Having played in these parts before, rock/blues guitarist Samantha Fish is no stranger to Central Oregon. In the meantime, she and her band have just been tearing it up. Fish was nominated for Best Contemporary Blues Album in the 2024 Grammys for her 2023 collaboration with rocker Jesse Dayton, โDeath Wish Blues.โ She and the […]
Richard Sitts
A Place to Call Home
Donna Costley says that back when she decided to start a bird rescue operation in 2012, she didnโt even like birds. โI hated birds. My mom had parakeets,โ Costley recalls. However, one of her sons, Jon, got into birds first and brought his mother along, under his wing, so to speak. And since then, Second […]
Band Brings its โDashboard Heatโ to Bend
Here is a collection of words describing Smokey Brightโs music culled from various sources quoted on the bandโs website: โSmokey Brights is one of the most exciting rock groups in the Emerald City. One part Fleetwood Mac (without the turmoil) and one part something all their own.โ โInsane charm.โ โ… plays rock in its truest, […]
Bend Teen Clings to the Wall
On a recent late summer afternoon, Nathaniel Perullo, 17, feels right at home at his home away from home, the climbing wall inside the Bend Endurance Academy. The Academy anchors a retail horseshoe of businesses within honking distance of one of Bendโs busiest intersections at Reed Market Road and Third Street. This day, Perullo is […]

