The Smithereens have been around for a long time. In the last 36 years of its existence, the band has released every single type of record imaginable, from Christmas albums, to greatest hits albums, to records filled exclusively with Beatles covers. The band has shown a drive that downright makes the rest of us look […]
Tower Theatre
Posted inMusic
Cover Me
Madeleine Peyroux has that jazz
Madeleine Peyroux has been around long enough for a Greatest Hits record, which she is touring on right now. “Keep Me in Your Heart for a While: The Best of Madeleine Peyroux” is the first anthology release of her 20-year career and probably the first of many as she’s still very much going strong. Peyroux […]
Posted inMusic
Mariachi Sol de Mexico
A festive sound comes to the Tower
Mariachi Sol de Mexico is a 13-piece band that plays the traditional sounds and experiences of Mexico. This genre of music is said to have originated in the 19th century in the southern state of Jalisco and is a mostly male-dominated style of music. In a culture that is very much patriarchal, it is said […]
Posted inMusic
Pitches Be Trippin’
The Bend A Cappella Festival
As the musical landscape changed throughout the decades, so did one of the oldest forms of music: the constantly underestimated a cappella. In forming an appreciation of the importance and awesomeness of a cappella, it is key to understand the form’s origins. As do most things, a cappella has its roots in the religious. Gregorian […]
Posted inMusic
Newgrass City
Fleck and Washburn together at the Tower
Abigail Washburn is a clawhammer banjo player. The clawhammer banjo is primarily a down-picking styled banjo as compared to the up AND down style of the classic banjo, which gives her solo sound a backcountry Appalachian vibe but with a modern vocal style. Bela Fleck is considered one of the most innovative banjo players on […]
Posted inCulture
Shrek Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself
A fairytale brought to life
Everyone loves a fat, green, Scottish ogre that hates the world and everyone in it. This is just a giant recipe for success and “Shrek: The Musical” makes sense. Thoroughly Modern Productions (TMP) has made a bit of a cottage industry performing fairy tales over the last few years with productions of “Beauty and the […]
Posted inCulture
The Women Behind The Men
Coaches’ Wives; a new look into an old subject
The saying, “Behind every great man is a great woman,” is a cliché for a reason. While in 2015 the paradigm of the man working while the little lady stays home and raises the kids is outdated and insulting, it is still a choice some women today make. Specifically, the wives of men with careers […]
Posted inMusic
Happy Trails
A uniquely Oregon holiday experience
Growing up, Christmas celebrations in the Rook household were fairly traditional with one notable exception. On Christmas morning, we knew it was time to get up and see what Santa brought when we heard the Trail Band’s holiday tunes emanating from Dad’s sound system (then a Pioneer six-disk CD changer). Unlike conventional holiday tunes sung […]
Posted inMusic
You Had Me At Cello
Portland Cello Project brings their brilliance to Bend
There is nothing in the world that sounds quite like the Portland Cello Project. Whether they are playing original compositions like founding member Gideon Freudmann’s sweeping yet intimate “Denmark” or Douglas Jenkins’ epic and inviting arrangement of Kanye’s “All of the Lights,” PCP is easily one of the most exciting musical acts touring right now. […]
Posted inMusic
Bands on the Run
Make-A-Band shows its stuff
The time is now and the final event is upon us. Central Oregon’s Make-A-Band worked its way through the audition and team-building section of the event at Silver Moon from October 6 to 22. Each day featured auditions for different sections of a band. For example, vocalists tried out on October 6 and 8, guitar […]