Starry Nights to host songwriters

Sisters Starry Nights is bringing another star-studded fundraiser to town to aid local schools.

"Starry Nights Presents Wine, Women and Song" brings together three critically acclaimed singer-songwriters who are considered Nashville songwriting royalty - Matraca Berg, Gretchen Peters and Suzy Bogguss - for an intimate, acoustic evening of songs, stories, laughter and fine wine. Reminiscent of a show one might see at Nashville's renowned Bluebird Café, "Wine, Women and Song" will be held at The Belfry on Saturday, November 15. The event is a benefit for the Sisters Schools Foundation.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m., when guests can enjoy hors d'oeuvres prepared by students of the Sisters High School Culinary Arts program, under the guidance of their teacher TR McCrystal, renowned chef and co-owner of Jen's Garden in Sisters, and wines courtesy of Eola Hills Wine Cellars. The music begins at 7:30 p.m., with an intermission featuring a live auction and paddle raise in support of Sisters schools. After the concert, the artists will join the audience at The Belfry for dessert, coffee, and a chance to sign CDs.

Matraca Berg's songs have practically become the soundtrack of contemporary Nashville. Reba McEntire's "The Last One to Know," Patty Loveless' "I'm That Kind of Girl," Trisha Yearwood's "Wrong Side of Memphis" and "XXX's and OOO's," Suzy Bogguss' "Hey Cinderella," Martina McBride's "Wild Angels," The Dixie Chicks' "If I Fall You're Going Down With Me" and more than 50 other covers of her songs have made her one of the most recorded composers in Music City. Recent highlights include the Kenny Chesney hit "You and Tequila," which received a Grammy nomination in 2012. Berg was inducted into the Nashville Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 2008.

One of the most acclaimed female country singers of the late '80s and '90s, Suzy Bogguss' many hits include "Someday Soon," "Letting Go," "Outbound Plane," "Aces" and "Drive South." She was named Best New Female Artist at the Academy of Country Music Awards in 1989, winning the CMA Horizon Award in 1992 and a 2005 Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album for her contribution to Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster. Bogguss' most recent releases - 2011's American Folk Songbook, a collection of folk classics and the 2014 album Lucky, a tribute to Merle Haggard - have both received critical acclaim.

Gretchen Peters is known as a writer of intelligent and introspective songs in the country/folk/pop vein, with such artists as Trisha Yearwood, Pam Tillis, George Strait, Martina McBride and Patty Loveless covering her material. Peters received her first Grammy nomination for Song of the Year in 1995 for "Independence Day," a smash hit for McBride. She was nominated again for a Song of the Year Grammy for the Loveless hit "You Don't Even Know Who I Am." Her many other compositions include "On a Bus to St. Cloud" for Trisha Yearwood and "The Secret of Life" for Faith Hill.

Since its inception in 1997, Starry Nights has raised more than $1 milllion in net proceeds for the Sisters Schools Foundation and has funded a multitude of programs including music, art, drama, science, sports, math, technology, foreign language, IEE and outdoor school. The event has featured performances at Sisters High School by such artists as Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Keb' Mo', Lyle Lovett, Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald, Kathy Mattea, Rodney Crowell, Kim Carnes, John Hiatt, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Lee Ann Womack, Hal Ketchum, Kenny Rankin, Nicolette Larson and Karla Bonoff.

In recent years, new Starry Nights events were created to continue the commitment to finding innovative ways to support Sisters schools. These events included "A Starry Summer Night" with the High Street Band at Aspen Lakes, a benefit performance of the play "Love Letters" at the Tower Theatre, a performance by University of Oregon a cappella singing groups "On the Rocks" and "Divisi," and "A Starry Nights Christmas with Gary Morris."

Premier sponsors of "Wine, Women and Song" are St. Charles Health System and The Roundhouse Foundation. Other key sponsors include Ray's Food Place, The Howells Realty Group, Hawks Haven Reserve, Eola Hills Wine Cellars, Fullhart Insurance of Sisters, Studio Gearbox, XPress Printing, The Belfry and The Nugget.

Seating is limited for this very special evening of community and artists coming together to support the students of Sisters. Tickets are $75 and can be purchased online at www.sistersstarrynights.org starting October 1. For more information, call Starry Nights at 541-549-6299.