Starry Nights welcomes back Karla Bonoff

Starry Nights comes full circle when renowned singer-songwriter Karla Bonoff makes her return to the Sisters stage for her sold-out show on Sunday, April 3, at The Belfry.

"Starry Nights Presents An Evening with Karla Bonoff" marks her fourth Starry Nights appearance. She was Starry Nights' very first performer when the event debuted in February 1997, and also performed in 1998 with J.D. Souther and most recently in 2002.

The event is a benefit for the Sisters Schools Foundation and will raise funds for classroom and co-curricular programs at Sisters elementary, middle and high schools. Over the years, Starry Nights has contributed more than $1 million to the Sisters Schools Foundation.

"We are thrilled that Karla is making her way back to Sisters for Starry Nights," said co-founder Jeri Fouts. "She was the first artist we thought of when Starry Nights was just an idea, and it is very meaningful to have her back 19 years later. Her music stands the test of time, and her friendship and support of this community are very special."

Karla began playing the legendary Troubadour as a teenager in Los Angeles in the late 1960s, where she formed a band, Bryndle, with some of the other young musicians she met there, Andrew Gold, Wendy Waldman and Kenny Edwards. They recorded an album that was never released, but Linda Ronstadt heard Karla's songs and put three of them on her 1976 album, "Hasten Down the Wind."

While many of her songs became hits for other artists - "Someone To Lay Down Beside Me," "Lose Again" and "All My Life" for Linda Ronstadt, "Home" for Bonnie Raitt and "Tell Me Why" for Wynonna among them - Bonoff earned acclaim for her own versions of these classic songs that were showcased in a series of solo albums.

Most recently, Bonoff was featured alongside such artists as Bruce Springsteen, Keb' Mo, Lyle Lovett and Shawn Colvin on the 2014 release "Looking Into You: A Tribute to Jackson Browne," which includes her elegant cover of Browne's ballad "Something Fine." Karla continues to perform across the United States and recently returned from a tour in Japan, where she has a devoted fan base.

Performing with Bonoff will be Nina Gerber, one of the most respected guitarists in folk and Americana music. She was first inspired to become a guitarist at the age of 15 when she heard folk musician Kate Wolf sing in her hometown of Sebastapol, California. By the time she was 18, she had become Kate's guitarist and over the years was an essential part of her music until Kate's passing in 1986.

Since then, Nina has performed and/or recorded with Peter Rowan, Nanci Griffith, Greg Brown, Lucy Kaplansky, Mollie O'Brien, Dave Alvin, Rosalie Sorrels, Laurie Lewis, Terry Garthwaite, and many others. Her soulful enhancement of their music easily explains why several return the favor by appearing on Gerber's solo albums "Not Before Noon" and "Good Music with Good People."

For the Starry Nights show, doors open at 6 p.m., where guests can enjoy hors d'oeuvres prepared by students of the Sisters High School Culinary Arts program, under the guidance of their teacher, T.R. McCrystal, and a selection of fine wines courtesy of Eola Hills Wine Cellars.

Pre-concert entertainment will be provided by two talented Sisters High School Americana Project Students, Megan Rose and Sedona Baer.

Karla Bonoff will take the stage at 7 p.m., with an intermission featuring a live auction and paddle raise hosted by Dan Fouts and Melvin Herburger 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.

Premier sponsors for the event are St. Charles Health System and The Roundhouse Foundation. Other key sponsors are Ray's Food Place, Eola Hills Wine Cellars, Fullhart Insurance of Sisters, Hawks Haven Reserve, Metabolic Maintenance, Bank of the Cascades, FivePine Lodge and Spa, The Nugget Newspaper, XPress Printing, Gearbox, Murray & Holt Motors and The Belfry.

For further information, visit www.sistersstarrynights.org.