News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Sisters Rhythm and Brews Festival returns

After a two-year hiatus, the Rhythm and Brews festival will be returning to Sisters in 2022.

“We are elated to be back this summer,” said festival co-creator Joe Rambo. “Once again making use of our beloved Village Green Park!”

The Sisters Rhythm and Brews Festival will be held for two days, August 12-13. Festival passes and single-day tickets are available at BendTicket.com and www.sistersrhythmandbrews.com.

This one-of-a-kind event will host an array of stellar, blues, funk, and soul acts. Sisters Rhythm and Brews is proud to announce their initial lineup, starting with the return of Eric Gales.

Gales played the festival in 2019, where he received a standing ovation after an emotionally charged hour-long set.

According to Jennifer Rambo, “The vast majority of feedback we received centered around getting Eric back here, and giving him more time to play, so we want to do just that.”

Five years sober, creatively rejuvenated and sagely insightful, Gales is ready for the fight of his career. With his new album “Crown,” Gales opens up like never before, sharing his struggles with substance abuse, his hopes about a new era of sobriety, and unbridled creativity. His learned and personal experiences give him hope for positive change. In March, on the strength of his new album and blistering live performances, Gales was nominated as the BB King Entertainer of the Year.

“Eric Gales was one of our last indoor concerts before the onset of COVID. We are ready to experience his new album and get back to putting on an amazing show,” said Joe Rambo.

After watching Gales, Mr. Sipp, and Kingfish trade solos up on stage during the closing set of the 2019 Rhythm and Brews Festival, the Rambos knew it was going to be tough to match that level of playing and showmanship.

However, this year’s lineup raises the bar, with the recent addition of Serbian-born guitar virtuoso Ana Popovic.

This high energy set will showcase not only Popovic’s mesmerizing guitar skills but also her phenomenal six-piece touring band.

Ana has toured all across the globe and never shies away from an opportunity to jam with the greats.

Some of her most memorable appearances include performing with BB King, Buddy Guy, Keb’ Mo,’ and Jeff Beck.

She has been nominated for eight Blues Music Awards including 2022 Blues Rock Artist of the Year,

Popovic will be sharing the stage with Gales on Saturday night.

“Honestly, I doubt Jenn and I would have ever even considered trying to create a blues festival here in Central Oregon if it was not for the music of R.L. Burnside,” said Joe Rambo.

R.L.’s grandson, drummer and inaugural Sisters Rhythm and Brews performer Cedric Burnside, recently collected his first Grammy Award after two previous nominations. Joe said it was a pretty emotional experience for both him and Jennifer. Cedric, being an architect of the second generation of the Hill Country blues, has spent his career tending to the legacy of the genre by expanding the next, electric generation of the North Mississippi sound across nine individual and collaborative albums. Burnside carries his grandfather’s sound legacy and develops his own creation of memorable melodies and expansive storytelling.

Since his last time playing Sisters in 2012 at the Sisters Folk Festival, Pokey LaFarge has gone on to become one of the most esteemed purveyors of American roots music. A dynamic showman with a keen sense of style and the ability to spin old-time sounds, he is bringing a very special treat to Central Oregon. Revisiting Howlin’ Wolf’s catalog from the iconic Chess Records, LaFarge has composed a live performance that pays homage to the classic bluesman and includes some of his most famous and celebrated tracks.

Another new addition to this year’s festival lineup is the soul-jazz concoction Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, or DLO3.

Rooted in the sounds of the 1960s and ’70s, reminiscent of Booker T. and the M.G.’s, DLO3 specializes in the lost art of feel-good music.

Front man Delvon travels with his Hammond organ and is ready to offer up that Motown strut.

Full of style and improvisation, Jimmy James on guitar has a wild acid-rock flair.

Dan Weiss, the group’s punchy percussionist, rounds out the whole trifecta.

DLO3 will be touring in support of their 2021 release “I Told You So,” which debuted atop multiple Billboard charts.

They have been described as “everything one would want from an organ trio — with a riveting magnetic swagger that just won’t let go.”

Several weeks before the country shut down in March from the beginnings of COVID-19, Jenn and Joe were lucky enough to be in Oxford, Mississippi watching Mr. Sipp, aka Castro Coleman, do his thing in front of a packed house of adoring fans. After watching his almost three-hour performance conclude with a mesmerizing version of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come,” they knew they needed to bring Sipp back for the next festival, not knowing at the time it would take two more years to make that happen.

With his 2021 release “Sippnotized,” Mr. Sipp has been nominated as the BB King Entertainer of the Year as well as the Contemporary Blues Artist of the Year from the National Blues Foundation.

“We are so proud of Sipp’s accomplishments and are really looking forward to hosting him again. I remember seeing BB King at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds as a teenager,” reflects Jennifer. “I was in awe of his showmanship and larger-than-life presence, and in a way getting to see Sipp perform live brings back a lot of those memories.”

She continued, “Joe and I feel honored to have the opportunity to share some of our musical experiences and influences with the community, and want folks to come and feel the sort of fellowship that we feel is unique to our event.”

Check out their website for more performer announcements and detailed artist information.

 

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