Matt Giraud
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    The incredible Cuban singer Yanet Valdés

     | © Matt Giraud Photography
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    The never-too-much color guard at the Pride Parade, Portland OR

    The color guard at the Pride Parade, Portland Oregon | © Matt Giraud Photography
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    Jessica Boudreaux, Summer Cannibals

    Jessica Boudreaux, lead guitar and vocals, Summer Cannibals, Portland Oregon | © Matt Giraud Photography
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    Erin Wallace pours everything she has into a set with the Sportin' Lifers.

    Erin Wallace sings with the Sportin' Lifers | © Matt Giraud Photography
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    The Sportin' Lifers Trio, bringing decades of dues-paid to soul-stirring performances in Portland Oregon.

    The Sportin' Lifers Trio, playing acoustic jump blues, blues and boogie woogie in Portland Oregon. | © Matt Giraud Photography
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    Whit Draper, with the Sportin' Lifers.

     | © Matt Giraud Photography
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    A meticulously crafted Wilborn guitar takes off

    A meticulously crafted Wilborn guitar | © Matt Giraud Photography
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    Steve Morelli sings with the Sportin' Lifers

    Steve Morelli sings with the Sportin' Lifers, Portland Oregon | © Matt Giraud Photography
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    Playing with fire at a block party in Portland

    Playing with fire at a block party in Portland Oregon | © Matt Giraud Photography
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  • The Santería religion – a vibrant blend of the Yoruba religion of West Africa and Roman Catholicism – is everywhere in Cuba and grounded in communion with orishas (roughly, saints) through song. Wearing the white of an iyabó initiate into the religion, the talented Yanet Valdés pours her heart into a transcendent version of "Round Midnight" by the equally talented pianist Alejandro Meroño.
     | © Matt Giraud Photography
  • I've never been in a parade, but I can't imagine how tough it must be to give everyone along the way a good performance block after block, hour after hour. Not this fine gentleman: the amount of energy and passion he put into, well, his pride was incredible – and inspiring.
    The color guard at the Pride Parade, Portland Oregon | © Matt Giraud Photography
  • Jessica Boudreaux, lead guitar and vocals, Summer Cannibals, Portland Oregon
    Jessica Boudreaux, lead guitar and vocals, Summer Cannibals, Portland Oregon | © Matt Giraud Photography
  • Erin Wallace is a dynamo. In addition to singing with the Sportin' Lifers – an infectuous, jump-blues/R&B must-see – she fronts The Sentiments and her own band, Wallace. How does she do it? Simple: she lives to sing. No matter where you see her, you can feel it. So if you love something that much, why not do it everywhere you can? And as long as you're doing it, what's the point of not putting everything you have into it?
    Erin Wallace sings with the Sportin' Lifers | © Matt Giraud Photography
  • These guys not only bring decades of experience and dues paid to their sets, they've played together so long they're like one seamless mind. As a result, because they've traveled the infectuous landscape of blues, reefer tunes, swing and downright boogie woogie so many times, they greet each tune like an old friend – easy, fun, and deeply resonant.
    The Sportin' Lifers Trio, playing acoustic jump blues, blues and boogie woogie in Portland Oregon. | © Matt Giraud Photography
  • Whit Draper, performing with the Sportin' Lifers.
     | © Matt Giraud Photography
  • A gorgeous Ben Wilborn guitar leaves the runway, this one an OM with sitka spruce top, cocobolo back and sides, paua abalone purfling and ebony binding. Ben is a guitar players’ luthier, crafting every guitar not just with meticulous, almost obsessive detail, but to his high standards as an accomplished musician. The result is as magnificent to behold as it is to play – and let me tell you, especially when he plays it.
    A meticulously crafted Wilborn guitar | © Matt Giraud Photography
  • The irrepressible Steve Morelli swings the standup bass as he belts it out with the Sportin' Lifers, an infectious jump blues band from Portland Oregon.
    Steve Morelli sings with the Sportin' Lifers, Portland Oregon | © Matt Giraud Photography
  • Dancer (and now actor and director) Maria Allred plays with fire at a block party in Portland. The performance is as much about light as it is about fire, a tango with the dancer kindled with abandon but always grounded in respect. Maria may know better than anyone what Prometheus saw when he first stole the flame.
    Playing with fire at a block party in Portland Oregon | © Matt Giraud Photography
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