Festival brings folk music to Sisters

Sisters will resound this weekend to the sounds of fiddles and guitars as the Sisters Folk Festival takes the stage in its ninth year of bringing Americana music, ranging from blues to bluegrass, to the local community.

Brad Tisdel, the artistic director of the festival, calls the event "a community celebration of folk music from national touring acts as well as regional acts."

The event is certainly community wide. There are venues at the Village Green; Bronco Billy's Ranch Grill & Saloon; and Sisters Athletic club, as well as a family and children's stage at Depot Deli.

Tisdel said that, as far as highlights go, he "(doesn't) want to point to one person or act, because they're all great."

However, he did note that the festival is especially pleased to bring Cape Breton fiddle-playing legend Natalie MacMaster to Sisters.

The internationally acclaimed performer puts on an electrifying show, complementing her incendiary fiddle playing with dancing, backed by a six-piece band.

MacMaster will perform at the Village Green on Saturday night, September 11, on a bill that also includes nationally-acclaimed songwriter and guitarist Willy Porter.

Legendary folk songwriter Tom Russell, with guitarist Andrew Hardin, also performs Saturday night at the Bronco Billy's stage.

Russell is a fan favorite who has penned Western folk classics such as "Navajo Rug," "Gallo del Cielo" and "Tonight We Ride" (performed last week on the David Letterman Show).

In addition to nationally recognized touring acts, the festival also features some of the top regional and local acts. Bend favorites the Moon Mountain Ramblers will perform, as will Portland blues ace Robbie Laws.

As part of its fund-raising efforts, the Sisters folk Festival will raffle a Breedlove C-25 Custom guitar made by the local guitar-maker.

Tickets for the guitar, which retails for $4,849, are $5 each and three for $10. The drawing will be held on Sunday afternoon as the festival comes to a close.

The festival kicks off Friday night with a show headlined by Eliza Gilkyson, returning to the Sisters Folk Festival by popular demand after show-stopping performances last year.

"To have Eliza Gilkyson back is just awesome," Tisdel said. "I think the choice of her as a Friday night headliner is a great one."

Gilkyson will arrive in Sisters early to work as an instructor at the festival's songwriting Academy, held at a ranch near Sisters.

Gilkyson will be joined by fellow performers Chuck Pyle and Johnsmith, along with songwriting ace Steve Seskin as they teach an intensive three-day workshop on all aspects of the craft.

More than 30 working and aspiring songwriters will attend the retreat, including several students from Sisters schools.

Scholarships have been funded through the My Own Two Hands art auction project staged last winter. That event itself was a major happening in Sisters, bringing the arts community together in support of a variety of local education efforts.

Such linkages among different segments of the community are becoming increasingly common, Tisdel noted.

Tisdel said that the festival has grown more and more intimately connected with the Sisters community over the years. He is the director of the Americana Project, which has brought roots music education and performance opportunities into Sisters schools.

This year, major festival performers will visit each of the three schools.

There will also be a free gospel show on Sunday morning at the Village Green, this year with a particular bluegrass emphasis. The show will feature the Leah Larson Band and special guests.

"Gospel music is an 'Americana' music and is at the heart of American history," Tisdel said. "I think it is a compelling way to thank the community."

The community feeling for the event is important to the festival, Tisdel said.

"I think it plays an important role in emphasizing the celebration of the Sisters community," he said. "I think the Jazz Festival does that, the Quilt Show does it; I think a lot of events do that."

He said the Sisters Folk Festival wants to invite local folks out to enjoy the event.

"It's not just the folk festival (organizers) that put on the folk festival -- it's the whole town," he said.