Portland-based folk rock band, The Builders and the Butchers, are 20 year veterans of the Portland Music Scene. Their latest album “Hell and High Water” was hailed by Consequence of Sound, who said, “The Builders and the Butchers make records the way the bards used to pass on stories. They’re poetic and captivating, and do to songwriting what Clint Eastwood does to movies,” and this new record follows the same, narrative-driven path. With glowing album and show reviews coming from Pitchfork and The Wall Street Journal, among others, their brand of folk-rock is best served live. Audiences can look forward to lively performances, where fourth wall is broken and the audience is able to participate in call and response sing-a-longs. Sometimes the band will hand out instruments for fans to play, and they’ll even get down off stage to perform right on the floor. The Builders and The Butchers formed in 2005. Ryan Sollee fronts the band, sings and plays guitar, joined by Ray Rude (drums and keyboards), Paul Seely (guitar and vocals0, Willy Kunkle (bass, guitar, vocals, percussion), Justin Baier (drums, backup vocals, percussion) and Harvey Tumbleson (mandolin, banjo, guitar, vocals, percussion). The Portland-based band gained a strong following after years of playing anywhere and everywhere across the city. They quickly grew to become one of the most exciting live bands in Portland and throughout the Pacific Northwest. The band toured throughout the US and Europe from 2007-2012, playing music festivals, such as Sasquatch and Lollapalooza, and acting as support for Portugal. The Man, Heartless Bastards, Amanda Palmer and Murder By Death. To support their forthcoming release, Hell and High Water, the band played their first US and European tour in multiple years.  In 2024 they hit the road with the Dead South, playing most notably the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville Tennessee. This new album features a wider array of sounds and shorter, hard hitting songs, while remaining a Builders’ record at heart. The process of creating Hell and High Water (over the pandemic) was the longest of any Builders’ record to date. They spent the 2 years writing the music and recording the music and a year mixing. With several band members living out of state (Justin in Colorado, Harvey in Washington as well as Paul, Ryan, and Ray in Portland), many parts were recorded remotely. Drums and some of the basic tracks were recorded at The Map Room and the rest was laid down piece-by-piece and mixed by Edgar McCrae, and Produced by Ray Rude at their home studio. Influences for the record range from Tom Waits to The White Stripes.

"The Americana Psycho" band from The Mojave Desert.

Sixty miles north of Los Angeles, just over the rugged San Gabriel Mountains, lies the arid desert community of Antelope Valley, where Peter McGuire was raised, amid the strong winds, Joshua trees, and punk rock. The AV music scene has been diverse, eclectic, constantly changing, and always subjugated by the local government. Music venues have come and gone, but the musicians have always been there. Punk rock has always been the backbone of the music scene. Peter spent his teenage years and most of his 20’s putting out 5 records in 3 very different punk rock, hard rock, and metal bands. “I discovered alt-country music at a very challenging time in my life,” Peter says. “I was in my late 20’s, going through a lot of personal issues. I really connected with the honesty and story-telling of alt-country, and at such a transitional phase, I knew immediately that this was going to be the direction my music career was heading next.” Peter picked up an acoustic guitar and started writing what he calls “Sad Bastard Music.” In August 2017, he released a split EP with fellow singer-songwriter and AV native Matthew from the Colonies, titled Dying Desert, with the backing of The Burgerwolf Collective and Rail Rider Records. “My half of Dying Desert is a snapshot of what I was going through, and writing these songs was how I dealt with depression, anxiety, dead relationships, and brand new ones,” Peter says. The split was well received by the AV scene, and Matthew and Peter hit the road to share their music on a successful tour of the Western United States. “I really missed playing in a full band, being on stage with my friends. That’s what music is really about. Connecting with people.” In 2018, Peter recruited Mandy Alexander to play keyboards, Matthew Allen on bass, and long-time friend and bandmate, Diamond Jeff Collier on drums, forming Thrift Store Troubadours. Blending blues and country with a punk rock edge, Thrift Store Troubadours’ 2019 debut studio album Bright Lights, Dark Nights, is brand new material, as well as full band arrangements of some of the songs from Dying Desert.