James Pankow may be known as a founding member and resident trombone player/arranger/songwriter in Chicago, but for a gaggle of grandkids living on the West Coast, he’s Papa. It’s a respite he recently enjoyed before bouncing back into his aforementioned musical role as Chicago returns for its 58th year as a unit. Averaging between 80 […]
Alan Sculley
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The Wood Brothers Are Following Their Hearts
The storytelling roots trio returns to Bend’s Midtown Ballroom
Two decades ago, brothers Oliver and Chris Wood got to share a stage when Oliver’s band, King Johnson, opened a show for Chris’ acclaimed jazz-rooted group, Medeski Martin & Wood. Oliver sat in with Chris that evening and something magical happened. The brothers realized they still had a musical and personal connection and wanted to […]
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Beach Boys, Back on Tour
A new documentary and the 50th anniversary of “Endless Summer”
prompt a new tour
This summer, Mike Love is back on tour, leading the Beach Boys around the United States on a tour that will visit more than 70 cities. At 83, Love is the last member of the classic 1960s Beach Boys lineup still touring with the group. He owns the Beach Boys name and oversees the band’s […]
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American Bollywood
Epic pop-rockers Young the Giant play with singer Sameer Gadhia’s Indian heritage in the band’s latest album, on display at Hayden Homes Amphitheater June 24
As Young the Giant continue to play shows this year — including one alongside Cage the Elephant at Hayden Homes Amphitheater June 24 — fans are seeing a band that has made their most ambitious and complex work to date in the album, “American Bollywood.” Written primarily by singer Sameer Gadhia, whose parents moved from […]
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‘Your Own Sound and Things to Say’
Riley Green reflects on his move from Nashville to his home state of Alabama, his second album and more
Riley Green says he didn’t buy into any concerns about having a sophomore slump when he made his recently released second full-length album, “Ain’t My Last Rodeo.” Far from feeling the weight of expectations, Green found himself able to simply appreciate his success and feel excited to be able to create the next musical chapter […]
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Winter Fun with the Cold War Kids
Exploring a sense of freedom with Nathan Willett
These days, Nathan Willett values the autonomy he and his band, Cold War Kids, have gained over a career that now stretches 20 years and spans 10 albums. The band plays Saturday night at Deschutes Brewery as part of Subaru Winterfest. That sense of freedom has shown up in tangible ways, first on the band’s […]
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A Guide to Holiday Albums
OK, OK, Thanksgiving is over, it’s officially the holidays, and that means
it’s now reasonable to play these holiday-related tunes
As the temperatures begin to drop, that’s when holiday albums start landing, and 2023 has brought its share of these releases. Here are some choices from this year’s arrivals. Cher: “Christmas” Cher’s first-ever holiday album, not surprisingly, touches plenty of stylistic bases. There’s modern dance-pop (“Angels in The Snow”); Motown/soul/pop on “Christmas, Baby Please Come […]
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Collective Soul at the Century Center
With new albums and a refreshed band, the ’90s rock band is looking into the future
Ed Roland doesn’t hesitate to say the current version of Collective Soul is the best version of the long-running band. To the singer/guitarist, the arrival of drummer Johnny Rabb in 2012 and guitarist Jesse Triplett in 2014 reinvigorated Collective Soul and has made his job much easier. “I don’t have to worry about anything other […]
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Bluebird Days
Jordan Davis’ latest album has given the country singer two number-one singles and another that’s close to the top. Listeners can hear some of that album live at his pair of upcoming amphitheater shows with Dierks Bentley
Jordan Davis was well aware that he’d have a lot at stake when he turned his attention to making his second album. “I don’t know how true it is, but I believed it,” Davis said in a mid-May phone interview. “The first album is kind of where you showed up to the party and then […]
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Stargazing with Trombone Shorty and His Friends
Stars of funk, soul, jazz and reggae will be on stage at Hayden Homes this weekend, with Ziggy Marley, Mavis Staples and Robert Randolph
In the span of seven studio albums — the first three of which were released on the small independent label, Treme Records —Trombone Shorty has reached the pinnacle for a New Orleans musician. Leading his 10-person band, Orleans Avenue, the trombonist/trumpeter whose real name is Troy Andrews, is widely considered to be the leading musician […]