Whether you’ve lived in Bend for six months or 60 years, you may very well have gotten down to the slide guitar and bucket banging sounds of Hillstomp. The Portland-based, bluesy-rock duo has been performing in Bend for 15 years, and they say they love coming back year after year. Hillstomp’s string man, “Hurricane” Henry […]
Anne Pick
Music Writer | The Source Weekly
Posted inMusic
For the People
Missoula-based band The Lil Smokies bring high-energy bluegrass to Bend
When you hear someone say they love Lil Smokies, they’re not always talking about the delightful little sausages covered in BBQ sauce, sometimes wrapped in a crescent roll. In the music world, a love of The Lil Smokies means you’re down with bluegrass. The Lil Smokies, hailing primarily from Missoula, Mont., bring their fun energy […]
Posted inMusic
The Animated Guitar
Kaki King blends audio and visual through projection mapping on a guitar, giving new life to the instrument
What leads someone to choose a specific instrument? For Kaki King, she doesn’t feel like she had a choice in the matter. The guitar chose her. In her current show, the guitar also has a chance to speak for itself. To get angry. To explode. To speak—all thanks to King and the character she plays […]
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Kindred Souls
Most bands start by playing live and then record an album. Not this new jam band supergroup
If you want to hear the jam band-style rock music this group of talented and experienced musicians brings to the table, for the most part, you’ll have to catch them live. When you go out in search of the music of Ghost Light, you’ll only find a couple videos featuring music recorded in the studio, […]
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Electric Art
Adam Mendel creates solid body electric ukuleles with his company Riverbend Instruments
Plenty of big names and longtime residents come to mind when thinking about musical instruments made in Central Oregon. Usually though, those people build guitars. With that, Adam Mendel saw a niche in the market waiting to be filled: the electric ukulele. Mendel, a huge fan of Leo Fender, the man behind Fender electric guitars, […]
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Scavenger Woodworks
Mountain modern furniture from reclaimed wood
Kentucky native Trae Gaddis started building furniture from found wood four years ago, after he and his wife Brittany found out they had a child on the way. They’d previously sold everything and were traveling around in a motorhome. Brittany started posting items up for sale and their business took off from there. Two years […]
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Free Range Equipment
Durable backpacks with an artistic touch, made in a Bend garage
While attending Montana State University, Tosch Roy had a ski mountaineering race coming up and didn’t have a backpack for it. He had done some sewing before, so figured he’d give making a backpack a shot. “It was crappy, but gave me hope,” Roy says. “A bunch of friends wanted one. It’s more of a […]
Posted inMusic
Experience is Key
Flogging Molly evolves with the music industry, bringing their high-energy Celtic rock to Bend
We tend to have a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants culture in the music scene in Bend—which means few shows sell out months in advance. You can usually head down to the door and pay to get in at will. A few shows, on the other hand, demand a pre-sale code and tickets purchased as soon as they go […]
Posted inMusic
So Much Funk
Parallel 44 celebrates 1,000 shows in Central Oregon with George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic
In a recent Rolling Stone interview, Mr. P Funk himself, George Clinton, describes an alien encounter he had. But he also delves into his extensive knowledge of music—from doo woop to jazz to what he’s best known for—funk… and that last bit is why we’ll be at this week’s show, front and center. While thinking […]
Posted inNews
McKenzie Bridge: Blue Pool and beyond
I first heard about McKenzie Bridge when I dated someone from there. He didn’t think I knew it, which maybe I didn’t, but living in Oregon since I was 11, I’d definitely driven through. For me and other Bendites, heading west often involves an Oregon Ducks football game in Eugene—meaning passing through the tiny towns along […]
