Mikey talks about the harrowing drive to the best gig of his life, and the dramatic event that changed his life forever and how he is dealing with it as a musician.

Southern Oregon's well-loved trumpet and guitar player pulls the curtain back on his life and reveals a collection of songs he wrote and recorded but never shared with anyone.

Robin Jackson is a multi-instrumentalist who has performed with March Fourth Marching Band, Vagabond Opera, and more recently, The Polish Ambassador. He has released two albums, Dark Stars (2017) and Dust Diaries (2012), with his band The Caravan, and created the Songwriter Soiree - Portland's most beloved acoustic open mic.

John Elliott is a San Fransisco based singer-songwriter who doesn’t pull any punches lyrically. The man has a lot of heart, and it really comes through in his songs. John writes with stark realism in some songs, and heady poetry in others, but the essence of his writing conveys the feels, the humanity, the beauty and absurdity of life.  He has toured the country and recorded several albums. John is focused on making a difference, with his latest tour featuring benefit shows he organized for nonprofit groups trying to make positive change in the world. 

The first time I heard Bob Beach blow the harmonica was at a David Jacobs-Strain show. He played rhythmic patterns that I didn’t know were possible on the tiny instrument and played more notes than the thing could possibly contain. The sound he made that night on stage completely redesigned my understanding of harmonica and what it could do musically.

Kris DeeLane is a powerhouse. Not only in vocals and performance, but also in how she communicates and sees the world... and she has the most enviable mane I've ever seen! When she's on stage she gives herself completely to the performance. She has shared the stage with Joan Jett, Brian Wilson, and 3 Dog Night. Currently, she created a 10-piece soul band Kris DeeLane and The Hurt and plays consistently in the Northwest.

Songs pour through Paul like water through a river canyon - the man has 11 albums under his belt, including his new release, Lost Days, Long Nights which you can find here: https://paulbenoit.hearnow.com. His solo work is laced with blues, folk and rock influences with subtle echoes of his previous band project, Hanuman.

Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms of Foghorn Stringband talk about keeping the old-time music scene alive and well, balancing life in many different bands, and still managing to keep a small food farm thriving in the front yard of their home in Portland, Oregon.

It was dumping rain one night when I got a call that Mickey Ryan was playing an impromptu show with his buddy Kory Quinn from Portland at Cocina 7, a neighborhood taqueria in Southern Oregon. It was one of those nights - hard to leave the wood stove and the couch. Mickey said, “I think you’ll really dig Kory’s songs.” And he was right. The next day I invited them to the cabin and put a mic up in the room. Kory used to go to gigs via hitchhiking, and that’s how Mickey found him. We talked of the craft of songwriting, The Muses, and Kory shared his songs up close with Mickey picking dobro. Not only did I dig his songs, but his voice was disarming and full of no bullshit.

Beth Wood and Ara Lee James of the new vocal duo Stand & Sway, let it rip in this conversation. Unruly at times, super fun and full of laughter, these women playfully dive deep into the waters of fame, the value of live music, and the process of creating their upcoming new album Deep Blue.

Anna Tivel shows little movies in every one of her songs, telling vivid stories of characters living ordinary and extraordinary lives. She is mostly touring these days and a whole world of folks are discovering this disarming singer-songwriter with the sky in her voice. We sipped tea and sat on her living room couch as she shed some bright light on living the life of a touring Troubadour. -MM