Story by Anna Smith
Photos by Will Kanellos
The Facebook event “Home-Brewed House Show” last Thursday, November 10, launched the possibility of an entirely new music community in Eugene under the name of The Painted Porch.
The small premiere show was hosted by one of the creators and performers, Olivia Awbrey. A collection of about thirty people came to enjoy a few hours of mostly indie-folk acts, The Small Joys and Wintertime Carousel. The backyard venue was equipped with a fire to ward of the cold, as well as a canvas for participants to paint and decorate.
The Painted Porch is the brainchild of Simon Adler, a senior at the University of Oregon. “The town I’m from has a really strong music scene and musical community, both accompanying the college and in general.” said Adler. “I feel like Eugene is missing a college music scene and I want to try to build that.” Adler then recruited two other musician friends Dan Klee, a senior at the UO, and Olivia Awbrey, a junior at the UO, to set the plan into motion. For the first event, Adler played with his band Wintertime Carousel and Klee and Awbrey played as their band The Small Joys. “This was intended to be a trial run; we had no idea if it was going to work at all,” Klee said.
Since the first show was deemed a pleasant success, the three have planned the next show for December 1st, hoping after the holidays to make it a bimonthly event. “We’re kind of in search for an indoor venue [since] at some point it’s going to get uncomfortably cold,” Awbrey added. The trio also noted that although the initial bands were predominantly indie-folk, they welcome all genres. “The goal is to get people involved and get people together, so anyone who wants to play is totally encouraged to get in touch.” Adler said.
Adler has hopes that the Painted Porch will become a sort of community for both the audience and performers. “My goal is for people to think of the Painted Porch as a meeting place for like-minded people who enjoy live music,” he said. “I want the musicians to have a place to meet, play shows with and for listeners to have a place to hang out, meet others, and listen to some jams.”
The show on December 1 is planned to be at Awbrey’s house, this time with the Wainwright Brothers and the other performer still to be announced. The three will keep updates about time, place and upcoming shows on their page The Painted Porch.
