News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Award-winning Sisters songwriter Dennis McGregor is hitting the road this week for a two-week tour in California.
McGregor, who won the 2004 Sisters Folk Festival Songwriting Contest and has been a fixture on the local music scene for years, is taking advantage of some personal travel time to expand his musical horizons.
“It all started with an invitation to a friend’s wedding in Santa Barbara,” he said.
The songwriter — whose regular gig is as a graphic artist and painter — wasn’t sure he could free up time to go. Then he decided he should try to pick up a few gigs on the way to help make the trip work out.
“I made a few calls and put out some feelers and next thing I knew I had a tour coming together,” he said.
McGregor will play a few tunes at 8 a.m. on Thursday at Angeline’s Bakery as a send-off, then head south for dates in Redding, Cotati, Santa Barbara, Ventura, North Hollywood and Santa Cruz.
The Santa Cruz date includes a radio appearance just prior to a slot for folk music legend and fellow Sisters Folk Festival performer Tom Russell.
“I have a couple other irons in the fire that could come through,” McGregor said.
The singer is looking forward to presenting his songs to fresh audiences who haven’t heard him before. He plans to work on some paintings on the road and see if this kind of mini-tour suits him.
“I’ll find out if I like it or not,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it as a new way of doing business.”
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
Reader Comments(0)