Happy Lion is the musical project of Louie Opatz, a musician, writer, educator, cyclist, ballplayer and organizer. Hailing originally from central Minnesota, Louie’s true calling in life was to pitch for a barnstorming baseball team a hundred years ago. Instead, he contents himself with playing ball and riding his bike throughout the Los Angeles area he now calls home.

A founding member of Minnesota ska legends Fred Savage and the Unbeatables, as well as Portland’s favorite folk-pop family band The Big Ideas, Louie now shares his music with the world as Happy Lion. His first album, “Buds,” came out in 2020, and some expect his much-anticipated single “Space Race” to drop any day now.