Casey Russell

Casey Russell

May 16, 2019

7-9 pm

The sixth installment of our Four Rivers Cultural Center singer-songwriter FREE concert series will occur on Thursday, May 16 from 7:00-9:00 PM in the Harano Gallery at the Four Rivers Cultural Center.

Singer-songwriter Casey Russell was born and raised in Boise, Idaho. His dad salmon-fished out of Kodiak Alaska in the summers of Casey’s youth and Casey was 14 when he began spending summers with his dad, fishing on the Alaskan waters. After he graduated from high school in 1974, Casey lived and worked on boats in Alaska, eventually saving enough money to buy his own boat. He took a break in 1998, sold his boat and raised cattle back in Idaho for a few years. Cooler Alaskan summers soon enticed him to invest in another boat and resume the seasonal commercial fishing life rather than endure the high desert Idaho summer heat.

Always interested in music and song, Casey was 36 when, after not playing for years, he picked up a guitar and tried writing a song. Since then he’s written more than 150. His songs speak to a wide range of human experience – love, heartache, religion, politics and getting old, to mention a few.  ‘It’s definitely a craft’ Casey says about songwriting. ‘I’m mostly a lyricist, I try to tell stories. I don’t perform out much because I’ve always considered myself more of a writer than a performer’. Casey’s album, Memory Lane, is truly a listening treat with polished musicianship, Casey’s engaging vocal style (reminiscent of Jimmy Buffet only better, ’cause it’s local) and songwriting/story-telling that tugs at your heart.

Casey has a grown daughter, is currently single and lives in Nampa, Idaho. He’s recorded a couple of albums (CDs) and is looking forward to having an opportunity to share his music with us on May 16th in the Harano Gallery at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario, Oregon.