Sisters welcomes famed musician Joe Craven

The patio behind Angeline's Bakery and Café will be bursting with sound on Saturday night, June 23. One of Sisters favorite guest artists, internationally-known, multi-instrumentalist Joe Craven will be back in town to entertain.

Craven is known for making instruments out of most anything.

"He goes into thrift stores and finds musical instruments out of lamp shades and out of bicycle parts," said Bend violinist Julie Southwell, who is opening Saturday night's show with local musician Anastacia (Scott).

A fiddler and mandolinist whose roots are in Americana music and old fiddle tunes, Craven brings all sorts of instruments into his performance and is known for his spontaneity.

"His music is this amazing event," said Southwell. "He uses a loop machine in order to create a sound scape of all these other instruments and rhythms, and then he is also extensively a percussionist. The way he links it all together is a creative pleasure of spontaneous joy," she said.

During their opening set of six or seven songs, Anastacia's original songs will be featured. Southwell will accompany Anastacia on violin, as Anastacia sings and plays her guitar. One instrumental Celtic tune featuring Southwell will also be included.

Anastacia and Southwell have only recently collaborated.

"I was playing a gig (in April), and I wanted a violinist. I've always wanted to sing with a violin because I think it matches my voice and what I am trying to say musically," said Anastacia.

The first time the pair played together everything just clicked.

"She (Southwell) is just brilliant at the violin and just picked right up on what I was expressing," Anastacia said.

The twosome's first gig together was at the Lodge at Suttle Lake on Mother's Day.

"It was so great because we had to play for four hours, so we just basically got to really connect," Anastacia said.

Southwell was classically trained on the violin as a child. Her father was a musician, playing blues guitar. About six years ago she became interested in the folk and bluegrass genres. She was one of the original members of the eclectic Bend band Moon Mountain Ramblers.

Recently, Southwell's music has been influenced by the time she spent in India and with her Indian music teachers.

Southwell is responsible for arranging Craven's tour in Central Oregon. Before playing at Angeline's on Saturday night, Craven will appear in Bend at the Old Stone Church on Friday evening with the famous Indian musician Dr. Mysore Manjunath and P. Srinivasan on percussion.

Craven played with legendary mandolinist David Grisman for 17 years. Grisman is known for melding elements of bluegrass, jazz, folk and klezmer music into a unique amalgamation he dubbed "Dawg Music."

"Craven was Grisman's musical partner, sideman...," said Southwell. In 2004 when Moon Mountain Ramblers opened for Grisman, Southwell met Craven for the first time and Craven told her of his interest in doing educational, musical outreach.

Subsequently, Southwell arranged for Craven to return to Central Oregon in January 2005 to share his talents with students at several Bend schools and with students at Sisters schools, including those in the American Project.

For more information about the concert, contact Angeline's at 549-9122.