The Tallest Man on Earth is known for animated, expressive performances and songwriting that critics have compared to Bob Dylan. Influenced by Dylan and early American folk artists, Kristian Matsson describes his music as shaped by what feels natural to him. His 2023 album, “Henry St.,” was his first recorded with a band and brings together a range of musical ideas and sounds.
With Andrea von Kampen. All Ages
Afie Jurvanen does not spend too much time in cities these days. For nearly two decades, Jurvanen was a fixture of the Toronto scene, both as a valued multi-instrumentalist and producer for friends like Feist, The Weather Station, and Kathleen Edwards and as the architect of one of his country’s most celebrated artists, Bahamas. Jurvanen came of age across Bahamas’ first six albums, the restlessness of jumpy early hits like Pink Strat and Barchords slowly shifting into the generous domesticity of 2023’s Bootcut. But Jurvanen has long been drawn to open spaces, to a quieter life. In 2009, the year of his aforementioned debut, he began visiting Nova Scotia, the Atlantic Ocean. Over the next decade, his trips became more consistent, then more frequent, and then longer, until, in 2019, Jurvanen and his family of four finally made the move—nearly 2,000 kilometers northeast, to Nova Scotia. They live a lifestyle, Jurvanen half-jokes, that is “close to Mennonite.” The kids are homeschooled. No one has an iPad. Text messages can feel like miracles.
For a long time, Jurvanen didn’t know what to do with My Second Last Album. After cutting a legitimate country record in the city where the genre lives, was it a too-weird left turn to put out a loose-limbed indie-pop set cut in a shed? He thought about slicing it into singles or splicing it as a bonus onto some sort of future Bahamas compendium, maybe even shelving it altogether. But then he put the record back on after not hearing it for several months and had the simplest and most profound realization possible: He loved these songs, the way they sat together, the story they told about who he was at that moment—a married father content to live in the country alongside the very ocean where he surfs, a musician who often goes to his buddy’s house to casually make some music. It became My Second Last Album, one of Bahamas’ truly indispensable works.
For over two decades, Railroad Earth has captivated audiences with gleefully unpredictable live shows and eloquent and elevated studio output. The group introduced its signature sound on 2001’s The Black Bear Sessions. Between selling out hallowed venues such as Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, CO, they’ve been responsible for launching signature festivals Hangtown Music Festival in Placerville, CA and Hillberry: The Harvest Moon Festival in Eureka Springs, AR. Sought after by legends, the John Denver Estate tapped them to put lyrics penned by the late John Denver to music on the 2019 vinyl EP, Railroad Earth: The John Denver Letters. Beyond tallying tens of millions of streams, the collective has earned widespread critical acclaim from David Fricke of Rolling Stone, American Songwriter, Glide Magazine, and NPR, who assured, “Well-versed in rambling around, as you might expect from a band named after a Jack Kerouac poem, the New Jersey-built jam-grass engine Railroad Earth has let no moss grow under its rustic wheels.”
ERIC SKYE TRIO Plays Miles Davis What happens when mid-century urban cool meets the organic sustain of a steel-string acoustic? Join us for an evening of late-1950s Miles Davis tunes re-envisioned for acoustic guitar, upright bass, and drums. Stripped-back, atmospheric, and deeply dynamic.
Pacific Northwest acoustic guitarist Eric Skye occupies a unique niche between jazz and folk. He has always had a bit of a connection to the music of Miles Davis, particularly the seminal modal jazz album, Kind Of Blue and that era. In fact, in 2012 he released his acclaimed album, “A Different Kind Of Blue,” which was a solo acoustic guitar album reimagining of “Kind Of Blue, recorded all in one sitting with improvisational approach as opposed to planned arrangements. Eric Has released nine albums in total. Including other solo acoustic jazz/blues records like 2018’s Ballads and Blues, 2004’s For Lulu, Acoustic Jazz Guitar Solos from 2000.. Or the contemporary improvisational duo album, Artifact, from 2015 with longtime Jackson Browne guitarist, Mark Goldenberg. There’s also several albums of adventuresome improvisation takes on American old-time fiddle tunes with mandolin virtuoso Tim Connell (June Apple 2015) and guitarist Jamie Stillway (Home On The Midrange in 2021, and Over The Waterfall in 2023). It’s a wide-ranging body of work, all threaded together with a minimalist’s aesthetic, a passion for in-the-moment music making, and a love of pure acoustic tone.
“Tone, taste, and technique” -JAZZIZ magazine
The Low Bar Chorale is thrilled to welcome internationally acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and producer Laura Gibson as a special guest. To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of her debut album, If You Come To Greet Me, Laura is re-releasing her first four records on vinyl. Sing together and learn harmony parts for some of her best-loved songs from these albums, as well as some favorite covers and guilty pleasures. Come sing with one of the defining voices of Portland's musical legacy.
Critics often draw comparisons between The Tallest Man on Earth and Bob Dylan, citing similarities in both songwriting and vocal style. Matsson himself has acknowledged Dylan's influence, revealing that he began listening to him at age 15. Fascinated by Dylan's covers, he delved into their origins, which gradually introduced him to early American folk artists like Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie. However, Matsson is quick to distance himself from being part of any specific tradition, stating, “I don’t want to be part of a tradition. I just want to do what feels natural to me. This is how I play, and this is how I write songs.”
His 2023 album ‘Henry St.’ marks the first time Matsson recorded an album in a band setting. As described by Matsson, it’s the “most me album yet, because it covers so many of the different noises in my head. Having been away from it taught me that making music and performing is what I’m doing for the rest of my life, and I’m so grateful for it. It has given me new confidence and playfulness. This is what I do. It’s unconditional.”
Babehoven is the Hudson, NY based project of singer-songwriter Maya Bon and collaborator Ryan Albert. Since 2017, the band has carved out a sound that blends melodic indie and folk rock with an occasional nod towards country. Bon serves as the project’s principal songwriter and lyricist, while Albert, a multi-instrumentalist and producer, further shapes the sonic world around her songs. Together, they’ve built a body of work that feels both intimate and expansive.