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Chris Young

A journalist and editor, Chris graduated from the University of Oregon and has worked in local, community-focused media and publications for 15 years. He founded Vortex Music Magazine, a quarterly print publication that covered Portland's vibrant music scene, in 2014. He's since moved to Bend where you can find him going to concerts, hiking, biking and trying to keep up with his kids.

chris@bendsource.com
Posted inMusic

Rainbow Girls Reclaim Their Witchy Swagger

Get ready for a night of post-Halloween magic with the trio of Bay Area harmonizers
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In this spooky season where the days get shorter and the nights get longer and colder comes an apropos album from Bay Area trio Rainbow Girls. “Haunting,” self-released on Oct. 13. It’s “thematically and musically darker and heavier” than the band’s 2023 record, “Welcome To Whatever,” which came out just under a year ago. “The […]

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Frankie and the Witch Fingers Bring Their Psych Feast to Bend

The SoCal foursome share tour tips, what they’re listening to and their love for Taco Bell and Mountain Dew
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Frankie and the Witch Fingers’ brand of psychedelic punk pulses with frenetic rock-and-roll energy. Driving bass, screaming guitars and pummeling drums have made the four-piece of Dylan Sizemore (guitar and vocals), Josh Menashe (guitar and synthesizers), Nikki Pickle (bass and vocals) and Nick Aguilar (drums) regulars at psych fests around the globe, including Austin’s legendary […]

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Local Love: Q/A with Impactful Singer/Songwriter Alicia Viani

The local musician discusses her musical roots and family as she makes sense of the world through folk songs
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Alicia Viani is a storyteller who can transport you to places — places you want to savor and places that push your limits. On her self-titled debut, she sings of blissfully dancing with family under “North Carolina Skies” or soaking up the sun and conversation by the river on “Wounded Healer.” Yet album opener “Good […]

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Local Love: A Q/A with Guitar Slinger Eric Leadbetter

Full-time musician and frontman of Leadbetter Band chats about his approach to making music, gives advice to younger artists and reveals his earliest inspiration: Marty McFly.
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I grew up working on my family’s cattle ranch, and so every time I got done working, I’d run back to my grandpa’s house and I’d plug in my amplifier and crank my little boom box that I had — some Allman Brothers, Santana, Grateful Dead, Hendrix — and I would try and play along […]

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The Pandemic That Pushed Rodrigo y Gabriela Forward

Known for phenomenal acoustic guitar skills inspired by metal rockers, Rod y Gab’s latest album shows the duo stretching out — from Daft Punk to The Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra
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“The story went from us winning a Grammy for the first time — we were very happy and ready to tour the world with that album [2019’s “Mettavolution”] — and then we learned that we were not going anywhere,” Gabriela Quintero recalls. “Instead came the pandemic.” One half of the incendiary Mexican guitar duo Rodrigo […]

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Sisters Folk Festival: All Grown Up

Returning for year 27, the region’s iconic folk fest and its hometown continue to create an intimate musical experience while welcoming new generations of musicians, fans and community
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Back in 1995, Sisters was sleepy. That’s exactly what drew Brad Tisdel to this Central Oregon outpost located in the shadows of its namesake trio of mountains. “It was a pretty quiet place when I arrived in ’95, and I took that as a place of solitude, where I cross-country skied and tried to write […]

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Bend Roots Revival: 18 Years of Celebrating Local Musicians

"Rooted in education and sharing and celebration of local creative voices,” this year’s festival features a horde of familiar names from the Central Oregon music community
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Back in 2001, a new outdoor, riverfront amphitheater was being built in the heart of Bend. Soon thereafter, Coldplay came to town. Dylan and Willie followed. Subsequent years saw the Pixies, Paul Simon, Phish and countless more. As rock stars made Bend a pit stop, local musician Mark Ransom sat on the riverbank with a […]

Posted inMusic

More Than a Music Festival

Cascade Equinox Festival returns this September 20 to 22 with a stellar lineup, roller disco, workshops, interactive art and a full slate of activities for kiddos
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While the Deschutes County Fairgrounds may be synonymous with rodeos, monster trucks and carnival rides, the organizers of the Cascade Equinox Festival have found it an ideal setting for a genre-melding music fest. The second annual gathering of music and art returns to Central Oregon from Friday, September 20 to Sunday, September 22 with more […]

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From Farm to Stage: A Q/A with Gregory Alan Isakov

The Colorado-based singer/songwriter discusses recording in his barn and solving the world’s problems with farming before he shares the stage with Ray LaMontagne
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The Appaloosa horse is known for its leopard complex spotting, a beautiful pointillistic coat that ranges from Dalmatian to two-tone ombrés. This majestic, impressionistic exterior covers the equine’s solid, sturdy structure. “There are all these tools made out of the bones from that horse because they have really strong bones,” Gregory Alan Isakov tells. “I […]

Posted inMusic

Bigstock: A Music Festival with a Cause

From backyard beginnings to Hoodoo’s ski hill, Bigstock brings its biggest lineup to date with Greensky Bluegrass, Margo Price and Oteil & Friends
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In 2008, Dr. Brett Gingold had an impulse to throw a backyard concert and fundraiser. The goal was simple: build community by giving back to it, all while listening to great music. At the time, he was living on a hill and the backyard felt like “a natural amphitheater overlooking the mountains,” he describes. “It […]

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