According to both City Pages and the Star Tribune, Minnesota-via-South Dakota singer-songwriter Haley Bonar is planning on moving to Portland. No joke here (and to clear the record, her name is pronounced the way it’s spelled, and not the, umm, naughty way), because Bonar has quite the gorgeous voice. Probably best known nationally as the female voice on Andrew Bird’s 2007 album Armchair Apocrypha, Bonar has been a huge hit in St. Paul, Minnesota since she moved from Duluth over four years ago, with her last record, 2008’s Big Star, sweeping the local music awards. And her first record, …The Size of Planets, was released on Low’s label Chairkicker’s Union. So if St. Paul had a Best New Band poll, I’m pretty sure she would have been a runaway winner. Here’s what’s reported by the Star Tribune’s Chris Riemenschneider:

Bonar, 26, said the move was instigated by her landlord’s decision to take back the grand old house she shared in St. Paul with her sister and a couple friends. She has played Portland several times and recently hung out there, but mostly it was a dartboard decision

“I have half of my next record written, and want to try and be in a new environment to write the rest of it,” she said, emphasizing that the move likely will not be permanent. “Minnesota will always be home to me, and I could very well return in the spring — or maybe not for a long time.”

What better place for a burgeoning singer-songwriter to record than in Portland? As long as we don’t have to trade Laura Gibson for her, this can only be a good thing for us. Want a primer?

From her full band Daytrotter session:

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Thanks to Bradley Campbell for the tip.

Links:
Haley BonarSpace

Image courtesy of Haley Bonar

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