The town of Sisters transforms into a musical wonderland Sept. 25-27 as the 29th annual Sisters Folk Festival, featuring more than 30 artists and acts from around the globe, will entertain on seven stages across the downtown area. There’ll also be a KidZone for youngsters, artist-led workshops and a community celebration.
The festival lineup is stacked with talent, including singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Thunderstorm Artis, a finalist on The Voice; singer songwriter Brandy Clark, a Grammy and Country Music Association award winner; Michael Cleveland, 12-time International Bluegrass Music Association Fiddle Player of the Year; and world-renowned Australian guitarist Tommy Emmanuel.
Here are a few the Source recommends:
- Lone Piñon, a New Mexican “orquesta típica” (string band), plays all three days. Lone Piñon got together in 2014 to showcase and honor New Mexico’s multi-ethnic musical heritage, and blends the sounds of fiddles, accordions, guitars, upright bass, vihuela and bilingual vocals across a range of traditional polkas, valses, rancheras and conjunto.
- Ozomatli, a world-renowned and Grammy-winning jam band from Los Angeles, is known for tackling social issues with its songs and performances, Ozomatli entertains with a riveting blend of salsa, jazz, funk, reggae and hip hop. Ozomatli is playing only one show at the festival, on Saturday, Sept. 26.
- Scottish Fish, hailing from Boston’s Celtic music scene after meeting as youngsters at Boston Harbor Scottish Fiddle School, has toured the globe with its fiddle-forward infusion of traditional Scottish and Cape Breton music. The band plays all three days.
- Spencer LaJoye, who says he makes queer indie folk music for everyone, plays all three days. LaJoye, winner of the 2021 Kerrville New Folk singer/songwriter contest and the 2024 Songwriter Serenade contest, is a vocal loop artist and classically trained violinist.
- The Paperboys, who hail from Canada, have been jamming across the world for 30 years, rocking audiences with a mix of Celtic reels, traditional Mexican folk, fiddle tunes, New Orleans brass band music, classic pop and bluegrass, and even throw in a waltz or two and a Latino/West African singalong. They play Friday and Saturday.
- Toubab Krewe, an instrumental powerhouse that blends African traditions, jam-band rock and international folk strains, formed in 2005 and hail from Asheville, NC. The band takes its name from toubab, which means “foreigner” in several West African languages, and krewe, which is the New Orleans-coined term for “crew.” The band plays Friday and Saturday.
Sisters Folk Festival
Fri., Sept. 25, 6pm-12:30am, Sat., Sept. 26, Noon-12:30am and Sun., Sept. 27, 10am-4pm
Variety of venues around Sisters, including the Village Green park, Oliver Lemon’s, Sisters Art Works, Frankie’s, The Open Door, The Belfry and Sisters Saloon.
Sisters, Oregon
$245 weekend pass; $95 Friday, Sept. 25; $160 Saturday, Sept. 26; $75 Sunday, Sept 27.
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