News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Teacher Gary Bowne reunited with high school friend Denny Bixby. photo provided
The Sisters Starry Nights Concert Series worked its magic again last Saturday.
Hundreds of people turned out - many coming from out of town - to see legendary songwriter Rodney Crowell and country songstress Chely Wright perform and to support Sisters schools.
There were many magical moments during the artists' time in Sisters. Prime among them, as it so often is, was the performance of Sisters Elementary School students accompanying the headliner.
Responding to a shouted request from the audience for his song "Fate's Right Hand," Crowell paused and said: "I heard you and I'll do it. But first we're going to do something I've been looking forward to."
Crowell ushered Alec Gannon, Katelyn Josten, Kendall Griffin and Siana Flowers onto the stage to sing. Violin player Amity Calvin lagged behind, to which Crowell joked, "virtuosity knows no time."
The students shared vocals on "Stuff That Works," a song Crowell co-wrote with Guy Clark. Two girls sang "I've got a pretty good friend who's seen me at my worst/She don't care if I'm a blessing or a curse/She always shows up when the chips are down/That's the kind of stuff I like to be around... Stuff that works."
Another series of magical moments occurred after the performance. Crowell's bass player Denny Bixby is a Portland native who attended high school with Sisters Americana Project teacher Gary Bowne. The two had not seen each other in decades, though they have kept in contact as Bowne has followed Bixby's career.
The pair were reunited backstage. When Bixby was informed that the school district doesn't have an electric bass for its music program, Bixby donated the one he played Saturday night on the spot.
The performances themselves stirred the audience. Chely Wright, who joined Crowell midway through the performance, debuted several new songs. A piano player, Wright told the audience that she was "overcoming a fear tonight - which is playing the guitar in front of people."
Wright returned to the piano for her song "The Bumper of My SUV," a personal song from a woman raised in a military family about her support for military men and women no matter what questions she may have that don't have answers.
The song drew a standing ovation from the Starry Nights audience.
All the performers, including guitarist and songwriter Will Kimbrough and Starry Nights regular and ace piano player Tim Lauer, donated their performances.
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)