They are already one of the better craft breweries around, but Deschutes just won some major points with music lovers as well. The Bend, Oregon based brewery, which sits on the banks of the Deschutes River, is already known for their great beers like Hop In The Dark Cascadian Dark Ale, their Mirror Pond Pale Ale and of course their Black Butte Porter.
But instead of curating great beer, Deschutes recently decided to become curators of great music as well. Here is how they started Deschutes River Recordings.
- The brewery issued a call to its fans through Facebook, Twitter and email lists to choose songs with a river theme through an online voting process.
- Next, the brewery teamed up with indie artists to record the selected songs. The musicians traveled to Central Oregon and recorded the music “streamside high-wire: live, unadorned, far from a studio safety net”, resulting in a completely unique sound blending acoustic tunes with the sounds of nature.
- A partnership with Pitchfork.com was created to host the films and links to MP3s on their Pitchfork.tv site.
- Fans can download the songs for free, and are able to make a donation if they desire. Proceeds from downloads of this new music benefit the Deschutes River Conservancy, which is working to preserve streamflows and the health of the river in Central Oregon.
Pretty great right?
Well it gets better because the choices of artists is off to a great start. For the first video, they enlisted Eric Johnson of band Fruit Bats, and he performed this video
This is just part one in a three-part series with two more recordings coming up in the next few weeks, featuring Laura Gibson and also Eric Earley of Blitzen Trapper.
This is what happens when you combine experimental craft beer, indie music and a love for a river.
For more info and to download the MP3, visit:
http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/river-recordings
