Thursday 8 Voetberg Family Christmas CHRISTMAS SHOW—Touring can already be somewhat taxing for a band, so imagine how much harder it must be when everyone is related! The Voetbergs aren’t just national fiddle champions and flat picking champions; they’re also siblings ages 14-27. Each of them plays well beyond their years, as they’re all virtuosic […]
Central Oregon Concerts
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Channeling NOLA’s Juju
Portland’s MarchFourth mixes funky big band vibes with a carnival spectacle
Propelled by an eccentricity that is uniquely Portland, MarchFourth has always been fueled by the magic of New Orleans. The city “has been in our DNA since the band’s inception,” yet “in a spiritual sense more than musical sense,” explains founding member and band leader John Averill. With more than a dozen members—musical or otherwise—on […]
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Old Souls and Royal Jelly
Two very different bands equal one major show
At first glance, Marty O’Reilly and Royal Jelly Jive don’t have much in common. O’Reilly and his band the Old Soul Orchestra are introspective with their music constantly building in intensity and emotion. Their records sound like the scores to beautiful noir masterpieces that have never been made. Royal Jelly Jive, meanwhile, sounds like a […]
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Gung Ho For Shows 11/30-12/7
Book these tickets now so you don’t miss out
December 17 The Trail Band MUSIC—Celebrating its 25th year, The Trail Band is an eight-piece ensemble of talented singers, including Quarterfalsh’s Rindy Ross, and musicians playing brass and string instruments. With influences of country, folk, bluegrass, blues and early jazz, The Trail Band encompasses the holiday spirit in a more traditional Oregon style. Book these […]
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A Little Less Alone: Find joy in the music of Caitlin Anne Webster
Caitlin Anne Webster’s voice was born for the blues. While her music ranges from country to blues to pop to some lovely hybrid of the three, there’s a twang to her that gives each word an air of playful sadness that swells the heart. Her debut EP, “Black Moon,” includes five songs that only resemble […]
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Picks 11/30-12/7
Friday 2 Danny Barnes & Cascade Crescendo BANJO—When someone is acknowledged by (fellow banjo player) Steve Martin as one of the best banjo players in the USA, then you know you’re getting something special. Banjo player extraordinaire Danny Barnes is a big draw all by himself, but add in the lively “jamgrass” sounds of Cascade […]
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Album Review: Moon Mountain Ramblers, “A Little After Midnight”
“A Little After Midnight” is the first Moon Mountain Ramblers album since 2010’s “Live at the Tower” double album. Just like their live shows, “A Little After Midnight” is a freewheeling and eclectic bit of music that dances between genres without a care in the world. Every track on the record takes Jenny Wasson’s violin, […]
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High Up On the Moon Mountain
Bend’s best band returns with a new album
I’ve lived in Bend since the last century, and there are very few things that have stayed consistent for me since those early years: the After Mountain Special at Pizza Mondo; The Wrap of Khan at Parrilla; and the brilliance of The Moon Mountain Ramblers. One of the first shows I saw as a newly […]
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Remembering the Master of Space and Time
A tribute to Leon Russell
As I came of rock ‘n’ roll age in southeast Kansas in the early 1970s, Leon Russell became the first rock ‘n’ roll artist to whom I felt any kind of a connection. That’s because he was an Oklahoma boy who happened to be from Tulsa, a mere 90 miles south of the small town […]
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The Usual Suspect: Riff Raff Show Preview
Riff Raff is an enigma wrapped in a cornrow
There are far worse rappers on the radio and definitely more annoying personalities that take up our airwaves, but why exactly is Riff Raff famous? Is it simply the idea of a white gangster rapper trying desperately to become a mixture of Scarface and Master P that makes us want to watch? Riff Raff was […]
