My Portland Visit, Pt. 1

I just finished up a week in my hometown of Portland with two shows in the rearview. KINK, a radio station in Portland, hosted two events at Pioneer Courthouse Square at which I performed for an outstanding group of people. I’ll fill you in on the history, because I find it fascinating and divinely orchestrated.

Almost a year ago, I contacted Jared Aman, who DJs KINK’s local music show, inquiring about what it takes to get airtime. I ended up sending my album to him, and my song 25 Years got some play time during the local music show. (In the spirit of honesty, I actually still haven’t heard my music on the radio…I missed out on the night he’s played it…so that’s still an experience I haven’t been afforded.)

Several months thereafter, another representative from KINK contacted me about being on their Homegrown Summer Sampler for the summer of 2014, to which I immediately signed on to. Granted, no dividends, but plenty of exposure, since the CD was being sold at local grocery stores, vendors, and festivals.

This involvement led to another email from the same rep, inviting me to play at the KINK-hosted Noon Tunes at Pioneer Courthouse Square – an invitation extended to all artists on the Homegrown CD. Noon Tunes is basically a lunch hour set aside to highlight local talent in Portland’s most trafficked block, Pioneer Square, with a full band setup, stage, and sound system. Despite the necessitated flight from Nashville to Portland, I said yes without hesitation.

The KINK representative sounded enthusiastic that I was able to participate. Little did she know that I almost immediately booked my flight due to my excitement (for someone with my income, this was a very weighty decision). She very quickly replied with yet another invitation: to open for the Flicks on the Bricks event, held on Friday nights at Pioneer during the summer. After quickly working out a date that would compliment the existing date, my excitement skyrocketed through the roof. As you can imagine, I was PUMPED.

These two shows have been the most pivotal shows in my music career thus far. I can’t wait to tell you how they went in the next post!