Sunset Hearts Bringing SIX to SPACE

Sunset Hearts interview by Kevin Steeves.

Regardless of how Saturday night’s SIX mini-festival, curated by HillyTown favorites Sunset Hearts goes — one thing’s for certain — it wouldn’t have been possible without the SPACE Gallery’s expansion last year into the annex next door.

That’s because SIX will feature half a dozen of Portland’s most eclectic acts with Foam Castles, Mai Mai, Glass Fingers, Altered Gee, Verla and of course, Sunset Hearts.

“I love a lot of venues in Portland, especially all the rad DIY spots that come and go,” Casey McCurry, the lead vocalist for the nine-piece synth-pop collective Sunset Hearts said. “But when I want to throw an event that is maybe a little unconventional but large-scale like SIX, I always go to SPACE.”

The night will feature all six bands set-up across both the main gallery room of SPACE and the connected annex. While one band plays, another will be sound checking in the opposing room — with just five minute breaks between acts thanks to the multi-stage setup, resulting in a near seamless night of live music.

“SIX will either be an unmitigated disaster or a really memorable, unconventional event,” said McCurry. “Either way it’s going to be a spectacle that people really don’t want to miss.”

Saturday night’s show will also double as the release party for Deco Tech the newest EP from Sunset Hearts, and the follow-up to their hugely successful full-length debut The Haunted Cloud. If the initial review from Portland Phoenix are any indication, the newest release will be just as captivating as their debut.

“We replaced most of our hardware for the new EP and the synths are super inspiring and much more freeform than Haunted Cloud, which was super meticulous and deliberate,” said McCurry about Deco Tech. “I hope it’s a departure for people. The band is growing and we’re really coming to a conclusion about what kind of music we want to make.”

SIX will feature some of Portland’s most popular acts, purposefully spanning across genres including the psych-rock group Foam Castles, whose newest full-length Bonanza has been gaining nearly universal praise, and 19-year old South Portland electro-pop wunderkind Jesse Gertz, who went from relative obscurity to one of the area’s most popular musicians under his Glass Fingers project following his 2011 release this.

“I can’t get enough of Glass Fingers,” McCurry said. “Jesse Gertz, the guy behind Glass Fingers, is a fantastic showman. He just blows everyone in Portland right out of the water.”

The SIX mini-festival kicks off at 8 p.m. and tickets cost $10,  and are available at the door the night of the show, at Bull Moose retail locations or online. Like most shows at the alternative art venue, SIX is 18+.