Evento

Ara Lee with guitarist Chris Hayes

Ara Lee (www.araleemusic.com), when pressed, calls herself a singer-songwriter. But the image of a wispy, soft-voiced, guitar strummer that might come to mind couldn't be farther from what she does. Call it soul, call it folk, call it gospel, Ara sings like a woman with something to say, in a voice that makes you stop and listen, with lyrics that make you remember why you decided to be human once upon a time. Known for her commanding stage presence, Ara Lee's shows, often called "musical church," cut straight to the gut.

Raised in the deep South, in a church where instruments were not allowed, Ara grew up shape-note singing, learning to make music only with the voice. "Harmonies were a part of daily life. Music wasn't music without three parts. We would sing songs from our old blue church hymnal - it was the one place where everyone could meet without agreeing on dogma." A move to New York City as a teenager gave her the chance to use her vocal chops beyond her front porch and she began a ten year incarnation working as a backup singer and studio vocalist. Now based in Portland, Oregon, Ara's roots in Appalachia color the songs she writes. "People say I sing gospel, and maybe that's true, but I prefer to call it secular gospel. I don't identify with a specific faith, I sing about the things that I think are simply human. To me, live music is the place where you taste something truly sacred. It's why I sing, it's why I write, it's why I do what I do."

"From Ara Lee's self-professed "heathen gospel" to smokey blues to the most rhythmic R&B to the most deeply touching ballads-Ara Lee is a vocal treasure. She belts...she wails...she testifies..she rocks...she does it all with a depth and range like no other." - Morry Feldman, WQED Multimedia

Chris Hayes is one of the finest and most in-demand guitarists in the Northwest. He's been a fixture of the Northwest music scene since 1988. Peninsula Arts Center audiences will recognize him from past appearances with The Half Hearted, Kathryn Claire, and Hanz Araki.