Known for his unique interpretations and eclectic repertoire, Ron Hughes is one of Portland's musical gems. With an extensive and incredibly varied musical inventory, his talents are sought after throughout the Portland/Metro area, Oregon, and Washington. Ron's acoustic finger-style baritone guitar, vocals, and a collection of songs to suit nearly every occasion are a truly matchless combination.

A Portland native, Ron began his career at an early age, forming his own five-piece rock band to perform at school dances, local business openings, parties, and political functions. Naturally, guitar lessons followed and lead to an interest in jazz. At Oregon State University, Ron cultivated his talents in the OSU Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Marlon Carlson, the music school's current Chairman. Ron got involved with the popular "OSU Coffee House," first as a performer and shortly thereafter, booking talent and acting as emcee for the regular Friday night schedule. It was here that he found his true calling as an acoustic performer. "I loved playing to the attentive college audiences," Ron said. Soon he had his own campus TV show called "The Music Makers" that interviewed and showcased local talent. Ron began performing professionally, in spite of being under twenty-one years of age.

After college, Ron returned to Portland to pursue his dream: to make his living as a professional musician. Within two weeks, Ron had secured contracts for steady work in bars, popular clubs, and local restaurants. He began studying Jazz at Mount Hood Community College and was selected as a member of their highly acclaimed "Vocal Jazz Ensemble" as well as being accepted as a member of their instrumental jazz ensemble program.

In the following sixteen years, Ron never took a day off from playing music that was not scheduled well in advance. He booked himself consistently a year or more in advance, performing on a rotating basis in many of the finest venues, primarily in Oregon, but also in Washington and Sun Valley, Idaho.

As the years went by more opportunities presented themselves, and Ron began hiring some of the most excellent local musicians as sidemen. He performed for many years in a duo format with bassist, Mark Bielman and had lengthy performance relationships with pianists Bill Beach, John Fresk, and Jeff Lorber as well as violinist/bassist, Rob Thomas. Musical collaborations followed with these fine players and others, including Tom Grant, piano; Gary Clinton and Lee Wuthenow, reeds and flute; Jeff Usitallo, trombone; and Mel Brown, Gary Hobbs, Lloyd Jones, and Ron Steen; percussion.

During this time, Ron met Wendy; they married in 1980. Before too long they decided to start a family. With Wendy's career just beginning, and Ron's already having spanned many years, Ron decided to put performing on hold in order to devote all of his energies to being the full-time caregiver of their two children, Tom and Sandy. A very busy life ensued. In time, with the children properly raised and launched into the wider world, Ron returned to performing. He appears weekly at a variety of excellent venues; check his schedule and come find out why!