LaRhonda Steele (Portland Blues Legend)

LaRhonda Steele’s musical journey started in Oklahoma where she sang a solo in church for the first time at age 13. LaRhonda is best known for her leadership of the Portland Oregon Interfaith Gospel Choir and for her collaborations with a variety of Portland blues, jazz and gospel groups. LaRhonda heads her own project, "The LaRhonda Steele Band,” and is also the mother of two daughters. In this episode we discuss surviving breast cancer with the support of her community, her musical beginnings in the church, and the challenges of raising two children while legally blind. I spoke to LaRhonda in my home office in Portland, OR in October of 2017.