Pete Kartsounes with an opening set w Dean Meuller. This will be an intimate seated show in the living room at The Commons.

Based out of Bend, OR, Pete Kartsounes has been bringing people together around the globe with his award-winning songs, guitar wizardry, and smokey voice for over two decades. His eclectic and heartfelt music is medicine for all who witness. Pete is known for his captivating and diverse live performances, weaving tales of life, love, connection with nature and adventure through song and story. 

SONGS IN THE KEY OF LOVE

Love is a melody that turns life into a beautiful symphony, and nowhere is this more evident than in the unveiling of award winning singer-songwriter Pete Kartsounes' newest album, "Songs in the Key of Love." This intoxicatingly soulful adventure delves into the universal experience of love, drawing inspiration from over two decades of journeys of the heart as its muse. 

With a prolific career spanning thirty years and over 300 songs, Kartsounes carefully curated eleven love songs for this groundbreaking concept release, marking a first of its kind in both concept and form. A true embodiment of the enduring power of love, this album showcases Kartsounes' versatile talents in songwriting, instrumentation and arrangement. Singularly performing, producing, and engineering each track, Kartsounes even went so far as to skillfully arrange French horns and string ensembles for a full orchestral sound. 

The album manifested during a 72-day deep dive recording session at Dreamweave Studios in Bend, Oregon. The immersive recording session resulted in a uniquely sultry sound, capturing the heartfelt dynamics of Glen Hansard, the textural realms of Pink Floyd, and the thoughtful melodic electric guitar soloing reminiscent of John Mayer. 

"Songs in The Key of Love" is not merely an album; it's an emotional experience resonating with the complexities of the universal human experience. Kartsounes artfully weaves a sense of emotional yearning with his signature soulful and smokey voice, accompanied by silky tones of his custom built Fender Telecaster and nostalgic ambiance from a recently restored 1960 Gibson Falcon Tube Amp.

In a career defined by musical exploration, Pete Kartsounes' "Songs in The Key of Love" captures the essence of love in all its facets, from longing to love found. This album is an invitation for listeners to connect with the heart threads that bind us all, as Kartsounes poignantly expresses, "It's not my story, it's our story."

The album was mastered by David Glasser of Airshow Mastering in Boulder, CO and is set to release on March 22nd, 2024 and will be available on all major streaming platforms.

Dean Mueller never thought he was a front man but after writing a collection of very personal music for his new recording “Life Ain’t All Roses” – he couldn’t imagine anyone else telling these stories. After years of playing with many top bands and solo artists, no one was MORE surprised to hear his first album recorded, mixed and mastered than Dean himself. “Dean’s music is wonderful, clever and honest” says Andrea Stolpe, multi-platinum songwriter. 

Dean recorded his album of original songs for “Life Ain’t All Roses” in Nashville with producer Kevin McKendree (keyboards) and members of John Prine’s band: drummer Kenneth Blevins and bassist Dave Jacques. Dean names Prine as one of his favorite songwriters and a huge influence on his honest and authentic music. “Dean’s music is deceivingly simple sounding. The words, emotions and the cinematic worlds he creates get embossed onto your heart and mind and you can’t forget them” says two-time Emmy® Award winning composer, music supervisor and record executive Michael Whalen. 

As a musician, Dean has recorded and performed with the Duffy Bishop Band, the Insomniacs, and the Julie Amici Band. As a promoter and live event producer, he staged hundreds of performances in the last decade alone. A resident of Oregon since 1998, Dean is a fixture of the Portland music scene. Even though he has produced many types of shows, his love of classic blues and rock is close to his heart. “I got to play with Honeyboy Edwards, Louisiana Red, Cephas and Wiggins, all those old-school blues artists,” he recalls. “After doing that, I went back to Portland, I left my “day job”(electrical engineering) and I decided I could be a musician. I found my home in the blues.” 

“I saw John Prine perform in concert many, many times,” Mueller recalls. “I love his humor and the way he presented songs and told stories. He inspired me, after being in music all this time, to write my own songs. Every song on my album has meaning and inspiration behind it,” he says. “It’s all reflective of my life.”