Songwriters perform in Sisters

Soulful singing and lyrics came to the stage as Sisters Athletic Club hosted its first musical event Thursday evening.

Brad Tisdel, Brent Alan and Emily Kurn culminated a week of a Camp Caldera artists' residency in a concert which took place in the athletic club's group exercise room, which doubles as a performance venue complete with artwork and hardwood floors.

Bottled beer and wine were served, with cookies and brownies.

Switching instruments and lead vocal duties, the three sang their own original songs as well as a collection of songs they had written together.

"I thought it was amazing," said Andrea Storton of the concert, which lasted just over two hours. "It's a great idea and the venue was nice."

The three performers met during the Sisters Folk Festival last summer. They all participated in a songwriting academy that Tisdel worked to organize. Following that experience, they decided to apply for a residency at Camp Caldera this winter. The residency, which took place last week was a productive experience for the three.

"The writing experience with these two has been awesome," said Alan, who is a resident of Bend. "Writing songs seems effortless right now."'

Kurn agreed, adding her appreciation of Sisters as a community. She was amazed that while walking through the streets, people recognized her from the folk festival.

"What a nice little town," said Kurn, who is based out of the San Francisco area.

Sisters Athletic Club has hosted lectures, but never a musical performance.

"Acoustically it turned out really well," said club owner Tate Metcalf.

Tisdel and Metcalf arranged the concert over the past few weeks as a trial run to see if a concerts work in the space.

There is talk of a "songwriters in the round" presentation with the Americana project, and the possibility of other concerts.