Whether you know it or not, recording and producing music is extremely expensive and always a climb for indie bands everywhere. You can have talent, heart and loads of original music but in the end, it will require an enormous personal investment to see any of that material immortalized onto an album. This spring, I hosted a concert and live recording at Mississippi Studios with the plan of eventually releasing that recording to the public. However, all of my money was spent hosting that show and without a surplus, that recording has sat on the shelves waiting for my pocket book to catch up with me. I have no doubt that it would have collected dust until 2020 if it wasn’t for one very generous fan…

I am overwhelmed with gratitude toward Super Fan Jeff Sanford and his family. He emailed me asking when are you going to release the Mississippi Studios recording? I answered with the truth, probably never. I gave him my financial sob story; explained how I am still paying for Orange Chrome Sky and a new solo album (amongst life itself). I expected nothing from that conversation but nonetheless, a check arrived at my door today.

There are no words to explain his Big Heart. He simply shrugs and calls it an investment in good music. I will never disclose the amount donated to my cause but the recordings will be heard and I will no doubt dedicate them to his name. Thank you Jeff, for everything you’ve ever done for me.

Big Hearts are filling up the hemispheres
Big Hearts are warming up the coldest years
They’ll lie beside me forever more
Cause Big Hearts make mine grow

Big Hearts (basement recording)

Join 3 great Portland Songwriters tonight at Mississippi Studios, PDX for a classic Songwriters in the Round - 8pm.

Breanna Paletta
tyler stenson of lander
Matt Vrba

For those of you that have never seen a Writers in the Round, essentially, 3 songwriters are on stage for the full show. Each writer plays an original song, every third song… one after another, after another, after another, etc. It is a great way to see 3 shows in 1 and expose yourself to new writers that you wouldn’t have seen before.

I’ll be one of three performing tonight with Breanna Paletta and Matt Vrba. They are very talented and I’m excited to be a part of the set. Please join us at 8pm and tell your friends. Hope to see you there!

It looks to be a busy summer for Lander music! We’ll be taking a road trip into the great plains of Utah and Wyoming later this month, performing for a local Autism Fundraiser, appearing on television and making a few performance stops along the way. We’re very excited to get on the road and spread the word of Lander across middle America and finish strong at the Oyster Ridge Music Festival in Kemmerer, WY. I hope you’ll check out the details below and we’ll hope to see you in the front row!

JULY 21 Lake Oswego Farmer’s Market tyler solo 9:00am
JULY 22 Kennedy School Autism Fundraiser 2:00pm
JULY 25 Salt Lake City (TBA)
JULY 26 KUTV Morning News Salt Lake City, UT 5am
JULY 26 Tahitian Noni International Provo, UT 7:00pm
JULY 27 Oyster Ridge Music Festival Kemmerer, WY 4:00pm
JULY 28 Oyster Ridge Music Festival Kemmerer, WY 4:00pm
AUG 02 Mississippi Studios Songwriters in the Round tyler solo 8:00

I’ve just received a copy of the Mississippi Studios Concert Video and I am so excited for the footage that was captured. I was worried that the camera wouldn’t capture the romance of the evening but I stand corrected. The video looks amazing and I’m truly proud of the product as a whole.

Of course, we’ll be releasing an HD DVD of the event later this year, but in the interim, these low res YouTube posts will have to tide you over. I’m not sure the quality does any justice to the venue or the film but please enjoy nonetheless and never judge a book by its cover. The evening was truly amazing and this footage is a joy to look back on.

Click here or on the image above to view ALL of the footage from Lander at Mississippi Studios PDX!

Thank you all for making last night’s concert at Mississippi Studios an amazing event! It was a perfect Spring evening as I stepped on stage and looked out into the crowd- a sold out venue and a sea of friendly faces. I played an intense solo set for the first half hour and I’ve never felt such energy in a room. I was truly inspired by the feeling and I sang my fill of singer/songwriter originals with all my heart. Lander later joined me on stage to liven the evening with a full length set.

Thank you db clay, Sameunderneath and IndiependenceMusic.net for supporting the event and making it the success it was. Mississippi Studios was the perfect venue for the Lander sound and you can bet we will return for a encore showing. The entire set was recorded and video taped so please stay tuned for audio and video clips coming soon! Until then, this blury picture is the only media I’ve pulled from the event so far… much more to come soon!