Folk musicians play for school

Danya River and Justin Roth perform at Sisters Middle School. photo by Jim Cornelius

Sisters students got a glimpse of the life of a traveling folk troubadour last week during an appearance by Justin Roth and Danya River.

The musicians made a stop in Sisters on their West Coast tour on Tuesday, March 16, and visited with Americana Project students before presenting a concert at the Sisters Middle School Lecture/Drama Room.

According to Americana Project director Brad Tisdel, the students were dazzled by Roth's intricate guitar playing. The young folk singer is a far cry from the stereotypical strumming troubadour. His technique, tone and emotional playing put him squarely in a contemporary folk mode that values musicianship as highly as lyrical content.

The students were amazed at his jaw-dropping skill, as was the crowd at the Tuesday night concert.

Roth was joined by singer-songwriter Danya River, whose almost-shy, self-effacing stage presence contrasted with her powerful, sensual vocals.

Roth admitted to a tendency to "gush" about the Americana Project, launched by the Sisters Folk Festival to bring roots music into the schools.

"I think both Danya and I will tell you ... we wish we had a program like this when we were in high school," he told his Tuesday night audience.

Ryan Blake sings an original song at an Americana Project performance. photo by Jim Cornelius

The Tuesday night show opened with a set of original material presented by Americana Project students.

The performers were introduced by emcee Haley Roberts.

The students in the Americana Project write and perform their own material.

Students have produced a CD of original material and students handle the event-management duties involved in staging concerts like the Tuesday night show.

Roth said he was inspired by seeing ninth to 12th grade students "who have something to say and the courage to get up in front of people and say it."

Students got more from Roth and Rivers than a display of rising talent. According to Tisdel, the students were very interested in the nuts-and-bolts details of the musicians' life in music -- how they build a career and the ups and downs of their itinerant lifestyle.

That's all part of the wide-ranging educational mission of the Americana Project.

Students learn to write and perform and explore the technical and behind-the-scenes aspects of the music industry.

They also study the impact of folk music through American history and society.

The cross-curricular nature of the program was illustrated by a song written by Raman Ellis for an English class.

The song, titled "The Fire Next Time," was written as a response to the book of the same title by South African writer James Wright, a book Ellis was assigned in his English class.

It drew a strong audience response.

Tuesday night's performers were: Nick Berrey, Nick Pierce, Raman Ellis, Monica Offield, Sam Pyke, Kerani Mitchell, Benji Nagel, Brittany Wall and Ryan Blake.