I enlisted the help of a full band this last weekend at Someday Lounge in debuting a number of songs from the upcoming album. Above all, I’d say one of my favorite songs of the night was a brand new one called Lover Things — it just felt good.

That said, below is a video of the inaugural performance of Lover Things with lyrics added in an effort to combat the crowd noise. Enjoy the new tune and look for it to be on my new record, Some Days I’m a Lion, in June 2012.

I was recently invited to perform on Live from the Yellow Room — a new video series that’s hosted by Peter Rodocker of the Yellow Room Recording studio where I’ll be recording my next album. This is a great new series that features some of Portland’s finest indie artists, so I was glad to be part of it in performing my song Better Be Us All.

Song: “Better Be Us All”
Host: Peter Rodocker
Cameraman: Chris Duggan
Video Editor: Thom Lyons

DOWNLOAD “BETTER BE US ALL” NOW!!

I recently got the opportunity to perform on Live Wire! Radio Episode 163 — a stellar variety show that is recorded live in Portland, OR and broadcast on OPB radio for the masses.

In addition to being the featured musical guest, also on the show was acclaimed author, David Guterson, and actors Silas Weir Mitchell and Bitsie Tulloch from the new NBC television show GRIMM. In all, it was a fantastic evening of fine spirits and entertainment and it’s now posted as a podcast for your listening enjoyment.

NOTE: My performance of Great Man’s Funeral can be heard at minute-mark 7:30 and my performance of Better Be Us All can be heard at minute-mark 50:50. Spread the word!

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE

DOWNLOAD GREAT MAN’S FUNERAL HERE: www.cdbaby.com/tylerstenson2
DOWNLOAD BETTER BE US ALL HERE: www.cdbaby.com/tylerstenson4

As mentioned before, I will be performing TOMORROW at the Live Wire! Radio variety show at the Alberta Rose Theatre in Portland, OR. It is quite an honor to be invited to perform at this renowned production and live broadcast, so I’ll aim to do my part in making it as stellar as its reputation demands.

Because it’s a variety show, I am simply a part of the whole and therefore only get two songs. Best foot forward, right? That said, I’ll be playing Great Man’s Funeral and Better Be Us All.

It’s always hard to chose which few of my many songs to play (when limited) but I think this will be a nice mix for the Live Wire! folks. Please join us for this fine event.

Live Wire! Radio Variety Show
@ The Alberta Rose Theatre
Saturday October 22, 2011 at 7:30 PM
3000 NE Alberta St.
Portland, OR 97211
Minors OK when accompanied by a parent or guardian

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!!

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!!

Five months after having experienced one of the greatest moments of my musical life, I bring you documented proof. Below are a few select videos from the Alberta Rose Theater in Portland, OR. If you can’t see it on my face, I assure you, this was a very special evening. Enjoy.

OFTEN & MUCH

BEST LAID PLANS

CANNONBALL

Download the studio version of Cannonball

ROME TOMORROW

Download the studio version of Rome Tomorrow

RADIATE

Download the studio version of Radiate

Please join me today for the Kink.fm Noon Tunes in Pioneer Square, PDX. Noon sharp.

Yep, for one hour, Tyler Stenson and the Elegant Folk, will be filling the downtown air with roughly the same set list as Alberta Rose Theater and although this won’t be an intimately seated auditorium, it will be a sunlit outdoor amphitheater swarming with Oregonians enjoying the rare, 80-degree day.

Kink.fm Noon Tunes w/ Tyler Stenson
@ Pioneer Square PDX
Tuesday August 2nd, 2011

If you work downtown or are simply passing through the city, I hope you’ll join me and the Elegant Folk for your lunch break. After all, this is a rare opportunity to soak up the sun and catch a full band performance.

See you soon.

March 11th of 2011 was one of the most special moments of my musical life.

Having just turned 30, it dawned on me that I had been playing music for a full decade — 10 years of writing, recording and grinding. It hasn’t been easy, but it has certainly been worth it.

To celebrate this milestone marker, I hosted a self-indulgent “Greatest Hits” concert at the Alberta Rose Theater in Portland that showcased my absolute favorite songs, and fan favorites, from across the decade (2001 to 2011). In all, roughly 300 fans and friends crowded into the rows of the Alberta Rose Theater and showed their beaming support for my 10-year journey.

After many months of waiting patiently, I finally got my hands on these three recordings from that special Spring evening. Enjoy Tyler Stenson and the Elegant Folk live from the Alberta Rose Theater!!

OFTEN & MUCH

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CANNONBALL

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BEST LAID PLANS

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VIDEO IS COMING SOON!!

I was recently invited into the studios of MetroEast Community Media and KZME Radio to film a performance and interview segment known as Music on the Air. In all, we filmed a 30-min episode that features five live performances and interlaces some of my interview responses regarding the Portland music scene, my stint in Nashville, my upbringing, etc. Fun stuff.

Thank you John Lugton and the MetroEast crew for your hospitality and for supporting local music. You do a good service to the community.

Enjoy the video embedded below or visit their Blip.tv site to watch.

THIS EPISODE WILL AIR JULY 11, 2011. TUNE IN.

SET LIST:
1. The Road | buy now
2. That Moon | buy now
3. Often & Much | coming 01.01.12
4. Best Laid Plans | coming 01.01.12
5. Better Be Us All | buy now

BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
MetroEast Community Media | Community Television and Beyond
KZME Radio | music where you live

My cousin Grant teaches 2nd grade and across the years he has creatively used my music within his classrooms to lighten the mood, maintain order, inspire minds and ultimately teach lasting lessons in an interactive format — this lesson tops them all.

If you recall, I visited his class back in 2008, where we co-wrote a new version of my song The Bus. It was a really fun experience to show them a previously written line and then ask them to recreate it, in their own words, using the same structures and syllables, but totally unique to them.

This time, years later, his 2010-2011 class has been studying my song We Grow from my album Long Before the Wheel and learning about metaphors in the process … to my everlasting joy, they’ve written and recorded their own version of We Grow.

Check out Mr. Bushman’s 2010-2011 2nd Grade Class from Heritage Elementary School in Nibley, Utah singing their own version of my song We Grow.

WE GROW — BY TYLER STENSON & 2nd GRADERS

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WE GROW
Lyrics by Tyler Stenson and Mr. Bushman’s 2nd grade class
NOTE: The italicized words are theirs.

I heard you say that you wish I stayed
An older version of me — long before my change.
If we’re not growing we are staying the same,
So I will welcome the change and stretch myself day to day…

We’re entitled to change, we grow
Like baby to man
Like ideas of Mr. Bushman
Like the airbag inside of a van
Like things from a recycled can
The change is going to happen real slow
But not a day goes by we don’t grow.

If a seed can grow into a tree
And if that tree can grow leaves,
How is that different than me?
We both breathe and we come from the dirt
And that’s where we will return
When both of our seasons fade…

We’re entitled to change, we grow
Like dust on a mat
Like the wings of a small baby bat
Like a kitten growing into a cat
Like the whiskers from a beautiful rat
The change is going to happen real slow
But not a day goes by we don’t grow.

If we’re not growing,
We are staying the same,
So, I will welcome the change
And stretch myself day to day
We’re entitled to change…

We’re entitled to change, we grow
Like egg into bird
Like the little baby cows in a herd
Like adding suffixes to a word
Like a 2nd Grader moving to third
The change is going to happen real slow
But not a day goes by we don’t grow.

THE ORIGINAL WE GROW:

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You can buy “We Grow” on CD Baby and iTunes!!

On Thursday, May 19, 2011, I was featured on the KINK.fm Local Music Spotlight with my song Great Man’s Funeral from my album Bittersweet Parade. Because I was playing the Wyoming tourism event in Pioneer Square the following day, KINK was gracious enough to invite me into the studio for a chat with Inessa and to play my humble song on the air.

In all, we talked about my roots in Wyoming and how I came to be invited to play such an event. We also chatted in depth about my song Great Man’s Funeral and the meaning behind it.

Thank you Inessa and KINK.fm for your hospitality and for giving a local boy the opportunity to be heard on the airwaves and to be featured as your Local Music Spotlight.

To hear the full interview with Inessa, visit here.

DIRECT CONTENT FROM KINK.FM

Turns out there’s a “wild west” piece to Tyler Stenson, I never knew about. Wyoming born, and totally Portland. But there’s an annual visit back to the wide open spaces. This w-end/ Wyoming comes to Portland.

TYLER STENSON
Tyler does go back home to family, like once a year, he told me. But through a chain of events, and a song, (Tyler wrote about that “last good piece of land”) it caught the attention of the office of Tourism. Now they are setting up in Pioneer Courthouse Square Friday through Sunday, May 20-22nd. Tyler will be doing the music side of things.