Festival brings joy, tears to Sisters

It was a hot time in the big tent Friday night to ignite the 16th annual Sisters Folk Festival, with temperatures and expectations soaring for the yearly tribute to American roots music. First night at the Village Green was a relaxed affair as festivalgoers eased into the weekend's diverse lineup of sonic wonders in seven downtown venues, representing all aspects of the world of folk music.

Encore performer Martyn Joseph from Wales started things out.

"I stumbled into Sisters last year. It was just awesome," he said. "I took the blessing of this place and it's lasted me 12 full months."

The aching, dark Southern ballads of Mary Gauthier brought her personal messages of love, life and "trying to get through the daylight and the dark." Lyrics punctuated and inhabited by drag queens, dreamers, hobos and steam trains cut to the quick of the bluecollar traditions of the folk genre.

Headliner and legendary storytelling bluesman Dave Alvin rounded out the evening, delivering each crafted nugget with his smoky, smooth baritone.

"Since this is a folk festival it seems appropriate to start with a folk song. This is sorta the "Louie, Louie" of folk songs, but it needs a beer," he growled, taking a quick swallow before playing "Black Jack David."

Alvin and his brother Phil founded the L.A. roadhouse rockabilly band, The Blasters, back in 1979.

Chatham County Line rejoined Alvin onstage for his set finale, seamlessly blending the musical realms of bluegrass, folk and blues.

As dusk fell the expanded Village Green food alley took on a carnival-like glow as hungry music-lovers feasted on slow-cooked tri-tip and cornbread, brick-oven pizza and lamb dumplings. Friends marked their schedules and compared notes, circling acts both familiar and obscure, mapping out weekend strategies to absorb optimum doses of music.

Saturday arrived even warmer, and fans crowded into the newly expanded Depot Café venue for Mike Biggers' morning set. The café provided a beautiful showcase stage with a garden patio setting amid flowers, baby aspen and rusted-iron artwork. Biggers ran through a warm, easy-going song list, finishing with a funny take on Waylon Jennings' "Amanda," complete with faux record skips and scratches.

Kites & Crows, the sunny, indie-folk band from Ashland, charmed listeners with their emotionally charged, illuminating lyrics and unique combinations of accordion, banjo, cello and even a chiming vintage vibraphone. Highlighting new musical acts is one of the festival's endearing strengths, and this year's offerings did not disappoint.

"For me, the lineup represents us leaning in numerous musical directions, but at the same time keeping our core audience satisfied," said Brad Tisdel, executive director of Sisters Folk Festival. "High-energy acts like Joe Pug, Anais Mitchell and the Shook Twins appeal to the younger crowd, but you also have the captivating songwork of people like Mary Gauthier and Steve Forbert. So there's the traditional meets the innovative, and the combination is a stunning display of remarkable talent."

Over at the Village Green, folks napped in the sun between acts, browsed the selection of artist merchandise at the Festival General Store, strummed gleaming Breedlove demo guitars and mandolins, used the free bike valet from Blazin Saddles or kept cool in the shade with a Thai steak salad and cold microbrew beer as the sweet notes flowed from the tent. 

"We're staying in Bend, and decided to mosey over for the day," said James Cavalcante, visiting from Sacramento. "It's a fantastic setup. The food and crafts are impressive and the lineup looks great. We just got here but are eager to hear Red Molly and discover some different acts we've never heard of."

Dave Carter Memorial Songwriting Contest winner, Alicia McGovern, shared a trio of her intimate songs with a mesmerized evening crowd, delivering a crystalline set of spiritual story songs and home-spun ballads that cut straight to the heart.

"It's such an unspeakable honor for me to be up here," she said. "You're all so beautiful. Thank you."

Inside the greatly enlarged Sisters Art Works venue, Red Molly blazed through a memorable program, the trio's silky harmonies, peppered with a sultry blues twang, energizing the full house, beckoning listeners to "come on into the kitchen, 'cause it's gonna be rainin' outdoors."

Outside the tent, a second vendors' row featured artist souvenirs, beer garden, food wagons and the enticing smells of home-baked pies drifting from The Honey Pot's mobile dessert kitchen.

Cow Bop followed, winning over new fans and old with their signature cowboy jazz style and old-fashioned Western swing chestnuts.

"We're having a great time, meeting some great people and drinking great beer," said frontman, Bruce Foreman. "And at high altitude it's supercharged!"

Sunday kicked off with the festival's traditional free community celebration. Master of Ceremonies Jack McGowan offered a moving acknowledgement of the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, noting that the values of the Sisters Folk Festival - respect, tolerance, community - stand to rebuke the rage and hatred that inspired those deeds.

McGowan's highly personal invocation, which brought many in the Village Green tent to tears, was followed by sometimes-poignant performances by a mixture of festival artists, concluding with a tent-filling sing-along to The Beatles' "Let It Be."

Sunday's temperatures hit a scorching 95 degrees but that didn't stop a faithful, standing-room-only crowd from catching Willy Porter's afternoon session. Back to the festival for a second time, Porter satisfied like only he can, churning out wailing soulful tunes and humorous gospel sing-alongs, lampooning fussy folk music prima donnas and closing with a gentle love song written for his daughter.

"The brilliance of Willy Porter and his ability to completely captivate an audience cannot be understated and is a testament to his lasting greatness," said Tisdel, pausing to bid goodbyes to exiting performers. "I believe he has a real genius quality and will be remembered as one of the great artists of all time."

And after the handshakes and farewells and the spontaneous jam sessions breaking out in parks and street corners, the message of the music and its overwhelming ability to transform and unite is what remains. The festival may be over for this year, but its spirit lingers on inside the thousands of saturated fans, enough to last another 12 months until the gathering returns again.