. She has carved out a vibrant place as an artist with a penchant for poetry, rich harmony, and a style of self-taught fingerpicking influenced by Nick Drake, John Fahey, and others.
Originally from the small gold rush town of Nevada City, CA, she now resides in Portland, OR. Her sound has been described as “folk with angelic vocals washing over smooth edges” (1859 Magazine). She has shared the stage with musicians such as Alela Diane, Adam Torres, Nat Baldwin (Dirty Projectors), Ryan Francesconi (Joanna Newsom), Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith and Michael Hurley. “Crystalline” was released in 2018 via boutique German label Oscarson.
Her forthcoming full-length album (which she wrote, produced and co-arranged), Carpe Noctem, features guitarist William Tyler, Alela Diane, Sage Fisher (Dolphin Midwives), Alexis Mahler (Shook Twins) & Andy Rayborn (Paper Gates). It was engineered and arranged with Jeremy Harris (Vetiver, Adrienne Lenker, Hand Habits), and is out 6/24/22 with Audiosport Records (NL). She has also recently collaborated on Michael Hurley’s latest release, Time of the Foxgloves (No Quarter Records). She is currently at work on her first collection of lyric memoir-in-essays. PRE-ORDER CARPE NOCTEM
Peter Donovan : Presented by Sou’wester Arts
Peter Donovan is an astute musical storyteller. His perceptive songs span genres and feature narratives based on both real-life and fictitious characters, written with a contemplative heart. After finding success and a dedicated fanbase with Seattle’s All The Real Girls and his side project The Rose Petals (alongside Elijah Ocean), Donovan returns in 2022 with his first proper solo album, This Better Be Good.
His previous releases spun expertly-crafted character sketches that earned plaudits from Paste Magazine, Consequence of Sound, American Songwriter, and more. With This Better Be Good, Donovan spreads his wings, combining the plaintive soul of indie rock, the heartfelt sincerity of Americana, and the stirring studio pageantry of ‘70s singer-songwriters, drawing them together to explore more intimate depths.
This Better Be Good is Donovan’s most personal effort yet; a loose concept record about the ups and downs of an ultimately doomed romance between two people. The songs are more reflective than bitter; more nostalgic than sad. It’s an album about learning and growing from lived experiences and reflecting on past failures in the interest of future successes. Donovan has managed to create an album that is sonically nostalgic and modern at once, both soul-stirring and dripping with heartache. It’s a roadmap of his past seen through fresh eyes, and a triumphant first step in this new chapter.
New Victorian : Presented by Sou’wester Arts
New Victorian is the ethereal, small-rock project from Portlander Scott Taylor.
!mindparade (unplugged) : Presented by Sou’wester Arts
!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.
Jeremy James Meyer: Presented by Sou’wester Arts
Jeremy James Meyer is an artificer of song. A songwriter’s songwriter. He crafts redemptive songs full of woody rock ‘n’ roll tones. His deep, penetrating voice has a wide range, and is especially captivating in his droning, lower register. He spent the last decade drifting around, a tool belt troubadour, working carpentry by day, bringing folk music to the people at night. As with most well traveled songwriters it’s hard to tell where the road ends and Jeremy James Meyer begins. His songs seamlessly blend plain-language and poetic lyricism. They wander from personal truth to outlaw legends. He’s capable of cathartic protest songs, cosmic country canticles, and dive bar sing-a-longs. Whenever, and however your path crosses with Jeremy James Meyer’s (and it will) prepare for an enchanting, psychedelic trip through cosmic American music.
“Alive and OK by Jeremy James Meyer is a lesson in what country music can be. This is not the pop country of Nashville. This is real country music with stories and melodies that keep the listener engaged. Whether it’s a foot stomper or a song made for slow dancing, Meyer delivers songs that will get you moving.”
“Last year was a devastating time for fans of Americana, country, and pretty much anyone who loved a well-written song with the passing of Walker, Prine and Billy Joe Shaver all in the span of six months. It’s heartening though to know there is another generation of talented singers and songwriters eschewing current trends and fads and focusing simply on writing timeless, relatable music agnostic of specific genres. Meyer is certainly one of those acolytes to the greats, alongside peers like Todd Snider and Hayes Carll carrying that tradition into the future.”
Bijoux Cone: Presented by Sou’wester Arts
Bijoux Cone (Formerly Bryson Cone) is a visual artist, filmmaker, musician and producer based out of Portland OR. Bijoux Cone’s debut album “Magnetism” was released February 19 on LA based label Cleopatra Records. Her forthcoming sophomore album is pending release.
Bijoux Cone’s music explores themes of love, loss and identity paired with lush melodramatic synth pop and disco synth grooves.
The live band includes/has included members such as:
Bijoux Cone (FKA Bryson Cone, Reptaliens, Gary Wilson & The Blind Dates),
Hannah Blilieh (The Gossip, Chromatics), Bambi Browning (Reptaliens, Blouse),
Ben Steinmetz (Kyle Craft), Thomas Mabus (Reptaliens, Wampire),
Chris Hoganson (Fur Coats, Wampire) and Cat Hoch (Blackwater Holylight).
Jed Crisologo : Presented by Sou’wester Arts
Jed Crisologo is a soulful Seattle singer- songwriter, who mixes Americana, Punk Rock and Soul influences into heartfelt, catchy, honest tunes. His introspective and thoughtful songwriting sets an honest, alive and intensely human core to their songs. This combination of earnestness and swagger creates a sound that travels from wonderfully noisy and ambient to stripped down and raw, from raucous and bombastic to swinging and groovy all while emphasizing the truth and humanity in the songs.