Music

Nick Byron Campbell. Photo by Elisa Terrazas Campbell

Deeply Rooted

Left Vessel’s music uses living trees as instruments Written by Ben Salmon Nick Byron Campbell will say that he has been making music in the “normal” sense since his mid-teens. What’s normal? Playing instruments. Writing songs. Starting bands. Touring, recording, even signing to a record label. “It was an amazing experience,” said Campbell, who lives in Bend. “Wildly intense.” After a while, though, he felt his perspective shifting at about the same time the music industry was being revolutionized—not necessarily in a good way—by easily accessible recording software and digital streaming platforms. “I still love playing with bands, releasing records—that’s still a huge thing for me. But there’s just so much music and it’s been so intensely devalued as a good,” he said. “I think I just subconsciously started wondering how I could do this differently from the way 10,000 other people are doing it.” Inspired by a childhood encounter…

2018 Local Oregon Albums You Need To Hear

Oregon AlbumsPut these 2018 Oregon albums on your list written by Ben Salmon Haley Heynderickx, I Need To Start A Garden | Portland It took Haley Heynderickx quite a while to write, record and release her debut full-length, and that’s because she took the time to get it right. The result is a record full of wondrous, well-crafted songs that twist and turn in unexpected ways, but never outrun her gift for distinctive melody. I Need to Start a Garden is not the loudest or brightest or most expensive-sounding album to come out of Oregon in 2018, but it might be the most powerful. Chanti Darling, RNB Vol. 1 | Portland For a while, Chanticleer Trü has been an electrifying force within Portland’s music scene, talked about with breathless anticipation by those in the know. In other words—the city’s been waiting for him to bust out. With Chanti Darling, Trü…

Corner Gospel Explosion: A New Approach

Things were rolling along nicely for Corner Gospel Explosion. The Bend-based quartet formed in 2015 and quickly gained a following. Later that year, they were named Central Oregon’s best band by the local alt-weekly. In early 2016, they released their first album, Tension.

Anna Tivel

Portland Folk Singer: Anna Tivel

For Portland folk singer Anna Tivel, songs are opportunities to tell stories about people and the lives they lead—their triumphs, tragedies and all the things in between.

A Swede with Soul

We catch up with Daniel Norgren on tour.

The Junebugs

Known for their genre-bending originals and energetic, folk-inspired covers, the Junebugs are releasing a new album, “Brothers in Music” August 5 at Mississippi Studios with opening performances by Balto and Falcon Heart.