News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Singer-songwriter Hal Ketchum and his acoustic trio will perform in the final Sisters Starry Nights concert of the season on Saturday, April 25.
A small number of tickets remain available at Leavitt's.
Ketchum last played in Sisters seven years ago and many fans consider his show to be a Starry Nights highlight.
"When Hal walked out on stage and began to sing, there was something very special about his voice and his lyrics," said co-chair Susan Arends. "To this day, it remains one of the series' most magical performances and we've been keeping our fingers crossed that he would be able to return to Starry Nights."
Ketchum is coming to Sisters with a brand-new CD titled "Father Time." The CD is winning critical acclaim for its fresh immediacy and strong songs.
The earthy, in-the-living-room sound reflects the way the work was done.
"I cut it in two days in Nashville," Ketchum told The Nugget last week. The focus was on authenticity more than polish and it has worked, helping to kick one of the biggest country music stars of the early '90s back into the limelight.
Ketchum wrote all but one of the record's 14 songs. The exception is Tom Waits' "Jersey Girl."
Why the cover?
"My wife is from New Jersey," Ketchum says simply.
Simplicity and a straightforward approach is a way of life for Ketchum. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2003, he has battled back from physical debility, learned to play the guitar all over again and developed a slower, more deliberate approach to his art, one that focuses on honing things down to their basic essence.
"I just kind of try to stay out of the way," he says of his creative process. "I sometimes have these visitations and I try to get it down. There's an element of simplicity to it."
He believes that if you "write as honest as you can, people respond to that."
People keep responding to Ketchum's honesty - and his magnificent tenor voice - despite revolutionary changes that have rocked the music business in the years since he topped the country music charts with songs like "Small Town Saturday Night," "Past the Point of Rescue," "I Know Where Love Lives," "Sure Love," "Hearts are Gonna Roll," and "Stay Forever."
"I tour a great deal and I have just a lovely fan base that loves to come out and hear the songs," he said.
Starry Nights' audience will hear both the classic songs that built Ketchum's career and new material from "Father Time."
"I like to mix it up," he said. "Play a few hits and play some new stuff."
A handful of tickets for Ketchum's show are still available at Leavitt's in Sisters.
Ketchum, like all Starry Nights headliners, is donating his time to support the Sisters Schools Foundation and raise funds for classroom and co-curricular programs and activities in the Sisters School District. In its first 11 years, Starry Nights has raised more than $840,000 in net proceeds for the Sisters Schools Foundation.
Keeping the focus on the development of Sisters youth, each show offers performance opportunities for students - performances that invariably leave the headliners impressed with the value of the programs at Sisters schools.
Opening Ketchum's show will be Sisters High School students from the Americana Project, who will perform in the round. Set to appear are Laura Curtis, Austin Erlandson, and John Morton with accompaniment by Matt Cartmill on cello.
Students from Sisters Middle School and Sisters High School will also join Ketchum on stage for two special numbers during Hal's set. Masters of Ceremonies for the evening will be SHS seniors Chrissy Pullig-Gomez and Jordan Tandy.
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.
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