Young talent takes the stage at The Barn

A new band in town, Salty Squirrel Hunters, debuted with their first concert Friday afternoon at The Barn. The group of middle- and high school-aged youth were students in the Branch to Fruit advanced music camp offered by SFF Presents.

Photo by T. Lee Brown

Tristan Marshall plays "Bohemian Rhapsody" on his ukulele without dropping a note.

The show kicked off with a sparkling original tune, written and performed by seventh-grader Everett Danger Spurgeon on banjo. Then Tristan Marshall took center stage with his ukulele and stunned the audience with a complete rendition of Queen's epic "Bohemian Rhapsody." Marshall didn't sing; his uke carried the melody. Freddie Mercury would be pleased.

An eighth-grade homeschooler, Marshall took inspiration from the great Hawaiian ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro. "I changed the parts I didn't like," he said. "I played what sounded good to me."

This isn't his first time at SFF's music-focused creativity camps. "Camp is great," Marshall enthused. "Every year this is one of the biggest things I look forward to, for sure."

He loves that "it's a great music community. Everyone is encouraging. It's so fun getting to play music and write songs together with people who have such similar interests as you."

Three fiddlers joined in with guitarists to cover "Bury My Bones." Then a band called Take 16, comprised of camp students, covered a Modest Mouse song and performed a catchy original, written collaboratively by the whole group, "Elias Loves Someone."

Visitors from Lake Oswego took photos, watching the show. "We had a friend who told us about The Barn, but I didn't know about the live music today," said Nicole Rohde. "We were just driving through on our way to Sunriver and we ended up stumbling upon a gem!"

Together with teacher Joe Schulte, all students gathered onstage as the camp mega-band, Salty Squirrel Hunters. They covered tunes from "Salty Dog Blues" to '90s alternative pop favorite "No Rain" by Blind Melon.

Young student Victoria, rocking a full-length, pink-and-blue-ombre dress and pink-swoosh Nikes, set aside her blue ukulele. She sang lead vocals on "One Day," a song of hope and peace by American reggae musician Matisyahu.

Rohde's daughter Makenna is about to start third grade. What did she think of the kids on stage? "That they're really brave because it's probably really hard to get upstage and perform a bunch," she said.

Her brother plays the viola. "So it was super fun to see the violins and viola on stage," added her mom.

The Rohdes said they'd never heard of Sisters Folk Festival before. Both Nicole and Mckenna said the concert made them want to come back to Sisters. "For sure!" said Nicole. "I love to see kids getting away from their devices and showing their creativity and talent. It's awesome."

Salty Squirrel Hunters rounded out their set with Bob Dylan and Old Crow Medicine Show's "Wagon Wheel," dedicated to Ty King of SFF Presents, followed by the Dylan classic "Knockin' on Heaven's Door." After a bow on stage from the musicians, it was time for congratulations from parents and other audience members, topped by a trip to The SweetEasy Co. for ice cream.

SFF Presents, the organization that produces Sisters Folk Festival, offers week-long summer creativity camps for middle school and high school students in grades 5–9. Teens and pre-teens explore music, art, theater, and self-expression with experienced teachers, usually on the stage and expansive lawn behind the Sisters Art Works building. Tuition is on a pay-what-you-can, sliding scale basis.

Said Marshall of camp, "It's just great. I wish it would never end."