Tunesmith Night Season Finale, Saturday, May 12, 2018 – 7PM
Sugar Time Bakery, 107 North River Street, Ste. A, Enterprise, Oregon
The Wallowa Valley Music Alliance presents the season finale of Tunesmith Night, a monthly showcase of original music. The Saturday, May 12 show features songwriters Tracy Spring, Nathaniel Talbot and MidLo. Venue is Sugar Time Bakery, located in the newly renovated Burnaugh Building on North River Street and will provide the perfect atmosphere for our listening audience.
Northwest performing songwriter Tracy Spring is known for her rich, compelling vocals and versatile guitar playing. She writes full spectrum 4-minute novels, poetry and music all rolled into one. Her wide musical range is demonstrated by the women she’s been compared to: Sarah McLachlan, Tracy Chapman, kd lang, and Yo Yo Ma’s cello. A seasoned performer, she has played in folk venues and festivals throughout North America and Australia, often combining her musical life with social justice work. Combining folk, blues, old R&B, and jazz influences she displays a style all her own. A song she co-wrote with Janis Carper and Becca Christel was included on Peter, Paul and Mary’s 2004 release, In These Times. She has also arranged a number of her pieces, such as her folk anthem “Walls Come Tumblin’ Down” and “A World of Difference (In Our Hands) for community choirs in the Northwest and beyond.
(For more on Tracy’s music visit tracyspring.com.)
It’s a busy life for singer-songwriter and farmer Nathaniel Talbot, who runs an organic vegetable farm on Whidbey Island, in Washington State’s Puget Sound. In addition to farming, he’s just released his fourth album, Swamp Rose & Honeysuckle Vine on Portland, Oregon’s Fluff & Gravy Records. The album marks the harvest of a different sort for Talbot, who has also spent over two decades tending to the crafts of songwriting and guitar playing. His songs on the new album are intimately tied to the lush farmland and windswept vistas of Whidbey Island, deeply rooted in the earth and American traditionalism. Swamp Rose & Honeysuckle Vine captures the raw, live energy of Talbot’s guitar playing, and has a more stripped-down approach than his previous albums – no drums, fewer string arrangements, and sparse vocal harmonies. Talbot’s music has dirt under its fingernails, the product of decades of hard work and crafting – re-tuning, replanting, and retelling. The result is true American roots music, combining the soulful edge of tradition with the Pacific Northwest’s legacy of freedom and innovation. (See nathanieltalbot.com for more on this artist.)
Mike Midlo lives here. And works here. And writes songs here in Wallowa County. Although most MidLo concerts take place on front porches, for dogs, and around campfires, the songwriter does venture out here and there to sing in front of people. His new record, Two Steps & Waltzes was recorded in Enterprise on the stage of the historic, OK Theatre. The songs reveal a close connection to the land, the sky, and a sense of humor from an artist growing older. “I wanted to make a record that people could wash dishes to, dance around the living room with, or just play in the truck.” Two Steps & Waltzes is the second solo release from MidLo and was funded in part by a grant from the Wallowa County Cultural Trust Coalition. OPB Music (Oregon Public Broadcasting) calls MidLo a “renaissance man”–his 2013 self-titled record, “MidLo” received critical acclaim from The Portland Mercury and Willamette Week among others, even though it was released on cassette tape, and almost no one heard it. Kinda like most of his concerts.
Tunesmith Night is presented in a round-robin format, with each musician playing a song, then the next taking a turn, creating an interesting and varied performance. Admission is $10 at the door or by season pass. Doors open at 6pm (SEATING IS LIMITED), music at 7pm, all ages welcome. Sugar Time will have the kitchen open for soups and sandwiches, in addition to their usual yummy sweet treats (BYO adult beverages).