Born and raised in Alaska – Naomi Hooley sold most all her belongings, threw everything that could fit in her truck, including her newfoundland dog Triton, and made the move to Portland, OR to pursue a career in music. Not knowing what would happen when she got there, Hooley believed somewhere in that city was a place for her, and her music. After spending eleven months recording an album that she wanted to be proud of, she comes home to give Alaska her debut album and her first of three CD releases on the west coast.

For a local girl that had fallen through ice and lived off the land in the deep woods, the hardest thing she ever did was pack up that piano and get in that truck. But 3000 thousand miles of small town bars and backwoods trails filled with vagabond wanderers who had given up jobs and left behind lives to find a new path led to a new found voice, a satchel full of songs, and a brand new home.

Working with Stroup, “It was a Great October” is Hooley's 12-song Odyssey of loss and redemption set on endless two lane highways in the great white north in 1972. Her companions, a velvet-frocked, furious Carole King, an audacious young Elton John, and a Keith Green who never found God. Drawing frequent comparisons to the boom of Neko Case or the fire of Adele, Hooley's voice commands your attention from the first lines of “Button” to the final phrases of “October”. Her record covers a lot of ground lyrically – but at the heart of it all is the journey. The 3000 miles, the relationships that were impacted, the land a seascapes she saw along the way, and the childhood dreams that were a driving force behind it all. Alaskans will be familiar with the imagery.

Rob Stroup, owner, operator, and producer of 8ball Studio (www.8ballstudio.com) who has extended his talents into every record he's produced. Including a recent charting album by Tony Furtado “Golden”. will be headlining the night with his band “Rob Stroup and the Blame”. “The Blame” invokes sounds reminiscent of Bob Dylan and JJ Cale, but capture you with the textures and depths of Wilco. Stroup confidently weaves Americana and Rock together to form a colorful night of memorable music. His rugged vocals will lure you to the dance floor and remind you of why rock rolls.

And now, backed by Stroup's band The Blame, Naomi Hooley returns home, record in tow, to finish what she'd begun 365 days and 3000 miles ago.


Naomi Hooley and Rob Stroup's acoustic Alaskan tour:
July 7th- Vagabond Blues- Palmer 6pm-8pm
July 8th- Resurrect Art Coffee House- Seward
July 9th- Maxines Bistro- Girdwood

Naomi Hooley & Rob Stroup & the Blame Alaskan tour & CD release:
July 14th & 15th- Tap Root - Anchorage
July 16th- Alice's Champagne Palace- Homer

http://www.reverbnation.com/naomihooley

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