Amy Bleu & Rachel Chuganey in Bend

Amy:
Currently based in Portland, OR, Amy Bleu is a multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. Her vocals, which range from a controlled scream to a mesmerizing lullaby, are hauntingly beautiful, and her lyrics poetically express anguish and joy with poignancy, depth, and pathos.

Born in Eastern WA and raised primarily in Hawaii, Bleu grew up on the road, hearing relentless melodies and accompanying stories in her head. She fiddled around with the ukulele as a child in Hawaii, but didn’t discover her true love – the guitar – until she was 19. A versatile performer, Bleu has enjoyed entertaining at diverse venues in the US, Canada, and Europe, such as book stores, a bank, the zoo, an amusement park, and a grocery store, as well as more traditional venues such as bars, coffeehouses, restaurants and festivals. She is currently touring in support of her new live album, “Because They Wanted To”.

Rachel:
Born and raised in Oregon, Rachel Chuganey started out playing piano at age nine, and made her way through different wind instruments in her teens, earning a music scholarship to Mount Hood Community College while in high school. She didn’t discover the strings until she was nearly 30. Her guitar and ukulele proved to be the perfect vehicles for her quirky yet honest lyrics. Her voice sounds like Elvis Presley and Pat Benetar had a child who got the blues. In the past couple years, Rachel has come out of her shell by bringing her songs out of her Newberg home and into Portland-area open mics and songwriter circles. More recently, she has begun booking shows opening for local artists and bands, and headlining at some of her favorite local taverns. She is currently working on her first album, and gearing up for a CD release tour across the U.S.