Tickets available for Folk Festival

Discounted all-events tickets are available now for the Sisters Folk Festival, scheduled for September 7-9. The festival carries on the traditions of American roots music, from blues to bluegrass.

All-events badges are $40 through July 31. After August 1, badge prices go up to $50.

Legendary cowboy singer and songwriter Ian Tyson will headline this year's show on Saturday night, September 8. A limited number of individual tickets for Tyson's performance will be available starting August 1.

Event organizers expect Tyson's performance to sell out early.

Tyson won early fame as half of the Canadian duo Ian and Sylvia, whose songs like "Four Strong Winds" and "Someday Soon" defined the folk revival of the 1960s.

Tyson's passion for the ranching culture of the American and Canadian West led to a career revival in the 1980s with such classic albums as "Cowboyography," "Old Corrals and Sagebrush" and "Eighteen Inches of Rain."

Contemporary folk standout Patty Larkin is featured on Friday night, September 7.

Larkin is that rare combination of talents -- a superlative singer, an accomplished songwriter and an extraordinary guitarist. Over the years, with her High Street/Windham Hill albums "Strangers World," "Angels Running" and "Tango," she has honed a reputation as a "musician's musician" working with the brightest talents in contemporary American music.

Main performances will be held in a tent on Sisters' Village Green. Musicians will also entertain in shops and other venues throughout town and food and craft vendors will be on hand to peddle their wares in an open-air market setting.

The festival features a songwriting contest that has boosted the careers of some of the region's emerging talent, including perennial festival favorites, Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer.

Dave and Tracy have taken the world of folk music by storm since Dave's 1995 songwriting contest success. The duo will open for Tyson on Saturday night.

The festival bill also includes the Austin phenomenon Slaid Cleaves, the Northwest's ace bluegrass group Sam Hill.

The Misty River Band offers tight harmonies and unique instrumentation, which wowed the audience last year.

Visitors can participate in a variety of workshops covering every aspect of roots music, from writing to picking techniques and introductions to new instruments.

Badges give audience members access to all performances and workshops.

Tickets may be purchased at Paulina Springs Book Company in Sisters, Central Oregon Music in Bend and Swing Shift Guitars in Redmond.

For more information or phone orders, call 549-4979 or visit the website at http://www.sistersfolkfestival.com.