**CHRIS PUREKA** ___ It’s rare for an artist to bridge the divide between critical acclaim and dedicated fan engagement. Chris Pureka is a Portland-based singer-songwriter whose body of work has resonated deeply with these seemingly disparate milieus. Her bold vulnerability in processing the intimacies of her life in song has long appealed to those listeners who crave authenticity. Now, five years coming, she shares with us another powerful entry in her life’s work, her sixth release, the aptly titled, Back in the Ring. ___ **KRIS DELMHORST** Kris Delmhorst has spent the last two decades forging a songwriting career notable for a spirit of exploration and collaboration. Her most recent album, THE WILD (Oct 2017), was co-produced with her husband, fellow songwriter Jeffrey Foucault, and features a band drawn from players they share long history with as bandmates and friends. The album merges Delmhorst's sophisticated melodies and hauntingly open voice with Foucault's lean aesthetic to deliver a darkly hopeful, fiercely wise new collection of songs.