Portland indie folk band Essie and The Hum joined us on the A to Z’Odyssey to share some tunes and talk their rapid rise in the local music scene in such a short time — having only began playing together publicly since mid-2025.
Made up of Essie Humberston (vocals, guitar), Jaxx Ward (bass), Steven Douglas (drums), and Paul Danowski (lead guitar), the band cites Big Thief, Julia Jacklin and Mazzy Star as key inspirations.
The session features live in-studio performances of “Unrequited,” “Dried Violets”, and we closed things out with “Tall Enough.”
Easyfolk founder Joe Sanchez also joined the conversation to discuss the festival’s growth, its expansive definition of folk and its new chapter as a nonprofit supporting Portland’s independent music community.
Essie and The Hum performs at Easy Folk Fest on Saturday, September 19 at 7pm at Portland’s Dolores Winningstad Theatre.
Learn more and get Easy Folk Fest tickets
Follow Essie and The Hum on Instagram and TikTok, and explore their music on Spotify and Apple Music.
Listen to the full conversation and in-studio performance below.
- Drop-In Session with Essie and The Hum - September 16, 2026
- Many Roads To Here: Composing New Musical Traditions - July 31, 2026
- Many Roads To Here: Too Late for the American Dream - January 2, 2026
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