Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside

The Portland, Oregon quartet Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside merges nascent strains of jazz, R&B, and rock & roll with a fresh dose of vitality and attitude, cultivating a devoted local audience while drawing the attention of key admirers such as the Avett Brothers, who have promoted the group and booked them as tour support.

Lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Sallie Ford grew up in Asheville, North Carolina amid an artistic household; her father Hobey Ford is a celebrated puppet artist, and her mother serves as a music teacher. Although she studied guitar and violin from childhood and sang throughout her teenage years, Ford felt daunted by the creative paths taken by her parents and her performing-arts siblings, once calling herself "the weird one" in the family. That outlook shifted after she left college and settled in Portland in 2006, where exposure to Cat Power, the Squirrel Nut Zippers, and Tom Waits helped her gain confidence through regular open-mike nights.

During 2008 she met bassist Tyler Tornfelt and drummer Ford Tennis, longtime friends from Alaska who had recently arrived in Portland after years of playing together; the three quickly formed a trio. Guitarist Jeffrey Munger soon added himself to the lineup after encountering them busking on the street and offering his services.

Later that same year the band issued the self-released EP Not an Animal, which, aided by word-of-mouth and favorable press, established them as a leading Pacific Northwest draw. A mutual contact urged Seth Avett of the Avett Brothers to listen, and he responded by scheduling the quartet on several West Coast dates. Partisan Records signed Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside in 2010, and their first full-length album, Dirty Radio, appeared in May 2011. Early 2013 brought the follow-up Untamed Beast, produced by Adam Landry and Justin Collins of Deer Tick; the group maintained a busy touring schedule that encompassed Bonnaroo, Bumbershoot, the Newport Folk Festival, and European dates. They closed the year with the EP Summer.