SongVault Artist Profile

Portland, specifically, and the Pacific Northwest in general, has long been known for the countless blues artists that have honed their craft in the area. Nobody is quite sure just why the blues scene is so great here. Perhaps weather has something to do with it - the gray skies and cool rain, for months on end, seem naturally conducive to the blues. Maybe it's the natural beauty of the region that lured past transient folk artists to stay. Some just call it "mojo". Whatever the ingredient which creates such a wellspring of blues talent, Portland's got it goin' on.

There is, it seems, a sort of critical blues mass here. It is practically inevitable then that young musicians in Portland are attracted by this blues gravity - and then helped along by a time-honored blues tradition of established artists inspiring, teaching and mentoring young musicians in their craft. This ensures that the blues will thrive for generationis to come here. Every blues artist can finger their earliest inspirations - that point in time when they became hopelessly hooked on the blues. For them, that is where their blues journey began.

The Backyard Blues Boys are one of Portlands up-and-coming blues bands - at the launch point of their own blues trajectory. Emerging on the east Portland music scene in the fall of 2008, the band has rapidly gained a following city-wide, despite the fact they are all still in high school. But don't let the young age of these artists fool you - they are capable musicians with musical depth and soul beyond their tender years. They've got the chops for the blues.