Last night at Silver Moon Brewing, months of planning became a room full of people sharing films, music, and conversation. The Bend premiere of Song of Sunset: Underground was a wild ride, and I’m still taking it all in.
When you’re helping produce the films, hosting the conversations, and performing, you experience the evening from several different angles. You’re thinking about the next transition while trying to stay present for what’s happening in front of you. There’s plenty to coordinate, but the reward is finally getting to share the work with an audience.
That’s what makes Song of Sunset so personal to me. We spend so much time developing these projects before anyone sees them. Bringing everything into one room gives the work a new life—and opens up conversations we couldn’t have on our own.
Making room for conversation
One of the highlights was the discussion following Cosmic Heirloom: Buried 400 Years.
The film’s star, David Moss, joined Kris Solis of our local psilocybin service provider and sponsor, Drop Thesis, for a panel that gave us an opportunity to keep learning after the credits rolled. We covered so much about psilocybin, and I’m grateful to both of them for sharing their knowledge and perspectives.
These conversations are a big part of why I wanted to create this event. A short film can introduce a subject, but having people there to explore it together adds another dimension to the experience.
The music and a surprise reveal
Joe Estrada delivered an incredible performance, and Sho Rilla with NBT Redbear brought their own energy and voice to the evening.
Then there was LYMNL’s surprise EDM reveal.
Sharing this new electronic direction through my collaboration with Lande was a particularly personal part of the night. Song of Sunset gave us a place to introduce another side of what we’re creating, alongside artists whose work I’m excited to share with our community.
Moving between documentary films, panel discussions, and very different musical performances is an ambitious format. Watching those pieces come together was one of the most rewarding parts of the premiere
