Usually around this weekend many of you would be gearing up for another round of the always amazing 4Peaks Music Festival. However, as most of you know, this year the festival won’t be taking place. Fortunately, those bummed out by this shouldn’t worry, as the flagship festival is planned to be back on in 2023. And as always, 4Peaks Presents has stayed busy by finding other ways to bring music to Central Oregon in 2022.
This Saturday, music lovers can head to Silver Moon Brewing to enjoy live tunes from Boombox, The Hip Abduction, The Ben Larsen Band, Oregon Fryer and DJ iLko for a one-night music extravaganza dubbed SOULstice.
"Because we're not having the festival, I still wanted to do something. It's not in place of the festival and there's no camping and none of the extra festival events, but I wanted to bring some bands that have wanted to play the festival and have a 4Peaks night at Silver Moon. It was a really cool opportunity to bring these bands to Bend," says 4Peaks owner Stacy Koff.
In classic 4Peaks fashion, the lineup is killer and highlights a great mix of styles—which is something Koff takes a lot of pride in.
"When 4Peaks curates a lineup, whether two or 22 bands, it's eclectic but it usually flows together. Boombox is a band I've wanted to play a late night set at the festival for a while. They're just really high-energy and fun. The Hip Abduction is such a cool Cali-reggae band that crosses over into the jam scene as well. For them to be here during a sunny Saturday at SOULstice, they're going to be awesome," she says.
Portland's Ben Larsen has previously played the 4Peaks festival with the Crow & The Canyon, but not with his latest band. They'll bring a funkier side of folk-rock to SOULstice, and Bend's own Oregon Fryer, who is a local Americana favorite, always knows how to get the crowd moving. Then keeping the party going is another Bend local, DJ iLko, who brings positive energy to every set he takes on.
This would have been year 15 of the 4Peaks Festival, and while Koff knows events like SOULstice can't totally replace it, she's still bringing plenty of music to town with their Campfire Unplugged series held every Thursday night at the Campfire Hotel, along with a variety of other one-off shows. Koff remains driven and excited about bringing talented musicians to Central Oregon—even if she misses the craziness of putting together such a huge festival.
"It's a little bittersweet. People ask me if it's a relief, but it's not. It's mixed. To have a multi-day camping festival here is so pertinent for the community, and it's so fun. To bring this kind of quality music to the area—to have people like Billy Strings and The Wood Brothers come play here. I'm a little saddened, but excited to bring other bands to the area," reflects Koff. "It's almost like my body in June takes on a life of its own. My brain and physical self don't know what to do [without the festival]. It's weird not to be completely out of my skull with 5,000 moving parts. I love it and I thrive on it. People always tell me it's the start of their summer."
Without the festival, Koff expresses the hope for SOULstice to still be a big night. For fans of the festival and the music 4Peaks brings to the community, buying tickets to SOULstice or any of their one-off shows can go a long way toward making sure the festival is able to do everything it wants to in 2023 after a return from its hiatus. What gets brought in only helps further the types of musicians they can bring to the High Desert.
"Everybody loves to come to Bend. And we take pride in taking care of the artist," adds Koff.
SOULstice
Sat., June 25, 5pm-midnight
Silver Moon Brewing
24 NW Greenwood Ave.
$39, no additional fees
