Raised in the sleepy farmland outside of the nation's self-proclaimed weirdest city, Tara Velarde is a captivating combination of class and sass. Imagine Brandi Carlile's raw energy, Adele’s soul, and Joni Mitchell's serenity all swirled together and you start to get the idea of this dynamic artist and her addictive Diva Folk style. Velarde combines her passions as a poet, an Indie Folk enthusiast, a music teacher, a choral soloist, and a professional theater actress into her performances, packing a powerful musical punch whenever she takes the stage. Unable to pick just one passion, she decided to combine her loves into one lifelong project that is her singing, songwriting, and performing. Intimate and lyrical one moment to diva-level power in the next, Velarde pulls out all the stops as she crafts both variety and originality into her music that keeps listeners on the edge of their seats. Deena Drewis (Sacramento News and Review) states that the "cherubic vocals of frontwoman Tara Velarde will strike a chord with fans of Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson", and Kelsey Anne Rankin (Eugene Weekly) says that Velarde "Fuses a mixture of blunt and angelic vocals to express lyrics that sound like a soul put to melody." These poetic lyrics are introspective, sharp-witted, and often profound, sharing stories of life and revelations that captivate listeners and invite them on the journey. Melody and harmony have been a part of Tara's daily life from the very beginning. Growing up with 5 musical siblings provided a fertile ground on which to experiment with harmonization, inflection, and songwriting, resulting in an innate sense for beautiful harmonic and melodic structure. Through her teenage years Tara fell in love with dance and musical theater, passions that have led her to pursue theater and dance professionally as an adult, most recently appearing in Broadway Rose's "West Side Story". She began songwriting at age 16, mostly propelled by her competitive desire to write original music as two of her brothers did. But what started out feeling rocky and foreign soon became a life-blood for self-expression - a medium through which to process events and emotions, and to create art out of life's revelations. Songwriting became not only enjoyable but a vital element of Tara's personal voice and interaction with the world. Four years at Pacific University infused a passion for choral textures and vocal excellence into Tara's musical makeup. She graduated with a BA in Music Education and has taught music to students from 4-90 years old, feeling proud and humbled to help others along their own musical journeys. Today, Tara writes songs that communicate the thoughts, feelings, and stories that she has collected along her way. Poetically-minded and vocally-focused, listeners are treated to a performance that is as skilled and intentional as it is passionate and unbridled. The songs continue to come, performances are delivered, and friends are made. One heart to another, it is the connection made through song that matters after all. With an EP released in 2014 ("The Tara Novellas"), a full LP in 2016 ("Get Out and Walk"), and a single (“Willow Baby”) in the fall of 2017, Velarde and her band have played extensively around their native Portland, OR and toured throughout the Western US and Canada. Velarde has appeared on radio, TV, at festivals and fairs, and countless venues, traveling to share her passion for music wherever it can be heard.