Story & Tune

Portland, OR

Contact for rates

Travels up to 60 miles

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I'll Never Tell

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Hurricane (live)

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Live at Lestats West in San Diego

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Just being goofy at Easter

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Playing a house show in Melbourne Australia

Overview

Ben & Karyn are an American duo serving up a family friendly mix of covers & originals.

Recipe for a Story & Tune Live show:

a dollop of Johnny & June
a dash of Dolly & Porter
your daily dose of harmony
a pinch of improv
a few cups of laughter
several tears
a half-dozen original tunes
stir in a few sing-alongs and at least one good hat
serve with a shot of whiskey


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Booking information

Price range: Contact for rates

Languages: English

Gig length: 40 - 180 minutes

What to expect

Our sets are a mix of crowd-lifting, cross-genre covers and earworm originals. We’re a little Johnny & June playful, a little Over the Rhine soulful, with a whole lot of goosebump harmony magic reminiscent of The Civil Wars.

About

Aussie singer-songwriter Ben Grace and Californian poet Karyn Thurston met for the first time weeks after they first said I love you, a blush-worthy whirlwind love story that landed them in a creative partnership writing a torrent of original songs. Story & Tune is the marriage of her words and his melodies (though they’ve been known to switch roles from time to time.) Driven by folk-americana’s long history of lyrical storytelling, the harmony-driven duo’s songs are a unique blend of heart, ache, and laughter, all grounded in the unwavering belief that belonging is an essential human right.

Story & Tune are a blend of Woody Guthrie’s commitment to a better world with the rise and fall drama of a ballad by The Civil Wars. They’re the story you tell about an evening in Over the Rhine’s barn where too much whiskey leads to a flirty, irreverent guest appearance by Johnny & June. Whether they are sharing unforgettable modern folk originals about ghosts, good boundaries, and hard goodbyes, or leading a bar sing-along of your favorite cover tunes, you won’t leave a Story & Tune show without feeling a little seen, a little celebrated, and a little more hopeful than you did before you came.

Additional booking notes

We usually travel with a keyboard, an electric mandolin, a BeatBuddy drum pedal & 2 vocal mics. We also have our own PA

Past booked events

July 2025

04

Friday

House Party

6:30pm - 8:30pm

Portland, OR

Set list

Adele
Someone Like You
To Make You Feel My Love
Remedy
When We Were Young

Alanis Morissette
Thank U
Uninvited
You Learn

Alannah Myles
Black Velvet

Alison Krauss
I’ll Fly Away
Whiskey Lullaby

Amy Winehouse
Rehab

The Avett Brothers
I and Love and You

The Band Perry
If I Die Young

The Beatles
Hey Jude

Bob Dylan
Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
Blowin' in the Wind

Bob Seger
Old Time Rock & Roll

Bonnie Raitt
I Can’t Make You Love Me
Something to Talk About

Boyz II Men
I’ll Make Love to You

Brandi Carlisle
The Eye
The Mother

Bruce Springsteen
I’m On Fire

Bruno Mars
The Lazy Song
Just the Way You Are

Bryan Adams
Everything I Do (I Do It for You)

Carly Simon
You're So Vain

Carole King
So Far Away
It's Too Late
Way Over Yonder
Where You Lead
Will You Love Me Tomorrow
Smackwater Jack
You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman

The Carpenters
Rainy Days and Mondays
Yesterday Once More
Rainbow Connection

Carrie Underwood
Blown Away
Before He Cheats

Cat Stevens
Wild World

Celine Dion
All By Myself

The Chicks
Landslide
Silent House
Easy Silence

Cyndi Lauper
Time After Time
True Colors

The Civil Wars
Poison & Wine
From This Valley

Chris Stapleton
Tennessee Whiskey
Either Way

The Clovers
Love Potion No. 9

Coldplay
Fix You

Credence Clearwater Revival
Have You Ever Seen the Rain
Bad Moon Rising

Damien Rice
The Blower’s Daughter
Cannonball

Dan Seals
My Old Yellow Car

Death Cab for Cutie
I’ll Follow You Into the Dark

The Decemberists
June Hymn

Derina Harvey Band
The Last Saskatchewan Pirate

Diana Ross
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

Dolly Parton
Here You Come Again
I Will Always Love You
Hard Candy Christmas
Islands In The Stream
Run That By Me One More Time
9 to 5

Don McLean
Vincent

The Eagles
Desperado
Peaceful Easy Feeling

Elton John
Rocketman
Your Song

Elvis
Can’t Help Falling in Love

Elvis Costello
She

Eric Bogle
And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda

Erma Franklin
Piece of My Heart

Florida Georgia Line
H.O.L.Y.

Garth Brooks
Lost In You
The Dance
You Move Me

Gavin DeGraw
I Don’t Wanna Be

Glen Hansard
Falling Slowly

Goo Goo Dolls
Iris

Gordon Lightfoot
If You Could Read My Mind

Harry Styles
Watermelon Sugar

The Head and the Heart
Rivers and Roads
Lost In My Mind

Ingrid Michaelson
The Way I Am
Be Ok
You and I

James Taylor
You Can Close Your Eyes
Fire & Rain
How Sweet It Is
You've Got a Friend

Janis Joplin
Mercedes Benz
Piece of My Heart

Jason Isbell
Cover Me Up
If We Were Vampires

Jason Mraz
I’m Yours
You and I Both
Have It All

Jimmy Cliff
I Can See Clearly Now

Jimmy Eat World
The Middle

Joan Osborne
One of Us

John Anderson
Straight Tequila Night

John Denver
Take Me Home Country Roads
Leavin’ on a Jet Plane
Follow Me
Annie’s Song

John Farnham
You’re the Voice

John Legend
All of Me

John Lennon
Imagine
John Mayer
Waiting on the World to Change

John Michael Montgomery
I Swear

John Prine
Summer’s End
Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore

Johnny & June
Jackson
Ring of Fire
Hurt
Cause I Love You
The Pine Tree

Joni Mitchell
A Case of You
River

Josh Ritter
Cumberland

Kasey Chambers
Pony

Kasey Musgraves
Rainbow
Follow Your Arrow
Christmas Makes Me Cry

Katy Perry
Not Like the Movies

Keith Urban
One Too Many

Kings of Leon
Use Somebody

Lady A
Champagne Night

Lady Gaga
Million Reasons
Shallow
You and I

Leonard Cohen
Hallelujah
Dance Me to the End of Love

Lesley Gore
You Don't Own Me

Lisa Loeb
Stay

Little Big Town
Day Drinking
Better Man
Girl Crush

The Lone Bellow
You Never Need Nobody
Watch Over Us

Macy Gray
I Try

Madonna
Like a Prayer

Maggie Rogers
Light On

Marc Cohn
Walking in Memphis

Marcy Playground
Sex and Candy

Mary Wells
My Guy

Maren Morris
My Church

Mariah Carey
Dreamlover

Maroon 5
Sunday Morning

Marvin Gaye
What’s Going On

Merle Haggard
If We Make It Through December
Mama Tried

Miley Cyrus
Wrecking Ball

Missy Higgins
Where I Stood

Modern English
(I’ll Stop the World and) Melt With You

Nancy Sinatra
These Boots Are Made For Walking

Natalie Merchant
Wonder
I May Know the Word

Neil Diamond
Sweet Caroline
Red Red Wine

Oasis
Wonderwall

Old Crow Medicine Show
Wagon Wheel

Olivia Newton John
Hopelessly Devoted
I Honestly Love You

Over the Rhine
All My Favorite People Are Broken
Latter Days
Drunkard's Prayer
Etcetera Whatever
Trouble
Undamned
I Want You To Be My Love
Bluer
Lookin' Forward
Born
Hush Now (Stella's Tarantella)
Who Will Guard the Door
Firefly
Spark
Little Did I Know
Darlin' (Christmas Is Coming)
All I Ever Get for Christmas Is Blue
Little Town of Bethlehem

Otis Redding
Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay

P!nk
What About Us
I Am Here
All I Know So Far
Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken
Just Give Me a Reason

Pam Tillis
Maybe It Was Memphis

Patty Griffin
Let Him Fly
Heavenly Day

Phil Collins
Against All Odds

Radiohead
Creep

Rascal Flatts
I Won’t Let Go

REM
Everybody Hurts

Rhianna
Umbrella
We Found Love

Roxette
It Must Have Been Love

Sara Groves
Floodplain

Sarah Bareilles
King of Anything
Brave

Savage Garden
Truly, Madly, Deeply

Shirley Temple
I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas

Selena Gomez
Lose You To Love Me

Shawn Colvin
Never Saw Blue Like That
I Don't Know Why

Simon & Garfunkel
Scarborough Fair
Bridge Over Troubled Water
The Sound of Silence
Homeward Bound

Snow Patrol
Chasing Cars

Stephen Delopoulos
People Come and Go

Taylor Swift
Mean
Love Story
Welcome to New York
Lover

Tina Turner
Simply the Best

Tom Petty
Wildflowers
I Won't Back Down

Tom T Hall
I Like Beer

Train
Hey Soul Sister

Trisha Yearwood
She’s in Love with the Boy

Uncle Kracker
Smile

Wham!
Last Christmas

Whitney Houston
I Wanna Dance with Somebody

Wilder Woods
Someday Soon

Willie Nelson
Always on My Mind
On the Road Again
Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys

Wilson Phillips
Hold On

Woody Guthrie
This Land is Your Land

Influences and inspiration

Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash, Over the Rhine, The Civil Wars.

Setup requirements

We can bring our own PA to gigs. If you have one then we'd be happy to use it!

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