Haunted Like Human

Haunted Like Human performs at Viking Brewing Company Friday, May 23. The two-person folk band with Dale Chapman, lead singer and lyricist, and Cody Clark, multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter, emphasizes storytelling and tradition in their music. Clark and Chapman believe that the human traditions of music and storytelling bring people “together on an intrinsic level” and are the basis of folk music. “It’s a tradition that we’re proud of and mindful of when we write,” they write in an email to Eugene Weekly. Haunted Like Human mostly plays original songs inspired by telling stories from Clark and Chapman’s own lives and those they collect during their travels on the road. During long sets, Haunted Like Human may play covers, often by artists like Noah Kahan, Caamp and Gregory Alan Isakov. “Music was something that always fueled me,” Chapman says. Chapman grew up singing in the school choir and playing the flute and guitar. Clark was part of a punk band in high school, but picked up classical guitar in college. Chapman and Clark met by chance in Nashville in 2017 when Chapman was working on a solo EP. They “clicked” immediately, Chapman says. She discovered that Clark played the guitar part on her songs more cleanly than she did, so she asked him to play for her entire EP. Chapman’s solo project turned into Haunted Like Human’s first album. Now, they have an EP, Folklore (2018), and two full albums, Ghost Stories (2017) and Tall Tales & Fables (2021). The duo plans to release their next album, American Mythology, in October. “Success for us is someone telling us that our music helped them through a rough point in their life,” Chapman and Clark say. “That we were able to put words to their experience, meet them where they were at, and make them feel a little less alone.”

Haunted Like Human performs at 6 pm Friday, May 23, at Viking Brewing Company, 520 Commercial Street, unit F. The show is free to attend.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!