Sisters Folk Festival Announces Final Festival lineup Sept. 6-8, 2019
Sisters Folk Festival is thrilled to announce final bookings for the 2019 festival which will take place Sept. 6-8 in beautiful downtown Sisters, Oregon. There are additional exciting offerings and new announcements to be made for the week of the festival as well.
The organizers are excited to announce the Red Dirt Boys, Emmy Lou Harris’ legendary band, featuring Phil Madeira & Will Kimbrough. Phil Madeira and Will Kimbrough will also play additional sets of their own original music. The musical trio, The Sweet Remains will be performing at the festival, and in partnership with the Sisters Movie House, will share their original film The Independents on Wednesday Sept. 4. Greg Naughton of the band wrote and directed the original film. A sliding scale donation of $5 to $15 is suggested.
As part of a new offering, Sisters Folk Festival has confirmed a handful of artists as the “Folk Fest Family,” including songwriter and award winning poet, Beth Wood, the soulful songs and multi-instrumental prowess of Keith Greeninger & Dayan Kai, the engaging and uplifting music of Ellis, the powerhouse guitar player and songwriter and harmonica player, David Jacobs-Strain & Bob Beach, Wisconsin songwriter and veteran teacher, Johnsmith, the deep well of contemplative songwriting and singing of Jeffrey Martin, and the fine guitar playing and percussive band Sway Wild, featuring Mandy Fer and Dave McGraw.
All of these artists will also be teaching at the Americana Song Academy and sharing their music at the festival with patrons. The Folk Fest Family artists have all made significant impact on the development of the festival organization, teaching at the Song Academy, working with youth in the songwriting camp for high school kids, as guest artists in the schools, and investing deeply in the Sisters community — many for more than a decade.
“The Folk Fest Family is about honoring those artists who have made a deep contribution to our community, beyond just the festival and kids, but who have helped us become who we are. These artists care about the health and vitality of the organization and the well-being of all involved in the community. They connect, are at one with us and we acknowledge their contribution. This year we are inviting these artists back to share with us their talent, heart and exquisite music they share throughout the world,” says creative director Brad Tisdel.
Another new offering will be the Founder’s Choice festival artist, so named because the booking is a tip of the hat to Dick Sandvik and Jim Cornelius, who conceived of the original Sisters Folk Festival in 1995 and have helped shape it ever since. The Founders Choice artist this year is the Vandoliers, a rowdy Southern rock band that will bring the energy of their engaging original music to the festival.
Local artist, Dennis McGregor & the Spoilers will lead a riveting set at the festival on Saturday evening that is sure to turn into an informal musical jam at Angeline’s as the night goes on. Beth Wood will lead the Sunday morning Community Show, featuring festival artists sharing uplifting music. The Community Show, which is free, is always a highlight of the festival and the collaborations and surprising performances are heartfelt and powerful.
The lineup for the Americana Project alumni stage on Saturday, Sept. 7 is still being curated and will be announced in the next several weeks. All day Saturday, young artists from the Sisters Folk Festival’s award-winning educational outreach program, Americana Project, will perform at Fir Street Park. Fir Street Park will run all day Saturday and Sunday afternoon and is free to the public.
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