A year ago, Bart Budwig was exactly where he wanted to be: ripping off his clothes, running down the big lawn and jumping into the refreshing waters of Suttle Lake in the middle of a set with his band.
In fact, that glorious scene of rose-tinted, summertime euphoria represents his two favorite things in life. “Playing music with a band and jumping naked in cold bodies of water… if I could do that most days, I think that would be quite the life,” Budwig summarizes.
“I almost always play The Suttle Lodge right around the first day of summer,” Budwig tells. Last June, it was “halfway through [our set, and] I was like, ‘OK, we’re gonna go jump in the lake during our set break.’ And then we just ran off the stage, throwing our clothes off and then jumped in, and then there was like 30 people running down the lawn, throwing their clothes off and jumping into the lake. It was really, really fun and memorable.”
If you sleuth around Instagram, you may be able to find evidence of Budwig’s plunging pastime in the form of an epic compilation of him (sometimes accompanied by his bandmates) running buck naked into frigid bodies of water whilst touring this fine land. Oceans, lakes, rivers, creeks — he’s aqua agnostic.
“There is nothing like jumping in water after driving six hours, you know?” Budwig states matter of factly. “To be able to swim and leap without having to drive is a big quality of tour booster. I’m definitely always on the lookout for spots like that.” And it’s not just while he’s touring; he leaps at home, too. Based out of Eastern Oregon’s Enterprise, “The Wallowa Lake is the best skinny-dipping lake I’ve ever been to, so I live in a good spot for that,” Budwig says.
A trumpeting troubadour and purveyor of cosmic country, Budwig has been making endearing, nostalgic and heartfelt music for more than a decade. He lives behind his town’s historic OK Theatre, where he also often holds court recording his talented friends (including Northwest artists like John Craigie, TK & The Holy Know-Nothings, MAITA, Shook Twins and many, many more).
These days, when he leaves the Eagle Cap Wilderness behind, he’s joined by guitarist Graham Farrow, bassist Adria Ivan (also of Portland’s Sunbathe) and drummer Zach Peach. Farrow makes folk, country music and Ivan is currently recording her debut solo project, so each share some of the two-hour set time performing their own tunes. “We’ll all be playing as a band together,” Budwig explains — just sometimes they swap songwriter and singer. “It’s kind of like a full bill in the band,” brought to you by one four-piece.
This is the experience you can expect when they kick off this summer’s Big Lawn series at The Suttle Lodge on June 17.
“We have free shows every Monday and Thursday from 6 to 8pm,” says Maddie Hill, the lodge’s event coordinator, starting with Budwig and wrapping up with Minnesota’s Ian George Sept. 4. The Monday Big Lawn shows “host a wide variety of artists over several genres,” while “Thursdays feature primarily our house band Skillethead, but include other local bands as well,” Hill says. Some of those subs for the bluegrassy Skillethead include husband-and-wife acoustic duo Honey Don’t on June 27, banjo slinger Quattlebaum on July 11, jamgrass band The Muddy Souls on July 18, rock ‘n’ roller Leadbetter Band on Aug. 8 and the honky tonk- and rockabilly-leaning The Silvertone Devils on Aug. 15. You can expect Skillethead on all other Thursdays.
Meanwhile, Mondays on the Big Lawn feature the chameleonic rocker and Bend mainstay Jeshua Marshall on June 24, Portland’s Megan Diana making jazzy, ethereal piano pop on July 1, Rose City bluegrass group Fog Holler on July 8, folk rocker Joel Chadd on July 15, harmonica-fueled blues from the brothers in The Deltaz on July 22 and the storytelling Americana of Matt Mitchell on July 29. During the second half of summer, catch the swinging, six-piece, vintage roots band Hello Trouble on Aug. 5, folk and Americana singer-songwriter Alex Dunn on Aug. 12, silky soul music from Love, DEAN on Aug. 19, husband-and-wife Americana duo Skybound Blue on Aug. 26 and indie folk singer-songwriter Blair Borax on Sept. 2.
All shows are outdoors and all ages, and guests are welcome to bring chairs and blankets to spread out on the lawn. Until then, begin prepping with daily cold plunges at home while spinning Bart Budwig’s latest album, “Another Burn On The AstroTurf,” on your favorite streaming platform—or better yet, go a step further to support local music and buy it on Bandcamp.
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This article appears in Source Weekly June 13, 2024.
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