In the spring of 2001, Seattle singer/songwriter Wes Weddell captivated the Northwest with a 65-day tour through all corners his home state gathering local stories and lore. The University of Washington-sponsored ‘Project’ earned him the inaugural Mary Gates Venture Fellowship and led to the “My Northwest Home” CD. It also planted some deep roots for Wes in the local music community.
“Songs to Get You From Here to There” followed in late 2006, marking the formation of the full ‘WW Band’ and capping a busy year that also saw “Carry On” win first place in the Tumbleweed Music Festival Songwriting Contest—an event Wes now hosts annually. “Songs” was named one of the late Performing Songwriter Magazine’s Top-12 DIY picks in June, 2007, and its folk radio successes helped Wes—ever the champion of the Emerald City’s local scene—expand his touring circles.
Propelled by versatile character voices with compelling stories to tell, the 11 songs on 2010’s “By the Side of the Lake” comprise some of Wes’ strongest work—and performances—to date, exposing his rural roots and exploring threads that run through smaller communities as they grow and change. The full band returns to deliver diverse arrangements that nonetheless feel crisp and of-a-piece: unashamedly contemporary at full-throttle, but not afraid to leave the expertly-crafted narrative to a solo banjo or mandolin at times, too.
A native of Pullman, WA, Wes also keeps busy as an in-demand teacher and sideman on a variety of instruments, including regular work with the beloved folksinging duo Reilly & Maloney since 2003. That same year he founded Puget’s Sound Productions, a federal 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to creating community live-music spaces around the region and supporting local musicians, which he continues to run.
Read more...