How a grandfather’s escape from North Korea inspired Portland musician’s new solo show

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 own experiences as a Korean American growing up 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.  

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