Songwriter-in-the-Round: Fleur Wood (The W Lovers), Debbie Miller, Arami Walker, Alexandra Lockhart (Cumulus), Liv Victorino, Tekla Waterfield @ BALLARD HOMESTEAD

Abbey Arts Presents: Songwriter-in-the-Round featuring songwriters Fleur Wood (The W Lovers), Debbie Miller, Arami Walker, Alexandra Lockhart (Cumulus), Liv Victorino, Tekla Waterfield

Fleur Wood (The W Lovers): www.thewlovers.com

"Fleur is a New Zealand musician and songwriter, now based in Seattle. She has toured and played her original music in America, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Hong Kong. She has released two CD's under her maiden name and two albums with former rock band The Twitch (NZ). Fleur is now fronting Seattle Americana band The W Lovers, who release their third album October 21st www.thewlovers.com" - Artist Bio

Debbie Miller: www.thedebbiemiller.com

"Seattle songwriter Debbie Miller is like a tantalizing book of short stories. In fact, there are few musicians who work as diligently as she to be as narratively engaging. Her lyrics, like tightrope walkers, rollick on the taut wire of song, guiltlessly and pointedly inspiring listeners who crave more of their spectacle. You might find yourself laughing, then crying, then laughing again - sometimes all in the same song. Miller’s newest release, an EP titled “Heron” was released on November 29th, 2023.

Miller, who recently performed with Dave Matthews, has played prominent Northwest festivals like Timbrrr! and Upstream. She has also opened for the world famous von Trapp family, John Gorka, Lucy Kaplansky, and Kris Delmhorst.

Miller has made television appearances on the acclaimed 'Band in Seattle' as well as PBS’s 'The Great American Read' which highlighted her song, 'Queen of Hearts.' Miller’s songs have also appeared on WNYC’s Freakonomics, TED-ED, and the New Yorker Radio Hour. But her dream is to write a Broadway musical, which she absolutely-freaking-will one day." - Artist Bio

Arami Walker: www.aramiwalkermusic.com

Arami Walker is "a musician, author, and activist focused on uplifting the notion of community in our culture. Her music is a fusion of jazz, RNB, soul, and alternative songwriting. She combines spoken word and rhythm to create music for the mind, body, and soul. As a woman of color, she's proud to continue the legacy of using music to advance our cultural narrative and educate the future." - Artist Bio

Alexandra Lockhart (Cumulus): www.cumulussongs.com

"Cumulus is the creative outlet of songwriter Alex Lockhart, who released her 3rd record, 'Something Brighter' in October of 2022 on Seattle label Share It Music. Working with Producer Andrew Vait aka Little Wins, and band collaborator William Cremin, 'Something Brighter' was selected by the Seattle Times as the #5 NW album release of 2022, and they were selected as a grantee of Sonic Guild Seattle class of 2023.

In Summer of 2022, Lockhart also collaborated with Mike Edel in co-writing of his 5th album 'Casseroles and Flowers', where you can hear her background vocals on several tracks. Gratitude and the bittersweetness of learning from the past are the undercurrent of every song that Lockhart writes. What a beautiful thing, to make mistakes and learn from them; to heal wounds, to love deeply, and to dance in your underwear.

Co-writing with bandmate William Cremin, the 4th Cumulus album is in development and they are hoping to reach fans' ears and turntables in early 2025." - Artist Bio

Liv Victorino www.liv-victorino.com

"Victorino is an alternative rock singer-songwriter whose packed performance schedule in 2024 has earned an “up next” status in Seattle. A studied songwriter of more than just Elliott Smith, Death Cab for Cutie, and Fleet Foxes, her unabashed cross-genre experimentation represents progress while bearing the best of the Pacific Northwest songwriting lineage. Her bag of tricks includes grunge, 2000s indie, baroque-pop, and folk.

Her live band, after cutting their teeth extensively in Seattle, bubbled up to the top to play Idaho’s Treefort Fest, Portland’s Pickathon, and hometown festivals: notably Seattle’s Capitol Hill Block Party and Belltown Bloom. After 2 years of constant experimentation with her live act without releasing any music, Victorino is finally ready to re-debut with a new single “Neighborhood” on October 11th, 2024.

When she graduated college in June of 2022, Victorino had her acoustic debut EP "Sheer Force of Will" already under her belt. At the time, she had nothing but free/hacked software and a USB microphone, developing a genre-philosophy she coined "Freeware Folk". Despite these material constraints, Victorino's debut touched thousands of ears through recurring broadcasts on Seattle's flagship radio station KEXP.

Victorino had been playing drums for 4 years in several bands before picking up a guitar at 18. Through the unofficial songwriting school of Elliott Smith, she began to craft her signature fingerpicked melodies and emotional writing style. Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes noted a "great melodic sense" after a first encounter with her EP.

Since 2022, she has departed from being a solo folk act, forming a four-piece band with Jesse Moneyhun, Ted Howard, and Benji Herrera. Their emotional live show brings distortion and intensity to her inward looking songs." - Artist Bio

Tekla Waterfield: www.teklawaterfield.com

"2024 Sonic Guild Artist Grant Recipient, 2021 US Songwriting Competition finalist, 2020 & 2021 Doe Bay Resort & Retreat Artist Resident recipient, 2019 Jack Straw Cultural Center recording grant recipient, and 2018 Allied Arts Listen Up! Women in Music grant recipient, Alaskan-born Seattle-based singer/songwriter Tekla Waterfield incorporates elements of folk, country, roots, rock and soul creating a wide-ranging sound unified by dynamic vocals and point-of-view storytelling. Waterfield is ofter paired with her husband and musical partner, accomplished internationally touring guitarist, Jeff Fielder, known for his work with Mark Lanegan, Amy Ray, Stone Gossard, Duff McKagan, Sera Cahoone and the Indigo Girls. Together the duo present lush, harmonic, thoughtfully developed & playfully artistic Contemporary American Roots.

Waterfield & Fielder recorded and self-released 'Trouble In Time' in 2021, to national and international acclaim, radio play throughout the US, most notably on NPR's World Cafe, Seattle's KEXP and in the UK, Scotland, Wales, Australia, England & Korea. Described as 'poignant and emotionally soaring' by No Depression, with favorable reviews in American Songwriter, The Alternate Root, Sing Out! Radio Magazine, & glowing international reviews in The Netherlands, Croatia & Spain.

Waterfield's most recent September 2021 solo release, 'New Skies,' with production by Fielder, landing in the #3 Most Added at NACC Folk Chart, and made its way into the NACC Top 25 Folk Album Chart.

Waterfield's 2018 album, 'The Curtain Falls' saw song placement in the indie film, 'Dakota,' for the song, 'Rock and Roll Man,' with the music video for Waterfield's song, 'Nice Try' being selected by the Seattle International Film Festival and One Reel for screening at the 2019 Bumbershoot Music Festival." - Artist Bio 

@ Ballard Homestead

7p doors, 7:30p show

All ages, mostly seated, elixir bar

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EVENT & VENUE INFO:

• Ballard Homestead is partially ADA accessible. Please email boxoffice@fremontabbey.org with questions and for accommodations. ballardhomestead.org/about
• Service animals as defined by the ADA are allowed. Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.
• Please limit photos during the show so as to not distract other attendees from the experience.
• Please enter quietly if the show has already begun.
• Please leave quietly, it's a very quiet neighborhood.
• Quiet Picnics Welcome. ie. please no crunchy packaging or loud chips, smelly foods, etc. We sometimes have a few tables out, or you can use the side yard if weather is nice.
• Light snacks & non-alcoholic beverages may be available for purchase, but no other food or bar service at Ballard Homestead shows.
• We have a mix of padded chairs, benches, and a little standing room in back for big shows.
• We are an all ages venue. Kids 10 & under are free at Abbey Arts concerts & arts events unless noted. Please request by emailing boxoffice@fremontabbey.org
• Entering the venue indicates agreement to adhere to the Abbey Respect Policy. All are welcome. fremontabbey.org/respect