In 2022, Portland musician and storyteller Joe Kye created Tiger Tiger, a festival in Portland celebrating the region’s diverse Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. The festival was also a way to bring joy and healing to those communities after a surge of anti-Asian bias and hate crimes during the pandemic.

After Tiger Tiger, Kye decided he needed to focus on his own healing with a journey into his family’s past and understanding how it has shaped his identity as a first-generation immigrant, father and artist. That exploration has now culminated in “through-lineage,” a new, solo show Kye will perform this Friday and Saturday in Portland at Reed College.

The show opens with the story of Kye’s grandfather who made a daring escape from North Korea in 1953 as a prisoner of war. Through live music, projected artwork and audience participation, Kye braids together his family’s past and present, including his experience growing up as a Korean American in Seattle and a trip he took with his children and partner this past spring to visit his grandparents’ graves in South Korea.

Kye joins us for a studio interview and preview of his new work.

“Think Out Loud®” broadcasts live at noon every day and rebroadcasts at 8 p.m.

If you’d like to comment on any of the topics in this show or suggest a topic of your own, please get in touch with us on Facebook, send an email to [email protected], or you can leave a voicemail for us at 503-293-1983.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/10/22/how-a-grandfathers-escape-from-north-korea-inspired-portland-musicians-new-solo-show/