Moira Smiley and VOCO to perform in Sisters

Moira Smiley & VOCO will close the Sisters Folk Festival Winter Concert Series on Friday, February 25, with a visionary blend of voices that redefine harmony singing with the power and physicality of folksong, avant-garde fearlessness, and delicious, vaudevillian accompaniment of cello, banjo, accordion and body percussion.

Moira Smiley leads an ensemble of extraordinary musicians who share a passion for powerful, emotional music with lush four-part vocal harmony. Named No. 1 a cappella group in the U.S. in 2007, VOCO is the energy of street singing and the elegance of a string quartet. It's all rounded out with body-stompin' percussive movement and joyous, magnificent, hair-raising harmonies - music that mourns and dances at the same time. Lead singer, composer and bandleader Moira Smiley travels the world as a soloist and with VOCO, creating new work for dance, theatre, and film.

The performance in Sisters is Moira's return to Central Oregon after playing the Sisters Folk Festival with the Irish band Molly's Revenge in 2008.

"Her performance at the festival was stunning, and she is a tremendous musician in her own right. With VOCO, it is a fun, sophisticated and wide-ranging musical offering that is unique and powerful. I saw them at the Kate Wolf Music Festival and have wanted to bring them here to Sisters ever since," said festival Executive/Artistic Director Brad Tisdel.

The Nugget: What drew you to traditional music originally and how does an artist keep a tradition alive while at the same time using it to create fresh, original art?

Moira Smiley: "I've always loved the way traditional music invites participation from everyone. I grew up singing folksongs (mostly American, Irish and Scottish) with family and friends. Starting at about age 10, in Vermont, I had the amazing luck of being around musicians who were exploring Russian, Irish, Bulgarian and South African music - and IMPROVISING too!

"I'd been writing songs on the piano since I was little, and suddenly all these strange harmonies and rhythms made the world very big and beautiful. Immediately, traditional music meant crossing borders and discovering the unknown - while making the music always with friends."

The Nugget: One of the jewels in the Sisters Folk Festival crown is the Americana Project, a music education outreach program for youth. What advice would you give a young person who wants to make music their way of life and/or livelihood (pragmatically and artistically)?

"When I teach (which VOCO does regularly in our tours) I want to spread fearless creativity alongside respect for the incredible stories and emotion packed into older songs and tunes. Pragmatically, start developing discipline as early in your life as you can - discipline about practicing, showing up, asking questions, connecting with people."

The Nugget: What does it take for an artist to stay strong and vital over the long haul?

"Keep clarifying WHY you do it. Keep revisiting the details of the vision you have - musically, socially, spiritually, economically. Who do you want to move? What keeps moving you? Keep the people close who keep 'wonder' and imagination alive, while getting better and more detailed about asking for practical help."

The Nugget: Moira Smiley and VOCO is different from most groups in your presentation of your music. Was that an artistic decision or did it evolve from the interactions of the group? Why is it important to you as an artist to incorporate different elements into the presentation of your work?

"Music has become the way that I feel like an amazed, enraptured student of life. I'm happy as long as I keep learning more - history, geography, how people work, how cultures move, what is trust, what is important when all else is gone...so that's how I run VOCO, and how I present the music in concerts. I want to share the feeling that there is endless discovery in composition, old music and the people that listen - and seemingly magical connections start to happen when you keep casting your net wide. I've also learned that creativity, money, and travel can be explosive combination - so I learn with each new collaborator how to create peace and vitality in a group.

"What I love about VOCO these days is that I've learned to ask for collaborators who are on fire in their own projects too - wow! Discovery! And while I may teach them the subtleties of traditional song, they'll bring me whole new repertoire and ways of moving whilst they learn and improvise with me."

To purchase tickets visit http://www.sistersfolkfestival.org or call the festival office at 541-549-4979. Tickets are also available at Paulina Springs Books in Sisters and Redmond and FootZone in Bend. The price for the show is $15/adult for advance tickets and $10/student; $20/adult, $12/student at the door. Show starts at 7 p.m .; doors open at 6:30 p.m. Visit the Sisters Country Web site for lodging specials in Sisters on the evening of these concerts, at http://www.sisterscountry.com.