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"When music journalists say things like 'this artist is a fixture in Seattle music,' there’s probably no one right now who fits that title better than Nakayama." - KEXPBorn in Japan and raised in Seattle, Washington, Tomo Nakayama is an artist whose melodic, complex and emotionally compelling music has been praised by NPR, New York Times, and The Stranger. Beginning as frontman of the indie rock bands Asahi and Grand Hallway and a successful solo career spanning two decades as a singer, songwriter, composer, producer, actor, and curator, Nakayama has become one of the most active and recognizable figures in Seattle music.
After the critically acclaimed indie-folk albums “Fog on the Lens” and “Pieces of Sky” (named "Best Folk Act" by Seattle Weekly), Nakayama surprised his fans by releasing “Melonday" (Porchlight Records), a collection of instantly memorable and undeniably danceable synthpop songs. Co-produced by Yuuki Matthews (The Shins, Sufjan Stevens) and mastered by Dave Cooley (M83, Paramore, Tame Impala), “Melonday” was named one of the Top Albums of the year by Seattle Times, KEXP, and Seattle Met Magazine, and debuted at #1 on KEXP’s NW Charts. The following year he composed the music for Megan Griffith’s feature film “I’ll Show You Mine” and the KUOW podcast “Ten Thousand Things” hosted by Shin Yu Pai, and collaborated on a song with Dave Matthews to benefit SMASH (Seattle Musicians Access to Sustainable Healthcare). In 2024 his cover of Crosby Stills and Nash’s “Our House” was featured in the Netflix series “House of Ninjas”.
Nakayama has toured across the US and Japan, sharing the stage with Built to Spill, Thao, Cornelius, Daði Freyr, Fleet Foxes, Buffalo Daughter, Sons of Kemet, and Shugo Tokumaru. He has performed and collaborated with Sera Cahoone, Jherek Bischoff, Jeremy Enigk (of Sunny Day Real Estate), and experimental dance company Malacarne. He also composed music and appeared as an actor in the Lynn Shelton film “Touchy Feely” with Elliot Page and Rosemarie DeWitt. A former Artist in Residence at Seattle’s Town Hall, his sound installations and compositions have also been featured at the Museum of Northwest Art and Wing Luke Museum.
Seattle’s Jesy Fortino has performed under the name Tiny Vipers since her teen years. Honing her craft in punk houses and squats, Fortino’s haunting folk elegies are as sparse as they are dense. People and times past wander through her songs like ghosts looking for a home, appearing and then vanishing into deft guitar playing that is reminiscent of John Fahey and Ry Cooder. Her first two full-length records,Hands Across the Void and Life On Earth (Sub Pop, 2007 and 2009, respectively) were masterworks of delicate, deliberate composition and instrumentation. Rarely has
music this minimal made such a massive statement.
Years of touring and critical acclaim brought Tiny Vipers a cult following. Despite this, she largely operates outside of the world of mainstream music. A series of incendiary experimental releases preceded her third LP Laughter (Ba Da Bing!, 2017). A collection of
electronic tracks buried beneath a pane of frosted-glass tape hiss, Laughter shone a light on yet another facet of Fortino’s prismatic musical identity. 2021’s American Prayer EP saw a return to the acoustic music of her early releases, its three tracks setting an outstanding groundwork for her next full-length record.
While Tiny Vipers has shared a stage with the likes of Patti Smith and Damo Suzuki, and has collaborated with Liz Harris (Grouper) as Mirrorring (releasing Foreign Body on Kranky Records in 2012), her artistic identity has remained as elusive and mysterious as her music. It is seldom that we encounter an artist as unique and singular as Tiny Vipers. Her upcoming full-length record is scheduled for release in 2025.
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Doors at 6:30, music starts a 7:30pm. Tickets $20 in advance, $25 a the door.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
5000 Rainier Ave S, Seattle, WA, United States, Washington 98118
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