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
Be the first to review Story & Tune
Price Range: Contact for rates
Gig Length: 40 - 180 minutes
Languages: English
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.
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.
We usually travel with a keyboard, an electric mandolin, a BeatBuddy drum pedal & 2 vocal mics. We also have our own PA
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
Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash, Over the Rhine, The Civil Wars.
We can bring our own PA to gigs. If you have one then we'd be happy to use it!
Portland, OR 
Drag Queen
4 Verified Bookings Antonio F. said “My wife absolutely loved Coco for her surprise birthday bingo bash. Coco did a great job of running the show from beginning to end. They had all their…”
Portland, OR
Singing Guitarist
29 Verified Bookings Johny R. said “Stefan took on a tough job singing for my friend at her birthday trail ride. He could not have handled the challenges any better and the music was great.”
Bremerton, WA
Hawaiian Entertainment
30 Verified Bookings Lori C. S. said “Captain Jim was prepared, early, flexible and good-humored throughout given that he played for a party of 80-year-olds several hours from his home! He…”
Abbotsford, BC
Party Band
1 Verified Booking Annika & the Earthlings are your go-to band for Corporate Events, Weddings, Parties, Backyard Gettogethers, Reunions, Company Barbeques, Casinos, Lounges, Restaurants,…
List your services
Log In
