SXSW 2012

Holcombe Waller is a composer, singer, and performing artist based in Portland, Oregon. He is a 2011 USA Berrester Fellow in Music as well as a 2008 Mapfund grantee, among other awards, and is known for his folk-inflected and often mournful compositions. Waller tours with his ensemble, The Healers, a shifting group of musicians ranging from duo to an ensemble of 10. Waller has made a mark creating music theater performances that, in his words, “approach music as total theater,” melding songs with video work and staging that he produces and directs. These include his 2007 pastiche folk opera, “Patty Heart Townes,” his 2009 show “Into the Dark Unknown: The Hope Chest” (upon which his 2011 album is based), and 2011’s activist-mystic-storytelling performance, “Surfacing.” His work has been commissioned or presented by On the Boards in Seattle, Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, Time-Based Arts festival in Portland, Oregon, the Under the Radar Festival at the New York Public Theater, and many other music venues and festivals worldwide. He has released five CDs on his own label, Napoleon Records. His collaborations include work with choreographers Miguel Gutierrez, Joe Goode and Zoe Scofield, as well as with filmmaker David Weissman (music for “We Were Here,” 2011 Sundance documentary).