JON BENNETT: FIRE IN THE METH LAB Renowned Australian storyteller JON BENNETT (NPR, Just For Laughs) tells the amazingly sordid and bizarre story of his brother’s life. In this solo show, Bennett recounts his brother’s experiences with both charismatic hilarity and heart-warming, poignant reflection. Fire in the Meth Lab tells of drug dealers, bikers, high-speed car chases, fights, crime, prison, exploding houses and even cancer. The show explores brotherly relationships and how siblings with the same upbringing can choose very separate paths. “Funny, compelling, and surprising, Fire in the Meth Lab will have you laughing one minute and tearing up the next. ★★★★” – CBC (CAN) “The deepest, most poetic hour you’ll spend. ★★★★” – Winnipeg Free Press (CAN) “Incinerates your expectations of the solo confessional, this flammable Australian is in a league of his own. ★★★★½" – Edmonton Journal (CAN) “Wonderfully funny with a hefty layer of emotion under the laughs.” - Los Angeles Times “Bennett is scorchingly funny.” - New York Daily News

Terry has performed with Joe Cocker, Johnny Winter, and Curtis Salgado. He has won the Best Guitarist Award from the Cascade Blues Association so many times they named the award after him! His music has been featured in The Game of Thrones and The Horse Whisperer. Our Portland Blues Festival veteran, Bill Philips, tells us that when Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top came to Portland, he would ask, "Where's Terry Robb playing tonight?" Terry has 17 recordings, and he has toured extensively in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

Heart singlehandedly broke the mold of male-dominant rock in 1976 with their debut album ‘Dreamboat Annie’, which featured hits Crazy On You, Magic Man and Barracuda. Subsequent albums gave us hits such as Heartless, Straight On, Tell It Like It Is, What About Love?, Never, These Dreams, Nothin’ At All, Alone, Who Will You Run To, and All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You. Heart started their road to stardom in Vancouver, BC, in 1973, rapidly becoming a top-drawing act in every nightclub and one-nighter shows wherever they played. Their repertoire was an eclectic mix of rock classics, including a heavy dose of Led Zeppelin hits that especially brought them fame, so much so that Heart’s nickname was ‘Little Led Zepp’. During this time of playing covers, Heart was busy writing songs for what would become their first album, Dreamboat Annie, on Vancouver-based Mushroom Records. Following a major disagreement with Mushroom, Heart moved to Seattle, the city of their origin, and were subsequently represented on Portrait, then Epic, then Capitol Records. Barracuda, a tribute to Heart, first hit the stage in 2011 and rapidly became the top Heart tribute in North America. In 2012, having heard rave reviews of Barracuda, Heart’s original lead guitarist and co-writer, Roger Fisher, drove from Seattle to Vancouver with brother Michael, Heart’s original manager and sound technician, and also the subject of the song ‘Magic Man’, to see Barracuda. Roger and Michael went on record saying that Barracuda was the best Heart tribute they had ever seen, and they had seen many. Roger was so impressed with Barracuda that he made several special guest appearances with Barracuda on both sides of the border. Based in Vancouver, BC, Barracuda’s DL Car covers the vocals of Ann Wilson with absolute perfection, which is not an easy task. Her precision is nothing short of breathtaking. Sourced out of Portland, Oregon, is Sarah Moon, who perfectly covers the vocals and guitar of Nancy Wilson. In honoring Heart’s roots and history, Barracuda includes two or three Led Zeppelin classics in their set. Barracuda captures the sound of Heart down to the finest detail, both vocally and instrumentally, and has to be seen to be believed!

Louis Pearl is one of the world’s leading bubble-ologists. He began in 1980 by making, demonstrating, and selling a toy called the Bubble Trumpet on a street corner in Berkeley, California. Eventually his toy company had 147 products with international manufacturing and distribution, but Louis found that he preferred playing with the toys over selling them. He sold Tangent Toys in 2002. Since then he has been touring the world, performing hundreds of shows every year.