Entries by Wendy Schumer

2016 Sunbanks Music Festival : Sept. 9th

Sunbanks-festivalFounded in 1995, the Sunbanks Music Festival in Electric City, Washington is a twice-a-year event that offers the best in national and regional musicians. This four-day festival will take place on September 8-11 against the backdrop of Banks Lake, near the Grand Coulee Dam. This year the event will feature another amazing line-up of performers with the Golden State Lone Star Revue with Anson Funderburgh, Mark Hummel, and Little Charlie Baty, Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble, Leroy Bell & His Only Friends, Too Slim & the Taildraggers, Harlis Sweetwater, Duffy Bishop, Junkyard Jane with Sue Orfield, The Americans, Lee Bob …

NOLA Super Group New Orleans Suspects : Sept. 8th

New Orleans Suspects - photo by Jeffrey DupuisThe New Orleans Suspects began playing together in 2009 as a pick-up band at the Maple Leaf Bar in New Orleans. Comprised of some of the most seasoned, highly respected players in NOLA, the group originally called themselves The Unusual Suspects. Their chemistry was undeniable and by the summer of 2011 they decided to tour full-time, and renamed the band New Orleans Suspects. They quickly began attracting large crowds from San Francisco to New York. In four short years they released three CDs and established themselves as one of New Orleans’ best supergroups.

The band features drummer “Mean” Willie Green, …

One Night Only, Amber Martin Brings ‘Janis: Undead’ To Stage In Portland: Sept. 9th

amber-martinThe highly celebrated cabaret star, vocalist, and former Portlander Amber Martin returns to Portland on September 9, to perform her tribute to iconic rock and blues legend Janis Joplin, Janis: Undead. Martin is an acclaimed New York City performing artist, comedic monologist, and vocalist inspired by the traditions of Lily Tomlin, Janis Joplin, Carol Burnett, and Dolly Parton whom The New Yorker named as one of the top performers of 2010.

Amber Martin channels Janis in this 90-minute live musical rock showcase of the beloved singer’s greatest songs. Amber has chosen her own personal favorites along with Janis’s greatest …

The Trails End to host the Second Annual BB King Birthday Celebration & Tribute Show: Sept. 17th

BB King may have physically left this world in May 2015, but his music will live on forever in the hearts of all blues musicians and fans world-wide. September 16 would’ve been BB’s 91st birthday, and to show everyone that he still impacts us all, a group of some of Portland’s finest musicians will be gathering on Saturday, September 17 at the Trails End Saloon to celebrate his life and music.

Guitarist Sonny Hess, for the second year running, has organized pals Lisa Mann, Lady Kat, Jim Mesi, Rae Gordon, Ken DeRouchie, Vicki Stevens, Peter Dammann, and Kelly Pierce …

Nikki Hill Is Bringing Her Soulful, Powerful Performance To Dante’s!: Sept. 15th

With a no-filter energy and explosive live show, Nikki Hill delivers a sound that will make you believe in rock ‘n’ roll again! Her unique voice, with raw rock and soul dynamics mixed with the strength, passion, and honesty of blues shouters of the past, steers the driving guitar of husband and Blues Music Award winner Matt Hill and a tight rhythm section to create a breath of fresh air with their fast forward approach to American roots music. Nikki Hill’s self-titled, independently released EP in June of 2012 created a heavy and sudden international underground buzz that the band …

Legendary Tom Rush To Play At The Alberta Rose Theatre: Sept. 13th

Tom Rush - photo by David GahrTom Rush is a gifted musician and performer whose shows offer a musical celebration — a journey into the traditions of what music has been, the promise of what it can be, and the scope of what it may become. His distinctive guitar style, wry humor, and warm, expressive voice have made him both a legend and a lure to audiences around the world. His shows are filled with the rib-aching laughter of terrific story-telling, the sweet melancholy of ballads, and the passion of gritty blues. Rush’s impact on the American music scene has been profound. During his more than …

RB Stone, American Roots & Blues Rock: Sept. 9th

RB Stone - press photoCritics have dubbed RB Stone a Blues Cowboy, Country Bluesman, Americana Artist, and Roots Rocker, and he agrees with each label. Stone is based in Nashville and has released seventeen albums throughout his career, with his latest, Some Call It Freedom (Some Call It The Blues), reaching the #1 position on the Roots Music Report charts this past spring. Stone’s music rings with the authenticity of a bluesman who has been there and has done that — nothing is forced or contrived. He has been down all sorts of gravel roads, often face-first and it turns out this bluesman …

Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds Fly Into Mississippi Studios: Sept. 15th

Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds - press photoSinger/songwriter Arleigh Kincheloe describes her band Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds as, “loud, fun — and it’s supposed to make you feel good. That’s the goal.” They certainly accomplish that goal tenfold with a saucy, sonic brew of rock, blues, gospel, and soul. Claimed as the best-kept secret in the Catskill Mountain for eighteen years, Kincheloe then moved to New York City and started the band in 2008.

“The band may be from Brooklyn, but the fiery brass and gospel-infused funk emanating from Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds is rooted in Memphis soul,” writes The LA Times. …

Edgefield Welcomes Blues-Rock Legend Bonnie Raitt : Sept. 17th

bonnie-raittRock & Roll Hall of Famer, and one of our most beloved blues-based musicians, Bonnie Raitt makes an encore performance in Portland following her recent appearance at the Keller Auditorium last April. Celebrating her twentieth release with Dig In Deep, Raitt will be taking the stage at McMenamin’s Edgefield Concerts on the Lawn series on Saturday, September 17. The new record illustrates the delicate balance of consistency and risk-taking that has defined Raitt’s remarkable career for more than forty-five years. Raised on blues with influences such as Mississippi Fred McDowell, Son House, Muddy Waters, Sippie Wallace, and John Lee …

John Nemeth, Soulful Blues Master Coming Back To The Northwest: Sept. 22nd & 25th

John Nemeth - photo by Jon PearsonJohn Nemeth has worked his way to the very top of the blues world — something that might not be as easy as it sounds when you take the fact that he had his start in Boise, Idaho. But throughout the years he took his original take on soul and traditional blues from the Northwest to San Francisco for a few years and eventually making the move to Memphis. Over that time he has released several outstanding albums, including Memphis Grease that took home the Blues Music Award for Soul Blues Album of the year in 2015. Speaking of Blues …