Austin Quattlebaum plays what he calls “weird-grass. More accurately, it’s probably indie folk with a bluegrass edge,” he explains. He’s been performing in Bend for over a decade — often with James Rossi on fiddle, Josiah Payne on mandolin and Mark Karwan on bass — and always had the desire to create a local bluegrass fest.
Enter The Bluegrass Bend-r, a day-long mini fest featuring a stacked lineup of local and regional players plus morning workshops and an afternoon jam session, at the Volcanic Theatre Pub on Saturday, March 1 from 10am to midnight.
“I’m a traditional bluegrass fan, but my style of music is not anywhere close to ‘traditional.’ This seems to be the case with a lot of the local bluegrass bands as well,” Quattlebaum says. The Bluegrass Bend-r will showcase “the ‘bluegrass adjacent’ bands of the region. Hopefully our first one will be a success, and we can continue this cabin fever-style tradition year after year!”
The offerings of the day are impressive, starting with five workshops (banjo, fiddle, mandolin, harmony singing, guitar) for various skill levels, taught from 10am-4pm. There’s an open jam sesh lead by Cascade Bluegrass from 3-5pm (so bring your instrument), followed by full sets from Central Oregon acts Blackstrap Bluegrass, Skillethead, Quattlebaum and Larkspur Stand, plus Portland-based five-piece Never Come Down headlining. And in between sets, you can catch 30-minute performances from Johnny Bourbon, Broken Top Bluegrass and Darin Gentry’s Old Time Machine while the main stage acts swap out their gear.
“It will be a packed day!” Quattlebaum exclaims. “We’re trying to fit an entire festival in one day, so there’s 14 hours of fun. I’m probably the most excited for the mega jam at the end of the night where we will attempt to get all eight bands playing together for a big ole clusterpluck.”
“Local luthiers Nechville Banjos and Thompson Guitars will be there tabling and showing off their incredible instruments,” he adds. “We’ve got a lot of great bluegrass-ish bands here in Bend that hardly ever get to play a big stage, so I look forward to lifting up the local community the best way we can.”
As Quattlebaum says, it’s sure to be a “gathering [of] the acoustic music community of Central Oregon.”
The Bluegrass Bend-r
Featuring Never Come Down, Skillethead, Quattlebaum, Blackstrap Bluegrass, Larkspur Stand, Darin Gentry, Broken Top Bluegrass and Johnny Bourbon
Sat., March 1
Volcanic Theatre Pub
70 SW Century Dr., Bend
Workshops 10am-4pm; open jam 3-5pm; show 5pm-Midnight; all ages
$36 advance, $50 day of show
Get tickets
This article appears in The Source Weekly February 27, 2025.
MAKE LOCAL JOURNALISM HAPPEN
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
