Gus Jeffers writes, produces and performs his own pop and R&B songs, and he still has to ask his teachers to reschedule tests.

The Grant High School junior has built a growing music career through Portland's youth arts infrastructure, accumulating about 2,800 monthly listeners on Spotify while juggling classes in Northeast Portland. As first reported by Grant Magazine, Jeffers taught himself production through online tutorials before connecting with Friends of Noise, the Portland nonprofit that has staged all-ages concerts since 2016.

Friends of Noise executive director Andre Middleton offered Jeffers performance slots at local street fairs, festivals and open mics, according to the Grant Magazine profile. Middleton described Jeffers as business-savvy and said the young musician arrived with an energy of wanting to be the best he could be.

The nonprofit operates The Off Beat, a 400-capacity all-ages venue in Kenton that Willamette Week profiled in August. "There are a lot of teenagers who need access to a venue like this that's not going to charge them $1,000 a night," Middleton told Willamette Week at the time.

Jeffers also credits Rain Pollock, a musician who goes by the stage name Rainezra, for mentoring him through a program called Life of Music.

Pollock taught workshops on production, songwriting and performance skills. She recalled watching Jeffers perform at the Portland Rose Festival with live musicians and seeing a shift in his stage presence.

Pollock told Grant Magazine that Jeffers' fastest growth has been in production. His official website lists singles including "Kids Don't Wanna Grow Up," "Ambiguous," "Effort" and "Stick Up." He is releasing new music monthly and writing and producing for other artists.

His earliest supporter was his mother, Kelly Walker-Jeffers, who Pollock said worked to make sure Jeffers landed in the right rooms and got the right opportunities.

Balancing school and a music career means constant communication with Grant staff about absences and deadlines.

"A lot of my opportunities or things or people that I've met have all come from tagging people online, or emailing them or going to events," Jeffers told Grant Magazine. He said he doesn't yet know where music will take him but has shifted his focus toward songwriting and production.