Marika Straw is a queer writer, singer-songwriter, and community organizer from Wallowa County, Oregon. Their intimate songs for piano and voice, somewhere in the realm of indie/jazzy/bluesy/art pop, have been described as “the sound of naked emotion.”

Marika’s musical training spans jazz piano and voice, classical piano, church organ, and Indian drumming. Their musical journey has been varied, including time studying classical piano and pipe organ at Lawrence University in Appleton, WI, a stint as a church organist and musical educator in Asheville, NC, and two seasons and an international tour with a drumming ensemble from Pune, India.

Marika loves to weave music and social change work through endeavors such as an ethnomusicology project on drumming and social change in India, co-creating and leading a songwriting course at a women’s prison in North Carolina, and elevating queer stories through song. 

Marika’s musical honors include playing pipe organ on the Bach Vespers Series at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in NYC, performing a piano concerto with the Salem Pops Orchestra, and winning second place in the Brown Bag Songwriting Competition in Asheville, NC. 

Most recently, Marika has been collaborating with Dani Savage to introduce vocal harmonies to their music and playing together as the “Fruit Snaxxx.” Feel free to reach out to Marika via the contact page to book them for a solo or duo gig or accompanying in NE Oregon or beyond!