I would have collapsed my thoughts on the music into my prior post about the festival itself, but it got super-long. So, here's the music "review".
Stages
The small stage was smaller than prior years. It wasn't even really a stage as much as a 10x10 canopy set up next to the main stage, but behind the bicycle barriers. Unless you were way up front, you could not really see. In prior years, the small stage was set up inside a large tent, so folks had a place in the shade. No public shade this year.
The main stage, however, was a fancied-up semi-trailer flatbed. It was probably the same stage they had used in prior years. In 2019, 4Peaks commissioned artist Ryan Kerrigan to create the side tapestries, and they were reused. We talked with Ryan a bit and he figures they will probably use them for years. The backdrop was the familiar sheer with the 4Peaks logo in the center. The main speakers for the main stage ran along the bottom of the stage, pushing some solid mix all weekend.
In the past, I would describe the band's sound and then explain whether I would go see them again. This usually takes the form of "I would stay at my bar if they showed up" or something like that. To abbreviate the post, because it got really long, I will shorten those statements into a number 1-5:
1 - if (artist) arrived to perform at a place I was all set up for the night, I would leave
2 - if (artist) showed up to play, I would pay my bill and prepare to leave to monitor improvement
3 - if (artist) showed up, that's fine, but I'm not looking for them
4 - I will pay attention to when they are playing in town and go if I can
5 - I will look for this artist, add them to my instagram and jambase feeds, etc
Thursday
The music started late afternoon on Thursday, leveraging only the small stage.
Blackstrap Bluegrass - basic bluegrass from Bend with pitchy vocals. 3
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| Scott Pemberton Band |
Elektrapod - wow. simply wow. Max Friedman sat in on keyboards and his solo's were just incredible. I think even he got swept up into it, getting lost in the groove and just pounding us. They introduced their new vocalist (Sara Clark) and she was just amazing, taking them to another level. This closer was our festival highlight, and, obviously, we would see Elektrapod again. 5
Friday
Friday and Saturday, the music shifted from main stage to small stage back to main stage, starting on the main stage. Boo concluded that the started on the main stage Friday morning so they could work out the kinks and set the levels with the first band so the rest of the day went smoothly. Since the alternative would have been to work out the kinks during the second act of the day, her logic seems pretty solid.
Stillhouse Junkies - first band on the main stage, and they were good. Solid fiddle, versatile, playing lots of uncommon songs in a bluegrass style. For example, they closed their set with "Heat of the Moment" by Asia. We heard this band while cleaning up morning dishes. 3
Fair Trade Boogie Band - really really good local Bend product that absolutely did not sound like they had only been working together for months. This band started what I called "the day of the bassman" where practically every band had a bass player who laid down grooves, forcing hips to dance. 4
Scott Pemberton Band - these guys were on my want to see live list. They were slotted in the early afternoon, so the bowl was pretty empty when they started. It wasn't by the time they were done. These guys rocked. They rocked hard. Great guitar and bass work. Scott doesn't use a guitar strap for what looks like a Gibson (read: heavy guitar) so he can wield it like a traditional guitar or lay it down on a bench and play it like a dulcimer or slide/steel guitar. I had high expectations for these guys and they delivered. 4
Western Centuries - Country mostly, and sorry-to-say, kind of forgettable. Fairly good, but nothing jumped out as special. We were getting lunch at the bus while they played, so it could have just been bad timing. 2
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| TK and the Holy Know-Nothings |
Ron Artiss II - Mellow R&B / blues with some tasty guitar that reminded me of Robert Cray. Boo and I were walking the perimeter of the festival during this set, so we didn't hear much of it with any focus. 3
Hot Buttered Rum - The Friday night closer, these guys were a mashup of Greensky Bluegrass and Little Feat. They are very skilled musicians, and the zydeco rhythms against traditional bluegrass instrumentation was really fun.... and complicated. 3
Saturday
Saturday, the music shifted from main to side to main stages again, starting with Stephanie Anne Johnson and the Hidogs on the main stage.
Stephanie Anne Johnson and the Hidogs - 3-piece including the vocalist (Stephanie) playing rhythm guitar, which meant any instrumental solo's were on the bass. He nailed it, though. Stephanie has a great voice that is clear and powerful through her range. She writes their material, so it is catered to her. The songs are short, but have good stories within them. Given the right lead guitarist, this group could be amazing; they are already really good. 4
Band of Comerados - these guys played at the unofficial GoWesty stage in 2019, and we watched the video filming from about 20 feet away. While the instrumentation might imply bluegrass, they are not a bluegrass band. They are more of a singer-songwriter vibe with finger-picking solos. 3
Sweet Lilies - there were nice harmonies, when they happened. Unfortunately, this group was all over the place genre-wise, doing rap tunes (Insane in the Membrane cover?), but not doing them terribly well. Other than odd rap covers, they mixed in slow ballads. They are either changing musical direction or just confused. As an audience member, I was the latter. 1
Todd Sheaffer - One of the original members of Rail Road Earth, there were some expectations about how he would appear on a bill that just had his name on it. He did not pull a Jerry Garcia and appear with a band. Instead, he played a series of slow, mellow songs on an acoustic guitar. He's good, but he put us all to sleep. Maybe it was the mid-afternoon sun, but I think it was the music. 2
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| Proxima Parada |
Coral Creek String Band - Did you guess bluegrass from the name? Winner, but they were more country (no banjo nor mandolin). They did a version of Pink Floyd's "Breathe" that was pretty amazing. 3
New Monsoon - This was the final band on my wanna-see-them-live list for 4Peaks, and they were the last band to play the main stage. Unfortunately, New Monsoon was on everyone's wanna-see-them-live list, so the concert bowl was packed. Boo and I got as far as the space between 2 vendors and realized there was nowhere that was 2 meters from others. So, we listened in the greenspace between the venue and the camping. These guys were as good as billed. Definitely professionals laying down some classic jam-band vibe with some Rail Road Earth jammy bluegrass mixed in. They closed their set with a cover of The Who's Eminence Front that was really really good. 4
That's it for the "mini" 4Peaks Music Festival reports. We had a great time. We got more rest than folks really should get at a music festival, but that's how we fest... we don't call them "restivals" for nothing. Anyway, thanks, as always, for following along. I realize that my taste in music is just that and there are other audience members who have vastly different feelings about some of these artists. That's great, and that is what makes 4Peaks so right. There really is something in the performance music space for most people there.
As always, thanks for following along, and more next time-
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