Welcome to Wine Country Tales


Wine Country Tales is a blend of two divinely complimentary varietals; featuring guitar music by Brian Gore and artwork by Bill Russell about the California coast and wine country. They create original music and art for videos and performances. The show shares narratives about these regions and includes one-of-a-kind live digital drawing segment, focusing on scenic environs the audience chooses. The video series uses their original song and art to highlight the places people and history that make California so inspiring. Take a look. Help us decide what to draw live for you at each show by taking the polls at our Performances page.

Watch our Process


About the Project


Each performance features a full program of music and art inspired by the wine country and California coast. Bill Russell’s artwork is projected in tandem with Brian Gore’s music, to portray landmarks like the historic Bale Grist Mill in St. Helena; the migratory Miwoks and Spanish mission history; the adventures of Robert Louis Stevenson and his wife Fanny on their Napa honeymoon; Jack London’s ‘Wolf House’ in Glen Ellen, and much more. Instrumentals like ‘The Last Mission’, used in an animation about Sonoma, reference wax cylinder recordings of music from Spanish Colonial history in California. See some show photos here.

About the Performers


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BRIAN GORE

San Francisco guitar poet Brian Gore is one of the most interesting and influential performers of “the next generation” in fingerstyle guitar. A musical romantic, his lyrical compositions draw inspiration from nature, history and literature. He’s the founder of International Guitar Night, now entering it’s 15th season of global touring.

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BILL RUSSELL

Bill Russell is a versatile visual artist working in a wide range of styles and skills…as an illustrator, visual journalist, educator and designer. He pushes the creative envelope by incorporating a variety of new multimedia technologies, such as live digital drawing, for use in performance and on the web. He has designed over 60 websites for creative clients. Born and raised in Canada, he earned his degree at Parsons School of Design in New York.