Upcoming events
Seattle, WA - Moisture Festival (Uncle Bonsai)
I’ll be singing in Uncle Bonsai as part of this ridiculously fun and wonderful variety show.
Seattle, WA - Moisture Festival (Uncle Bonsai) (Copy)
I’ll be singing in Uncle Bonsai as part of this ridiculously fun and wonderful variety show.
Seattle, WA - Kenyon Hall - Feral Songwriters in the Round
KENYON HALL PRESENTS
Feral Songwriters in the Round
Kat Bula, Eileen Cuba, Nova Devonie, Cyd Smith
Saturday, April 11, 2026
Doors: 7:00pm / Show: 7:30pm
All Ages
Seated
$20 General Admission
FERAL SONGWRITERS IN THE ROUND
Songwriting can be lonely when you stray from the typical themes of love, loss, nostalgia, and personal growth. Exploring less familiar territory, Kat Bula, Eileen Cuba, Nova Devonie and Cyd Smith will take individual turns round-robin style, performing songs each have written while drawing support and encouragement from one another. All fine singers and players of various other instruments, they share delight in the chord that shouldn’t work but does, the play and beauty of words that almost rhyme, and the emotional truth evoked by the magical fusion of words and music. There may even be some spontaneous collaboration on the spot!
Songwriters include:
NOVA DEVONIE
Piano accordionist with endearing Seattle bands for the past 35 years (!), Nova continues to explore the creative outlets of playing, composing and teaching music while maintaining joyousness whenever possible.
CYD SMITH
Cyd started her musical journey in her teens as a classical guitarist, majored in music at Stanford University, and then found her singing voice through the great jazz standards of the 20s/30s/40s. She produced her first album of original songs in the 1990s, collaborating with musicians such as Joe Pass and many Northwest luminaries. Her songs weave together her original influences with the various strands of American folk and pop music. With tenderness, wonder, wit, and well-crafted irony, her songs engage and surprise. She has toured and worked with artists as diverse as Laurie Lewis, Mary Flower, Rebecca Kilgore, and Russ Barenberg. Now based in Seattle, she performs regularly in concert settings, coffee houses, and bars.
"There’s no simple formula to Cyd Smith’s songs; refreshing, unpredictable.. they’re great songs that really work.” -Laurie Lewis
EILEEN CUBA
There’s rhythm guitar and then there’s rhythm guitar. Think of it as wood and strings becoming a pulsing, percussive dance floor. It’s not folk, it’s not punk, it’s not rock—it’s all of these backed up against each other so tightly you can’t find the edges. This is the music that lives in Eileen Cuba.
Her lyrics are raw, unvarnished, and unafraid to stare down the hard parts of being human—cutting close to the bone, naming the things we feel but rarely admit.
"Eileen Cuba has completely refreshing arrangements, deeply surprising lyrics and exhilarating guitar parts that create the fabulous breadth of her songs. She brings the avant-garde to her songwriting and sounds like no one else." - Kristina Olsen
KAT BULA
If you’ve only seen Kat Bula shredding on fiddle and vocal harmonies behind other artists, you may not realize she’s also a serious songwriter in her own right. With an irreverent respect for tradition, a poet’s aversion to non-load-bearing lyrics, a fearless imagination and an unapologetically older-millennial sensibility, Kat Bula brings a singular voice to contemporary bluegrass and Americana.
“Smart, sassy, sensitive… a rare depth and range in an otherwise endless sea of singer/songwriters.” — Cascadia Weekly
Seattle, WA - Bushwick Book Club
I’ll be one of a whole lineup of songwriters presenting new songs inspired by Hannah Templer’s Cosmoknights.
Astoria, OR - Camp Bluegrass Pride
I’m so delighted to be teaching at the inaugural Camp Bluegrass Pride! What could be lovelier than a queer-community-centric bluegrass camp? Bluegrass is for everyone, and this camp is, too.
Seattle, WA - Couth Buzzard
I’ll be one of 4 songwriters in this “no patter, no chatter” showcase evening.
Bellevue, WA - Wintergrass Youth Education
I’ll be directing the Jamz3 high school education program, and catching as much music and as many friends as I can. See you around the festival?
Kirkland, WA - Kirkland Performance Center (Bushwick Book Club)
I’ll be one of several songwriters presenting new songs inspired by Kira Jane Buxton’s fabulous novel Hollow Kingdom. The author will be there, too!
You don’t have to have read the book to enjoy the event. But you might like the book. It takes place in Seattle and it’s pretty great.
Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton
One pet crow fights to save humanity from an apocalypse in this uniquely hilarious debut from a genre-bending literary author.
S.T., a domesticated crow, is a bird of simple pleasures: hanging out with his owner Big Jim, trading insults with Seattle’s wild crows (those idiots), and enjoying the finest food humankind has to offer: Cheetos®.
Then Big Jim’s eyeball falls out of his head, and S.T. starts to feel like something isn’t quite right. His most tried-and-true remedies—from beak-delivered beer to the slobbering affection of Big Jim’s loyal but dim-witted dog, Dennis—fail to cure Big Jim’s debilitating malady. S.T. is left with no choice but to abandon his old life and venture out into a wild and frightening new world with his trusty steed Dennis, where he discovers that the neighbors are devouring each other and the local wildlife is abuzz with rumors of dangerous new predators roaming Seattle. Humanity’s extinction has seemingly arrived, and the only one determined to save it is a foul-mouthed crow whose knowledge of the world around him comes from his TV-watching education.
Hollow Kingdom is a humorous, big-hearted, and boundlessly beautiful romp through the apocalypse and the world that comes after, where even a cowardly crow can become a hero.”
New Orleans, LA - Folk Alliance International
I’ll be playing a late-night showcase in the “Uncle Bonsai Presents” room.
Coming to FAI? Shoot me a message and let’s meet up!
Seattle, WA - Tractor Tavern (album release celebration!)
It’s a double album release night! We’ll be celebrating Kat Bula & the Illusion of Control, alongside Wes Weddell’s new record. Shelby Natasha opens.
Seattle, WA - Mermaid Lounge
Hey, “Special guests!” That’s me, on December 5th!
Kat Bula
Wes Weddell & Alicia Healey
Mermaid Lounge
303 N. 36th St., Seattle WA
no cover (tips appreciated)
21+
Seattle, WA - Royal Room (Good Luck Rabbits)
good luck rabbits (雙兔吉祥) is a new songwriting project by composer josh hou (侯守仁) and lyricist/writer shuxuan zhou (周舒璇). together, they write songs in chinese exploring migration, diaspora, longing, and many other things.
Josh Hou: piano, accordion, guitar
Lilian Liang: backup vox
Alex Chuang: backup vox and cello
Kat Bula: violin
Marina Christopher: electric bass
Chris Icasiano: drums
Spokane, WA - Inland Northwest Bluegrass Music Association - w/ Olivia Brownlee
Kat Bula & Olivia Brownlee
Unitarian Church, 4340 Whistalks Way, Spokane WA
Open jamming 4pm-6pm
Finger food potluck 6pm
Concert 6:30pm
Hosted by the Inland Northwest Bluegrass Music Association
Seattle, WA - Uncle Bonsai @ Triple Door
Uncle Bonsai 44th Anniversary Show & CD Release Concert
Uncle Bonsai is releasing their first recording since I joined the group, featuring songs from the Seven Sins, Seven Wonders, Seven Dwarfs song-cycle! We'll be singing songs from the release, and, to celebrate 44 years since Uncle Bonsai’s founding, songs from the band’s entire history.
Richland, WA - solo - Tumbleweed Music Festival
I’ll be performing on the Community Center Stage - one of the few air-conditioned spaces at this free, all-ages festival!
Port Orchard, WA - Puget Sound Guitar Workshop
I’ll be teaching Chords for Fiddlers and Beginning Guitar at this fabulous camp for adult musicians.
Carmel Valley, CA - California Coast Music Camp
I’ll be teaching level 1 and 2 guitar classes at this fabulous camp for adult musicians.
Seattle, WA: Town Hall (Bushwick Book Club)
I will be one of several songwriters presenting newly written songs inspired by the books Gender Queer (Maia Kobabe) and Sex is a Funny Word (Cory Silverberg).
Performers include: Carly Sparkly, Ev Elston, Kat Bula, Sam Cori, Christiana Crabbe, K Van Petten, Sailor St. Claire, Kuwaisiana, Jade Monroe, Jean Mann, Jamie Irby, nance!, and Lauren Fernandez.
Bellingham, WA - Uncle Bonsai @ New Prospect Theatre
Pretty happy to get to sing in my former hometown as the newest member of Uncle Bonsai. “It’s the beginning of the next 43 years!”
Seattle, WA - Uncle Bonsai @ Good Shepherd Center
My first full-length Seattle show singing with Uncle Bonsai. “It’s the beginning of the next 43 years!”
Olympia, WA - Uncle Bonsai @ New Traditions
My second full-length show singing with Uncle Bonsai. “It’s the beginning of the next 43 years!”
Kingston, WA - Uncle Bonsai @ Stage3 Concerts
My first full-length show singing with Uncle Bonsai. “It’s the beginning of the next 43 years!”
Seattle, WA - Uncle Bonsai @ Moisture Festival
My second performance both at Moisture Festival and as a member of Uncle Bonsai. We’ll be singing just a couple of tunes as part of “the world’s largest comedy/variety festival.”
Seattle, WA - Uncle Bonsai @ Moisture Festival
My first performance both at Moisture Festival and as a member of Uncle Bonsai. We’ll be singing just a couple of tunes as part of “the world’s largest comedy/variety festival.”
Bellingham, WA - Mount Baker Theatre
An evening with Erica Bauermeister, author of the novel No Two Persons. I’ll be one of several songwriters performing original songs inspired by the book. Hosted by Whatcom Reads and the Bushwick Book Club Seattle.
Bellingham, WA - Cof& (w/ Marco de Carvalho & Neal Chin)
A concert of Brazilian jazz, as part of the Bellingham Folk Festival.
Seattle, WA - Rhapsody Project - Western Swing Intro
I’ll be the guest teaching artist this week in The Rhapsody Project’s “Unbroken Circle” program. Drop in for just this week, or register for the whole 10-week program.
Youth 10 – 25 enroll on a pay-what-you-can basis. Grown folks 26+ are welcome at various pricing tiers.
Raleigh, NC - IBMA World of Bluegrass
I’ll be at the conference all week as part of the Wintergrass Music Festival contingent. Reach out if you want to connect!