Slater Smith grew up playing Breedlove guitars, attending high school only a 30-minute drive away from Breedlove’s headquarters in Bend, Oregon. A product of the Sisters Folk Festival, Slater went on to found his creative project “The Weather Machine,” recording his first album under that moniker in 2012 on the Oregon Coast.
The Portland-based project has seen a lot of success in the region and abroad, but most notably has developed a unique relationship with the Pacific Northwest’s wild spaces. Slater has partnered with Oregon State Parks over the years to promote the outdoors, releasing a viral music video featuring 185 parks and waysides (and his Breedlove), and writing a concept album in collaboration with the parks system for the 50th anniversary of the historic Oregon Beach Bill.
After touring for almost a decade, Slater got together with his bandmates and close friends to record The Weather Machine’s fourth studio album in late 2020 at Flora Recording and Playback. The new album, featuring a collection of songs Smith wrote between 2015 and 2020, is expected to be released in 2022.
