Thomas Paul, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, has performed in Pendleton many times. He has played solo, with power trios, with Country bands, with Rock bands, and also backing-up many fine artists with guitar, mandolin, piano or... This time he brings his band for a "don't miss" show. Joining him is Seattle band Red Jacket Mine -- comprised of singer/songwriter Lincoln Barr, guitar/pedal steel whiz Patrick Porter (who also fronts local rockers Explone, and has played in a host of Seattle bands, including Crystal Radio and the Bourbonites), bassist Ryan Chapman, and drummer Andy Salzman -- they have spent the last four years honing their craft on stages throughout the Northwest, and it shows.

More info to come.

The five-piece band leans toward the rootsier side of the spectrum, offering a hybridization of folk-country and Shur’s unique wordplay, highlighting his strong knack for catchy vocal melodies interspersed with strong indie hooks. The end product is at once jarring and soothing, drifting between the upbeat and the lucid with a fluidity that sucks you right in and keeps you listening.

Portland Oregon junkbox blues duo HILLSTOMP is infamous for digging through the dumps and forgotten backwoods of American music, recycling traditional elements into a refreshing and distinctive brand of do-it-yourself hill country blues stomp. North Mississippi trance blues, a bit of Appalachia, and a dash of punkabilly come clanging and tumbling from assorted buckets, cans and BBQ lids, all drenched in rambunctious slide guitar. Somehow it works. Despite their homemade instruments and novel approach, Hillstomp is no novelty act.

Fortier grew up in Camas, Washington, playing in punk bands, then venturing out as a solo performer, initially under the name 11th Avenue Hopeloss and then The Waverly Plan. While attending the University of Oregon, Fortier spent an increasing amount of hours on his writing, building the artistic and poetic muscle that he’s used to craft the emotive and thoughtful lyrics that are found in his music. Before the release of his latest album, Fortier and his deftly woven songs caught the attention of the folks at Ninkasi Brewing, one of the country’s fastest-growing craft breweries. Ninkasi, makers of the internationally renowned Total Domination IPA, extended a sponsorship to Fortier, assisting in the release of the album and lending the brewery’s increasingly well-known name to the songwriter’s tour.

Coming April 13th on HUSH Records is a new album from Nick Jaina. Half of it was written on the sunniest hill in California with seven red-tailed hawks circling overhead. The other half was written in the middle of a snowstorm in Portland that shut down the city for a week. The other half was written in a van leaving a Waffle House. Is that three halves? Twelve new songs, featuring Nick's wonderful band. Where the last album was raw and live, this one is polished and purposeful. It is called A Bird in the Opera House. Advance tracks, live sessions, music videos all to come soon. Join us, @ the GP, April 24th to celebrate the new cd and hear new material from Nick and the Band.

Six members, lots of instruments, electronic devices, multiple harmonies, it's like Steely Dan playing forties music! Check them out at myspace.com/lakemusicmusic. Calvin Johnson needs no introduction to this area, but this time he's bringing his most recent band, the Hive Dwellers along. His unique stage presence and deep voice demand attention. Check their youtube videos to get a taste.

Love, then music, then marriage…the story continues. Since 2001, Heather and Nic Dillon have recorded together and toured throughout the United States and Canada, performing with the band Winter In Alaska and under their former name, Casados. Their newest self-engineered/recorded project, It Would Make Things Worse, is a culmination of a sonic evolution that has brought them out of the pedestrian indie-folk-singer-songwriter genre and into their current coat: lyrically-driven, atmospheric chamber-folk. Here you will find a gentler, more deliberate dynamic that alludes not only to the more gleeful aspects of life and love, but also the darker.

Two Brothers, Two Others, and a Samurai. An unexpected Rock/Soul wildfire from the woods of the Pacific NW... Volifonix is a funk-fried rock band that originated in unlikely Oakland, Oregon with brothers guitarist/vocalist Trevor and drummer/vocalist Blake Forbess. Two bros in voice form an alliance with Elijah Medina after hearing him play bass at rural Sutherlin High School... and the band of three promptly moves to free-art epicenter Eugene, Oregon where they meld styles with University of Oregon student and fellow sonic spelunker, lead guitarist Joe McClain. Winter of 2008… VFX motates to Beverly Beach, Oregon and fuses with Tomo Thesamurai and his saxophone tracks, hailing from Tokyo, Japan. Result: artistic freedom with no bounds and pure muso-theoretical kung fu served up with a muscley groove.

A yearly tradition. Join us at GP on Friday night to get a jump St. Patrick's Day this year! Have an ice-cold Guinness and sing along to your favorite Irish tunes.

"Listening to a marimba band is an experience not soon forgotten," says local music instructor Carla Arnold. "The sound is as much felt as heard, and the lively and complex rhythms will have you wanting to jump up and dance, which the band encourages."

"Luz Elena, the lead singer of Y La Bamba, is an illusion in flesh and bone, a mirage that turns out to actually be there. A six-foot tall only daughter of Mexican immigrants to the USA, she looks like she peeled off of a National Geographic cover, spun through a tattoo parlour and hitched a 1000 mile ride on a mule. She seems 'of the earth' but writes songs that leave all our usual perceptions earthbound. Her lyrics, flowing as if from the pages Gabriel Garcia Marquez, are in fact shaped by classic struggles, with family, God and the experience of an extended and debilitating illness." - Oregon Public Broadcasting

Born in Spain, but self-considered an adopted Oregonian, Rauelsson experiences the joys of living in Portland several months a year. He sings songs and attempts to connect the Spanish-east coast Mediterranean light that saw him growing up with the intense green landscapes of the Pacific Northwest. A friend called him: another case of “old world meets new world”. Rauelsson cares about the idea that songs are living creatures that end up having independent lives and lifestyles, and exist beyond the composer; postcards in time constantly sent to the writer and the listener. He likes HUSH records and, in case you haven’t noticed yet, he sings en Español.

J.D.'s dramatic songs accompanied by J.D. Soulful and melodic, sometimes funny, J.D. pours out emotion and grit through his original compositions.

"Whether its the tolling bells of deathbed fevers, the loping swagger of a stranger in town walking down mainstreet as every gunslinger in town stops and stares, or the wagon trains of woe rolling past desolate, arid, landscapes on a breeze of radiation, Ward and his Hillfolkers flow through the last wisps of a world gone very wrong for the protagonist with crooked, receding grins at reapers grim and eager as they transcend the alt.country hokum with a full-tilt-off-kilter medicine show of captivating enchantment that should diffuse beyond the canyons, badlands and sad-swaying hillsides of Idaho."

"Hillstomp sounds like the best kinds of music from the hills have come down from said hills, into town, and tried to make nice, but instead decided to stomp you with awesome, crunchy blues licks." ~OregonLive

Grand Hallway is an eight piece orchestral pop band from Seattle, Washington. Featuring singer/songwriter Tomo Nakayama (Asahi, Jen Wood Trio) and various members of local favorites Voyager One, the Maldives, Sleepy Eyes of Death, Widower, and Shenandoah Davis, Grand Hallway's lush, baroque pop songs evoke influences such as The Smiths, Andrew Bird, the Beach Boys, and Nina Simone. Since their inception in 2006, they have self released a full-length "Yes is the Answer" (2007) and an EP "We Flew Ephemera" (2008). "Yes is the Answer" was released in Japan by Sideout Records (Bright Eyes, Nada Surf, Cursive, The Velvet Teen). In the two years following the release of their debut album and the follow up EP, Grand Hallway have honed their live show with tours of the West Coast and Japan (with Arthur and Yu and Shugo Tokumaru), local shows at Neumo's, Tractor Tavern, and the Crocodile, and performances at the 2008 Sasquatch! Festival, building a solid and loyal fanbase along the way.

Have you ever waltzed on a frozen lake? Or busked for change with a guitar strung with rusty barbed wire? Perhaps Mark Charles Heidinger hasn't either but if you listen to "Divide & Conquer", the second album by Heidinger's nom de plume Vandaveer, you might just believe whatever he tells you. Like valentines stuffed in dusty shoe boxes, Vandaveer's lush folk music can make you nostalgic for feelings you don't remember ever having. Hitting GP fresh off a European tour, this show maybe the last chance you'll have to catch this guy in such an intimate setting before he becomes a household name.

...country tinged, delta bluesed, psychedelic, swamp shack rags...

While performing in a number of bands in high school and college, a friend introduced Ben to a type of music called “jazz” through the simple act of loaning him an Oscar Peterson CD. The amazing musicianship and incredible rhythm of the music instantly hooked the budding pianist. Ben went out and bought a fake book, got a few friends together and started playing jazz. His first trio played together for almost three years, and worked their way up from local coffee houses to play featured shows at Jazz de Opus and the Portland Art Museum. His first album, the self-produced From Scratch, received great reviews from the Willamette Week and other local papers. "Macy's original compositions and taste in covers gives the new group a solid foundation from which to branch out." - The Oregonian "Macy's refreshingly original but still straight-ahead compositions should appeal to a variety of jazz fans." - Eugene Weekly

Contrary to contemporary music trends, Scotland Barr and the Slow Drags do not fit neatly into a “scene,” nor do they care to. Instead, they play gritty, melodic songs that float somewhere between an old school 60’s/70’s folk rock aesthetic and a contemporary alt-country, Americana furnace blast. Barr’s disturbing yet comfortable boozy vocal style and emotionally incisive songwriting sit front and center, flanked by a 6 piece outfit that can deliver weepy grooves, jangly tin-pan alley pop, suicidal ballads, garage rock, grinding two-steps and near psychedelic opuses, all while sounding like a true band. Acoustic guitar, pedal steel and keyboards tangle with overdriven guitar; four part harmonies recall the Beach Boys and the Band; full throttle drums irreverently confuse country and rock. Their style can be reminiscent of Steve Earle, Elvis Costello, the Pogues and Pink Floyd, all within a single song. With influences ranging from Merle Haggard to the Flaming Lips, their sound undeniably borrows from the classics, draws from their contemporaries and crosses many borders - yet remains distinctively their own.

Lincoln is the mandolin player and songwriter for the progressive bluegrass band, Cross-Eyed Rosie. In late 2007 he released a solo album that recieved rave reviews. The Oregonian said, "Crockett has released a new solo project that radiates all that's good about the progressive side of bluegrass. A sterling mandolin picker, guitarist and compelling singer, he has produced a 12-song piece of work that new-grassers will gravitate to like moths to a porch light." Lincoln has played venues accoss the country ranging from Telluride Bluegrass Festival to local bars and houseconcerts. Chris Kokesh is the fiddle player and songwriter for Misty River. Misty River has toured all over the nation and sold over 50,000 copies of their 5 albums. Chris, as a solo artist, has won numerous awards including Best Song from the Portland Songwriters Association. Together these two share tight instrumentals, mesmerizing vocal harmonies and a musical repertoire that includes both Lincoln and Chris’ solo songwriting prowess.

Even in a town with some damn outlandish songwriters, Andy Combs’ music—Ween-esque genre-bending eclectica meets Danny Elfman’s dark whimsy—stands out. So does his band. For a long time there was no “Moth,” just Combs trying to play his elaborately orchestrated songs by himself. But this spring the Moth became real—featuring members of Combs’ old group, Point Juncture, WA, ex-Thermals drummer Lorin Coleman and a host of others—complete with accordion, xylophone and, occasionally, bassoon. Not only does it finally do his complex compositions justice, it’s getting a lot more attention from fans and venues alike.

"The bandmates balance the primitive drone of the Southern hills with a concentrated postpunk attack that keeps the music moving at a fever pitch. Before rock and roll, people danced to the blues, as Hillstomp reminds us with a thunderous groove." according to the Miami New Times.

"Los Angeles-based Leslie & the Badgers make the exact style of country music you wish Jenny Lewis had when she dabbled her feet in the country waters. No offense to her Rabbit Fur Coat, which is fine, but damn if Leslie & the Badgers don't put her to shame. The Badgers generously use the weepiest pedal steel, have sweetly mournful tear-in-your-beer lyrics, and singer Leslie Stevens holds it all together with incredible delivery and even more impressive pipes. Unfortunately No Depression just called it quits, because if there ever was a band that magazine was going to break, this is it." ROB SIMONSEN, The Portland Mercury

“With sirens song and a voice that launched a thousand ships, Alexa Wiley’s singing style is potent, tenacious, and spiritual. Wiley can be found performing…love songs for…humanity.” -Yasa, The Muse Matrix 2005, www.themusematrix.org ‘Alexa Wiley… is proficient at finger picking, rhythm, and slide work.…if you’re looking to get a casual laid back brew and taste of the world folk beat, then check it out…” -Alex Fontana, Positively Entertainment may 2005

Watching a Karli Fairbank’s set is an oddly consuming experience. Haunting, ethereal and wise beyond her twenty odd years, Karli Fairbank’s voice is captivating. Bringing to mind the whiskey-tongued weariness of Gillian Welch, Emmylou Harris and Patty Griffin, Karli steps almost effortlessly into a long tradition of ladies who know how to take up their guitar and put a broken heart to good use. Not to call Karli anything but original; her songs display a healthy respect for beautiful voices both past and present whilst at the same time retaining a brave edge, unique to her own story.

"House On Fire" is a 10-song, 42 minute tour-de-force that combines elements of swing, funk, country, indie-rock, bluegrass, lounge jazz, blues, psychedelia, bedroom folk and Latin music. The album will be released on March 27, 2009 and features the considerable talents of some of Boise's finest musicians. Dave Manion (pedal and lap steel, baritone, and tres guitars), Bob Nagel (upright bass), Blake Durst (drums, percussion), Jonah Shue (violin, fiddle), Max Shue (trumpet), Melissa Wilson (cello) and Sean Aucutt (pandera tambourine) all lent their efforts to the sessions.

Come on down to the GP Friday night for a St. Patrick's Day tradition! Ok, so it's not *on* St. Patrick's Day but you can start celebrating a bit early. Grab a pint of Guinness and sing along with Irish tunes!

African marimba music with 7!! hand-made marimbas, drums and vocals. More to come.

In early 2007 Colin released his debut album "Wax Wane", a blues-infused romp through love, death, and politico that included a slough of well-crafted original tunes alongside covers of Bukka White and Chris Whitley, one of Colin's strongest modern influences. Later that year, Lake won the 2007 Telluride Acoustic Blues Competition and would prove himself as a stellar solo blues performer to his largest audience yet. Meanwhile, back in Portland, the sound that Lake had been dreaming of years earlier had taken shape and was now hitting it's stride in the form of "Welbottom", the band that Colin formed in 2006. Steeped in jazz, funk, and blues, CL&W features a monster rhythm section and inovative instumentation. In October of 2007, CL&W retreated to the Cascade Mountains of Washington to record their new album "Bullet". Tracked over two days and recorded live in one room, the album features over an hour of epic tunes and uncanny interplay, along with Lake's best songwriting and vocal performances to date. Now a touring act, the band has played venues thoughout the western U.S. as well as the Waterfront Blues Festival and the Crystal Ballroom here in Portland. Bullet's very warm reception and the band's growing reputation for high-energy live performances have landed CL&W on stages that Lake could only dream of as he rode north seven years ago.

Micah Rabwin and Sean Ogilvie, the core members of Musee Mecanique, recently acquired a hefty stack of National Geographics dating all the way back to 1934. Inside the weathered pages laden with tales of ambition, science and discovery, these twentysomethings found the story of Lt. Thomas Selfridge, the first person to die in an airplane. And so was born The Propellors, a melancholic synth- and glockenspiel-driven elegy, an ode to the romance of 20th century invention. Using such disjointed narratives and fragmentary time pieces, these peddlers of the past dust off our collective history and give it a loving new sheen. In a crowded corner of the Red & Black Cafe, Ogilvie’s face lights up when he describes the hand-cranked music boxes and animations that inhabit the San Francisco museum from which the band takes its name. Much like the museum’s glassed-in mechanical pieces, each of the band’s songs embodies its own process and exists in its own world. Ogilvie and Rabwin sing like heartfelt collectors, gracefully constructing heritages around found subjects. But Ogilvie pensively notes that the band encompasses a vintage sound “while still looking to the future.” Mirroring his words, Musee Mecanique’s songs build on artifact-centric ideas using layers of new and old sounds—Old World instruments such as saw, pedal steel, cello and oboe, for instance, mingle with space-y synth. The band is constantly stumbling upon new sonic gadgetry as part of its perpetual rummaging; not surprisingly, the guys live in close proximity to Goodwill’s “bins.” With its eclectically full sound, the ensemble band is now working to translate such measured delicacies onto the stage. Live shows are “liberating in a way,” says Rabwin, and “frustrating” in another, adds Ogilvie, who confronts eight keyboards during a performance. Still deep in the studio, mixing with Tucker Maritine (most notable for work with The Decemberists), the band won’t release its debut full-length album ’til next fall. Yet the gears are in motion, with a slew of April shows planned and talk of an appetite-whetting EP in the works. “Often people tell us the music leaves them feeling unsettled…and it is! It is unsettling!” Ogilvie proudly exclaims. Indeed, Musee Mecanique’s songs revel in the mysterious, never fully articulating the memories or myths on which they are based. The end result is a collection of beautiful anachronisms, grounded in no particular time. It’s atmospheric, music-box folk that unearths only a pinhole view into other worlds—worlds that glow restlessly with an irreconcilable modernity that’s, well, perfectly unsettling.

Lake's soulful vocal style, dripping slide-guitar tone, and gripping, introspective lyrics could easily have you confusing this 27 year old for a road-weary gunslinger twice his age. But as Lake clearly draws from a musical well that is older than us all, his style and approach to the music are decidedly modern.

JD Kindle and the Eastern Oregon Playboys, King Kong and the Rumbleriffs, Paul Collins, Day Moanstar, Tanya Wildbill, and more will be playing all your favorite Holiday songs you've never heard. Have yourself an alternative little Christmas!

From the misty mountains of Orgomus in the tiny village of Ashloppolinopoliston there echoed one day long ago the great beast of Gantramicus whose terrifying voice shook the emerald hills with a ancient chant of a hundred thousand demons and their broom filled clutches. The thunderous clammering was so great that it spun the green planet off of its axis and forced every dweller upon it into a deep confusing sleep that trapped them all inside a lute that had been clammered upon for ten years straight. The lutesman was a kind fellow but one that was strucken under an enchanting spell which was cast upon him by a strange and powerful wizard of the hills. So ten years before the howl of Gantramicus he began strumming thusly upon the dragon stringed six-lute and piping upon the french laden harp-o-blosticus singing songs of spiders and pielights, cereals and desert lands, long winters and midnight suns. After years of carting about the western land with many other minstrels and pipers of the sort the lad found himself in the far and distant lands of Colorogisbury, the very place he was born, where he had no chariot of woodsmen but only his lute and harp to sing to the kind folk of the land with. Soon he began to strum and clammer upon other instumapods as well such as the banjomaphone and the accordio-oggatron, plus many others*. Two and one half yeermanons have past forth and the lad still plays from town to village and from village to town and back. Moving about in his octopus-car and secretly being followed everywhere by the mysterious moth! Now he resides in the emerald hills of Portapomagrofoliston where he met the amazing Sir Dustonatron of the 5th league and many others beginning the mighty quest into the firey planet sun.

A cross between Tom Waits and Fugazi: rooted in folk forms, yet idiosyncratically smart and sharp. Junkyard Americana, some might call it, with a scrappy sound descended from punk rock minimalism. Leigh's live show features propulsive drumming from Jason Russell, supple organ and accordion work from Ben Macy, and Marble's tight rhythms pumped out on an amped-up acoustic guitar.

"My early contender for local album of the year, "La Lamentor' is a disc to cherish" - The Oregonian "Damn is it beautiful" - Willamette Week "Weinland, La Lamentor: Portland, Ore., band led by Adam Shearer puts forth fragile, folky songs that at times evoke elements of Neil Young. (Not all evokers of Neil Young are worth spending time with, but this act is.)" - USA TODAY "If you've heard any of Weinland's other music, though, Shearer's songwriting voice is unmistakable. It's got one foot in the self-affirming whisper of Elliott Smith, and the other in the mud puddle of Gold Rush-era Neil Young. Meanwhile, the other members of Weinland frame the tunes in American Gothic architecture." - The Portland Mercury

With the release of her first full-length album this month, We’re Still Here Missing You, Cole goes to show how art that emerges quickly and effortlessly is often the stuff that penetrates the deepest into the core of its audience. It’s the blackberry bush that pops up out of nowhere—ripe, healthy, and confident—then quickly becomes the fruit, the comfort, the decadence that you rely on most. You didn’t even know how much you craved/adored/needed blackberries, but when they thrust themselves into your universe, they are simultaneously exotic and familiar. A welcome change from your supermarket apples and bananas; they are repeatedly refreshing.

Here in Oregon, we vote by mail. Its great! You get a couple of weeks to fill out your ballot, You don't have to take time away from work and you can literally vote naked if you'd like (in the privacy of your own home of course). So just as you have no excuse NOT to vote, all that time you save not having to stand around in line on November 4th means you have no excuse NOT to be at DJ PETER WALTERS' Grand Ol' Dance Party! Come celebrate democracy by shaking what Lady Liberty gave you...

These United States might just be the most relevant band ever these days, with their album about crime, sin, indecency and overindulgence (during this hot political season), with their Dylanesque, Wilco-meets-Kerouac vibe, or with their video for “Get Yourself Home” - built from Depression-era film archives, and about money, greed and sin - released right before the economic crisis. "Crimes" has been featured on Wired, Pitchfork, Paste, RCRDLBL, Brooklyn Vegan, JamBase, Daytrotter, MOKB, and more.

With ethereal vocals of flawless perfection and control, Karli proves she has the discipline of a masterful songstress. The imagery and metaphor of her lyrics causes one to be still, ponder and discover personal associations in every song.

"The bandmates balance the primitive drone of the Southern hills with a concentrated postpunk attack that keeps the music moving at a fever pitch. Before rock and roll, people danced to the blues, as Hillstomp reminds us with a thunderous groove."

A little bit outlaw, a little bit rock. Vocals as smooth as honey on burnt toast and blistering guitar leads, this band digs deep into "Alt Country" and "Roots" music.

JD Kindle needs no introduction at the GP. If we had a "house band" these guys would be it! Eclectic, irreverent and irrepressible, a bunch of talented musicians who can fire up an audience! Blue Is Cold will get things started with their brand of rockin' Hayseed Music.

Round-Up!!!!!! Their Myspace influences say it all..."Foot-long pepperoni sticks, busch beer, non-fiction, & an uncorked bottle of Pendleton Whiskey. Also, Willie Nelson." If you can keep yourself from dancing, you'd better check your pulse!

Round-Up!!! You know those classic bands that really matter, not just because they write great music, but because they love each other and it shows in their playing? Those bands who have not a shred of smarmy pretentiousness and love to play music more than anything? Those bands who are dorky and unfashionable and couldn't care less? Point Juncture, WA is one of those bands.

Contrary to contemporary music trends, Scotland Barr and the Slow Drags do not fit neatly into a scene, nor do they care to. Instead, they play gritty, melodic songs that float somewhere between an old school 60s/70s songwriter aesthetic and a contemporary alt-country Americana furnace blast. Barr's disturbing yet comfortable boozy vocal style and emotionally incisive songwriting sit front and center, flanked by a 6-piece outfit that can deliver weepy grooves, jangly tin-pan alley pop, suicidal ballads, garage rock, grinding two-steps and near psychedelic opuses, all while sounding like a true band.

Words do little justice to capture the sounds of sheer beauty and serenity emitted from Seattle’s Johanna Kunin. The singer-songwriter lays down a sprinkling of piano while her ethereal (“sadly angelic,” according to her website) vocals sway and swoon and soar across wide plains of emotional conviction. Tour-mate (and fellow musician in the close-knit Northwestern scene) Jeremy Hadley adds appropriate accents of bass, guitar, and mixing effects, careful not to overpower Kunin’s voice as it moves from cathedral-inspired harmony to Tori Amos-inspired pop-poetry.

Rock and Roll 2008! Open to all. Northwest bands converge on Pendleton to help teach, train and jam with you. Don't miss it. The last week in July culminating in a great concert featuring the campers and band members! Peter Walters is assembling an awesome bunch of musicians and tech. people to inspire everyone. For more info. call the Pendleton Art Center at 541-278-9201.

The day had left me tired in a strange way, and I was about in the mood to skip supper and lay down in the short grass and rest, lay there and watch the white moon move across the sky. I flipped a stick into the tank and watched it bob on the rising water. It made me think of an old hillbilly song by Moon Mulligan, called "I'll Sail My Ship Alone." With all the dreams I own. Sail it out across the ocean blue, ride me down easy.

Nick plays most often with his seven-piece band, which is comprised of wonderfully talented musicians. Every show is a uniquely thrilling experience, with new arrangements and surprises every time. The band includes clarinets, vibraphone, violin, drums, upright bass, electric guitar and other new innovations every time. The lyrics and the depth of the songs themselves are what hold everything together tightly. He has dragged his band around the country, playing wild carousing shows in every town, often two times a night. The band also plays on the street, gathering attention with their improbable set of instruments, and then getting people to dance and clap and sign along, while photographers take pictures and trolley drivers ring their bells.

"Intelligent, impassioned and energetic.... Sheehy’s voice mournfully resonates upon a sad song- like a modern update of the Moody Blues’ “Nights In White Satin.”... he delivers his vocals with passion and conviction.... the music is always thought provoking and jaw-droppingly well executed." SP Clarke, Two Louies Magazine "Through melodies and a voice that seem to travel through the ages, Brittain Ashford weaves encounters, dreams of leaving and nostalgia for a happiness gone, into songs of moving sincerity." - muzzart.fr

Portland Oregon junkbox blues duo HILLSTOMP is infamous for digging through the dumps and forgotten backwoods of American music, recycling traditional elements into a refreshing and distinctive brand of do-it-yourself hill country blues stomp. North Mississippi trance blues, a bit of Appalachia, and a dash of punkabilly come clanging and tumbling from assorted buckets, cans and BBQ lids, all drenched in rambunctious slide guitar. Somehow it works.

A collaboration of two musicians with Jazz and Classical backgrounds, to create RockFolkJazzy Stuff. Piano, Guitar, Sax and other instruments contribute to a sound that changes from smooth to coarse and back again.

Honky Tonk, the Real Deal. Guitar, bass, drums, pedal steel, and a classic voice...what more can you ask for?

"When he moved to Portland eight months ago in order to concentrate on the Moth, he enlisted the help of some other So-O transplants to fill out the sound, but still often plays live on his own, saying that it's easier to set up and schedule with only one person to worry about. Combs' albums are self-produced and feature hand drawn covers and liner notes, as well as badass chops. They aren't available in stores and you aren't likely to find him playing at a venue you've heard of before. But he's worth searching out. Combs embodies the ideals that the Portland music scene is supposed to be about: musicianship, self-reliance, pop sensibilities tempered with a general weirdness to profile the squares, but he does it with more tact than other practitioners. He's like our own Daniel Johnston. Except, you know, not mentally ill and obsessed with the devil. Judging from his album covers, Combs seems more partial to robots." (The Rear Guard)

At first taste, The Dimes may remind you of a piece of peppermint candy peppermint candy you found in the pocket of an old sweater that’s been hiding in the back of your closet for sometime. Initially you hesitate, but then you take a bite and suddenly your mouth is exploding with a cool, fresh, minty flavor that makes you feel like you just brushed your teeth.

"Idaho's Finn Riggins has a whole lotta tricks up its sleeve—so many, in fact, that it's awfully hard to pin ’em down. One minute, the trio's blasting distortion-loaded, surf-tinged noise à la the Pixies; the next, it's engaging in funk or even ska-based jams that—despite hints of said genres—smack mostly of jangly, joyous rock." -- Amy McCullough / Willamette Week / Portland, OR

"Portland, Ore., band led by Adam Shearer puts forth fragile, folky songs that at times evoke elements of Neil Young. (Not all evokers of Neil Young are worth spending time with, but this act is.) - USA TODAY

In early 2007, Colin released his debut album, Wax Wane, a blues-infused romp through love, death, and politico that included a slew of well-crafted original tunes. Later that year, Lake won the 2007 Telluride Acoustic Blues Competition and would prove himself as a stellar solo blues performer to his largest audience yet. Meanwhile, back in Portland, the sound that Lake had been dreaming of years earlier had taken shape and was now hitting its stride in the form of "Wellbottom", the band that Colin formed in 2006 when he enlisted bass player Kevin Marcotte and drummer Jason Stewart – a monster rhythm section steeped in blues, funk, and jazz.

From the Central Californian town of Merced comes El Olio Wolof, invoking majestic kingdoms where Shel Silverstein's brand of playful poetics meets the ebb and flow of dusky indie rock. Their acoustic-based arrangements are spare: acoustic guitar, electric bass, accordion, jazz-influenced drums, keyboards and bells, but the compositions created with these basic elements seem to breathe and take flight. The soothing voices of the band are our bewitching tour guides, escorting and illuminating us through sweeping tales of terror and wonder.

With themes related to the pacific northwest, Laura Gibson writes songs on a nylon-stringed guitar. In November 2004, she self-released an EP, "Amends", produced and engineered by Drew Grow, on a laptop, in a house in Newberg, Oregon. Following this initial release, Laura released her debut full-length in November, 2006 titled "If You Come to Greet Me" on Hush Records. Engineered by Adam Selzer (Norfolk and Western, M Ward, Decemberists) and recorded completely on analog tape, songs on "If You Come to Greet Me" vary from pieces composed with bare-bones guitar and voice, to an orchestra of trumpets, piano, vibraphone, saw, violin, cello, banjo and found sounds. Songs have described as, "haunting portraits of nostalgia and intimacy, of loneliness and wide-eyed hope".

Put on your Irish and join us for our annual St. Paddie's affair. Plenty of music and story tellin' from The Irish Singers! Sing the songs you know and learn the ones you don't. A great time guaranteed.

From Motown to Nashville, Austin to SoCal, you will hear it all with The Wasteland Kings. Bob Dylan, Steve Earle, Tom Petty, and Hank Williams can all be heard when you listen between the lines--even in what could be a west coast punk tune. But what you will never hear is this band trying to sound like anyone else. Their straightforward, no gimmicks, rock-solid approach is showcased with the kind of strong lyrics, hard-sell vocals, and deft guitar featuring that not only makes you listen, it makes you believe!

From New York, these musicians blend many different and unusual instruments to create a rich lush sound that is, at once, pop-rock and also like listening to the soundtrack of a foreign film! If we're lucky they'll be bringing their saw.

" Hillstomp, a down-home duo whose minimalist blues tunes make 12-bar shuffles seem like epics. Using a slide guitar, a drum set made out of buckets and grill lids, and two high, lonesome voices, Hillstomp can make any club show feel like a front-porch hootenanny. It pays homage to the pre-amplification era without cowboy-costume gimmickry or stiff, stifling reverence, playing its primitive melodies with punk energy. "

Uni, the neo-vintage pop chanteuse/raconteur gathered up kickpants, a rockhawk and magical ruby slippers for the first time in 2004 and her 20’s punk movement has been gathering strength ever since. On the world tour beat and in the recording studio she competes for the limelight with her prima Donna ukelele ‘Sally Luka’. Originally a singer/songwriter for over a decade, when she met the bawdy Uke she swallowed her pride and joined up for the raucous phenom that became known as Uni & her Ukelele, and having second billing has only made Sally more indignant. Having opened for the likes of James Brown, Huey Lewis, Kids in the Hall’s Scott Thompson, Ray Charles, The Four Tops, Tower of Power, Coco Taylor, Sean Hayes and Jollie Holland to name a few, Sally has had a taste of fame and Uni is now forced to take her to the top. Uni’s lo-fi folk-pop, first album “My Favorite Letter is U” dropped in 2006 and the response was overwhelming. Her original and sincere take on the Ukelele coupled with her sweetly stirring and sometimes-haunting refrains unite to conjure the spectrum of catharsis. Her recent EP “I’m On My Way” introduced her rock-ability with hits like the title track and “Twinkle Twinkle”. This new sound gathered more love from the fans and now the word is spreading magical wildfire.

Uni, the neo-vintage pop chanteuse/raconteur gathered up kickpants, a rockhawk and magical ruby slippers for the first time in 2004 and her 20’s punk movement has been gathering strength ever since. On the world tour beat and in the recording studio she competes for the limelight with her prima Donna ukelele ‘Sally Luka’. Originally a singer/songwriter for over a decade, when she met the bawdy Uke she swallowed her pride and joined up for the raucous phenom that became known as Uni & her Ukelele, and having second billing has only made Sally more indignant. Having opened for the likes of James Brown, Huey Lewis, Kids in the Hall’s Scott Thompson, Ray Charles, The Four Tops, Tower of Power, Coco Taylor, Sean Hayes and Jollie Holland to name a few, Sally has had a taste of fame and Uni is now forced to take her to the top. Uni’s lo-fi folk-pop, first album “My Favorite Letter is U” dropped in 2006 and the response was overwhelming. Her original and sincere take on the Ukelele coupled with her sweetly stirring and sometimes-haunting refrains unite to conjure the spectrum of catharsis. Her recent EP “I’m On My Way” introduced her rock-ability with hits like the title track and “Twinkle Twinkle”. This new sound gathered more love from the fans and now the word is spreading magical wildfire.

Uni, the neo-vintage pop chanteuse/raconteur gathered up kickpants, a rockhawk and magical ruby slippers for the first time in 2004 and her 20’s punk movement has been gathering strength ever since. On the world tour beat and in the recording studio she competes for the limelight with her prima Donna ukelele ‘Sally Luka’. Originally a singer/songwriter for over a decade, when she met the bawdy Uke she swallowed her pride and joined up for the raucous phenom that became known as Uni & her Ukelele, and having second billing has only made Sally more indignant. Having opened for the likes of James Brown, Huey Lewis, Kids in the Hall’s Scott Thompson, Ray Charles, The Four Tops, Tower of Power, Coco Taylor, Sean Hayes and Jollie Holland to name a few, Sally has had a taste of fame and Uni is now forced to take her to the top. Uni’s lo-fi folk-pop, first album “My Favorite Letter is U” dropped in 2006 and the response was overwhelming. Her original and sincere take on the Ukelele coupled with her sweetly stirring and sometimes-haunting refrains unite to conjure the spectrum of catharsis. Her recent EP “I’m On My Way” introduced her rock-ability with hits like the title track and “Twinkle Twinkle”. This new sound gathered more love from the fans and now the word is spreading magical wildfire.

Maybe the last concert with Eastern Oregon Playboy, Cody Nash. Cody has joined the United States Air Force, and will be leaving the band. This concert will be carefully recorded for posterity and there are sure to be a few surprises. Come and enjoy our area's premier singer/songwriter and his great band and......give Cody a big send-off!

The return of Uni!

Early New Years Eve, Local R and B Queen, Georgina Mcthrow will rock the house with Her Soul Review band. An earlier evening bash to get your feet moving and your mouth singing along!

A Christmas party for all! Special guests(that could mean you!).Some traditional, some Rock and Roll Christmas songs. Bring your guests and friends, if you have those things. Sing-a-longs encouraged.

"His whipsmart lyrics; sharp, punk-influenced guitar; and blowhard harmonica put Marble at the head of Portland's singer-songwriter class." -Willamette Week........ 'nuff said

Tuesday after Thanksgiving weekend, the Soul Train stops in Pendleton and turns the Great Pacific into the House of Funk. Bring your dancing shoes and plan to "get down" with Pendleton's own Soul Sister 'Gina and her band.

Super Monster attacks with an indie/pop sound that reminds us of a little ol' band from Liverpool,even though they are Brooklynites. These guys will satisfy your sweet tooth.

Nick Jaina returns! The GP will be the last night of the current tour before Nick returns home for a little R and R. Every show Nick does is a little different, and reflects an abundance of ideas and influences. An accomplished musician, writer, ditchdigger and producer, you are assured an interesting, musical evening.

And eclectic mix of instruments, music and rhythms, Musee Mecanique is definitely something different. Laura Gibson's songwriting and beautiful, sometimes haunting melodies will leave you mesmerized. Also don't miss the opening act, local girl Jackie Penny.

A night of Blues and Rock with Big Steve and guests to send of Big Steve band member Les Kinnier. Bring your dancing shoes and get ready to have a blast with Big Steve and the boys.

A veteran of the music industry and founder of K records, The GP is very happy to present Calvin Johnson. He's worked with and recorded for music icons including Kurt Cobain. Sure to be like nothing you've heard before, don't miss this show! Also playing is Adrian Orange and Her Band, experimental and lyrical, and local musician Day Moanstar.

Leviethan from Heroes and Villains is back! Also GP favorite and local boy, James Dean Kindle.

The annual Saturday night Round-Up show at the GP, this show is sure to be packed! Local boys Imperial Twang will be serving up some rock and country hits as well as rockin' originals. Don't miss this show!

ROUNDUP! Soulful, Rockin', Country, Indie, you figure it out. One of Portland's amazing, unsigned (not for long) bands. These folks are gonna rattle the chandeliers. Great musicians, great music. Boots or no boots-all are welcome!

Nick Jaina plays guitar and piano songs of effortless brilliance. He is lucky enough to have wonderful musicians play in his band, which has now grown to a revolving cast of perhaps ten or so people. Members of the bands Heroes & Villains, The Maybe Happening, and others are all involved. Every live show is a different band and an entirely different experience. One time he passed out hymn books with the lyrics to his songs for a heartwarming sing-along experience. Another time the band rendered an arrangement of a song entirely with belleplates (wikipedia it if you don't know what they are.) Another time, a song was brought to life by two dancers dressed as an enchanting sea siren and a hapless sailor. Any given show is not to be missed, as a certain kind of unrepeatable magic is sure to happen.

GP is excited to have The Maldives from Seattle, Wa.

A show featuring two bands helping out with the second annual Pendleton Rock and Roll Camp. They love Pendleton. They love the GP. We love them. Heroes and Villains are back! We're also happy to welcome back Point Juncture, WA.

You remember them from last year's Rock and Roll camp and the GP is happy to have them play here for the first time!

You know and love him from Heroes and Villains, GP is proud to present Leviethan! Self-described acoustic/post punk/folk rock artist, this is sure to be a great show. Also on the bill, Thomas Paul and Kris Doty. Sure to be a night of great music.

uni and her ukelele joined forces 3 years ago this Christmas... their mission: write songs with magical powers overload the senses with glitter and colorful ribbons and bows become the greatest and most glorious opening act EVER!!! create new and improved christmas songs and take the unicorns back from the hipsters Pants Pants Pants and Uni & Her Ukelele on tour June 29th - July 12th!

Singer/Songwriter Kristy Kruger has launched a 50-state tour of the United States to honor her brother, Texan soldier Lt. Col. Eric Kruger who was killed in Iraq, Nov. 2, 2006. Ms. Kruger decided to perform in her brother's name in every state in the Union. "He died in the name of this country, so I'd like him to be remembered in every state in this country," she said. A staple in the Dallas acoustic scene, Ms. Kruger has released four albums independently and was awarded the 2006 Dallas Observer Music Award for Best Female Vocalist. Her latest release won the Independent Music Award for Americana Album of the Year and the Dallas Morning News named it one of the top 10 local releases of 2006. Leslie Stevens opens the show with great rockin', folkie, indie stuff that'll light your fire!

Miraflores makes epic Pop songs with playful ambitious melodies. The band is currently promoting their new CD, "Nobody Knows" produced by Jim Brunberg (Box Set, Dirty Martini) and mixed by Joe Chiccarelli (American Music Club, The Shins, Tori Amos, Counting Crows, Elton John, Frank Zappa). With guitar, bass, drums, and vocal harmonies, they produce a stripped down pop sound that makes for addictive live shows.

Novi Split hails from San Pedro, Naim Amor from Paris, by way of Tucson and their music is as different as their homes. This is going to be an all out "be-in" with sounds we can only imagine. Check out their websites and guess at what they'll sound like live!

A little electronica, a lot of Rock, D Numbers is promising you will not sit still! This lil ol' band from Santa Fe will shock and amaze you with their sonic bombardment.

If you're from 'round here, you don't need an introduction to "JD". From 'The Sick Kids' to 'Blue is Cold' to his solo gigs he has played to many music lovers in the NW. Great songwriting, inventive guitar, and blessed with a beautiful voice, check out his current set with special guests!

David Grier, a Grammy-winning acoustic guitar player, is considered one of the premier flatpicking guitarists in the world. We are very excited to have him in Pendleton and at the GP. He blends bluegrass and jazz guitar styles into his own with his virtuoso playing.

The Portland gypsy/rock/jazz fusion band that just can't get enough of Pendleton and the GP are back! This will be their third appearance at the GP and we are excited to have them again. With their unique sound and lyrics, every show is different and not to be missed. We're sure to have a packed house for this one, so come early to stake out a spot. As usual, this is a free show with donations for the musicians appreciated.

Live loops, percussion, bass lines, vocals, saxophone, all from one man on stage. Rythmic, soulful sounds with NO PRERECORDED TRACKS! Currently residing in San Diego, Joe is making his way to Pendleton for his ONLY Northwest show.

Join Big Steve and the Trainwreck along with local guest artists Gary Grogan, Carl Scheeler, Carolyn Mildenberger, Addison Schulberg, Mark Royal, Dan Emert and Jim White for a show at the GP to benefit the American Cancer Society. Enjoy Blues/Rock favorites plus Big Steve originals and donate money to a good cause. The guest artists will be sitting in with the band for select songs so be sure to catch the whole show!

Idaho's premier bluegrass band is back! They've been playing music together since 1976 and pride themselves on playing traditional-based bluegrass with their own unique sound. They played a great show here last year and we're very happy to have them back. This is also our first live music show since we've started serving pizza so come early to get a table!

Once again James Dean Kindle and Paul Collins are performing together at the GP. Both local favorites, you'll be captivated by J.D.'s smart lyrics and Paul Collins' unique performance (quite possibly his last in Pendleton for a while). Even if you've heard them here before you're sure to see and experience something different. Support local musicians and be sure not to miss this free show!

Their gypsy-tinged carousel-rock will have you moving from the first note struck. They were featured on Oregon Public Broadcasting in August and are touring to promote their new CD, "Turn Your Swords". Don't miss this free show at the Great Pacific!

Calm your election night jitters (regardless of party), with some cool jazz the way it was meant to be listened to...vinyl! That's right, DJ Peter will be spinning real records with real turntables! He will make a historic event even more so. Bring the family, especially grandma and grandpa who never liked 8-tracks and hate cds; even they'll be able to read the playlist on the cover. VOTE!

A little shuffle here, a little outlaw there, a little go-jump-yourself-off-a-bridge, some rockabilly, and just good old heartfelt country music

Fresh from their stage debuts at Pendleton's Rock & Roll Camp, First Grade Classics (think three-guitar harmonies and smoking riffs) and Baj (sweet melodies from an all-girl twee-pop group) will perform at the Great Pacific in this locals-only music extravaganza. J.D. Kindle, a veteran of performing at the GP and other local venues, will also take the stage, as will Rian Beach, one of the founders of Pendleton Overground. Hear great music.. support local and young muscians.. order some great food and drink.. there's just no good reason for you to miss this free show!

Druha Trava, which means "second grass", is a wonderfully individual band from the Czech Republic. They perform new acoustic world music with bluegrass influences. You might hear bluegrass, covers of American and British artists, or one of their many originals. They have recorded many albums and been awarded three grammys from the Czech Music Academy. Guaranteed to be something different and a taste of music with truly global inspirations.

Frog Hollow is back! After a successful and fun show at the GP in April, this merry band of funkmasters are making another Pendleton showing on the last day of Round-Up. Take off your cowboy hat and come to the GP for something a little different. These guys are sure to keep you on your feet with their rocking grooves and undeniable funk talent.

A truly local band, this show is a great way to celebrate Round-up in Pendleton. You'll hear country, blues and rock originals and covers. The band is also planning to feature several other local blues and bluegrass musicians at this show. Be sure to wear your cowboy boots and get ready to dance!

Seth's music is possibly best described as Electronic/Jazz fusion. His music has been featured on NPR and his new CD, Concatenation, is a blend of his many different styles and influences. Armed with a computer and a keyboard in his live performance, he creates full musical pieces with a blend of real intstruments and synthesized sounds.

After rocking the house here in May, Garrison Starr is back at the GP! She had such a great time and loved the audience so much she just couldn't stay away. A great time was had by all when she played before and we're happy to have her back. A bargain at the price of free, don't miss this one!

A local Pendletonian, Trudie Falls plays country and honkytonk with "whatever honkytonk loving suckers in Pendleton I can get to play with me." She describes her music as "A little shuffle here, a little outlaw there, a little go-jump-yourself-off-a-bridge, some rockabilly, and just good old heartfelt country music." To see more pics and a giant list of Trudie's country/honkytonk influences, be sure to check out her MySpace page:

The Spokane String Quartet was founded in 1979 in order to bring live, professional chamber music performances to Inland Northwest audiences. For the past 26 years, it has been the only chamber ensemble to present a regular concert series including music from the standard string quartet repertoire, contemporary works, premieres by local composers and music from the Moldenhauer Archives.

Idaho's Premier Bluegrass band featuring veteran musicians whose careers have spanned over 25 years each of playing bluegrass music. This four piece ensemble combines traditional bluegrass with original flair. They've opened shows and shared the stage with several high level national bluegrass acts including the Del McCoury Band and were selected as one of the Top 5 bands in Boise, Idaho in 2004. Free show.

James Dean Kindle is a proud Pendleton native who plays a strange mixture of lo-fi tex-mex C&W rock-n-roll. He has toured nationally and performed with the likes of Calvin Johnson, Pete Krebs, and Kind Of Like Spitting. His backing band, comprised of fellow Pendletonians Matt Vansickle and Cody Nash have made it a habit to change their name with each performance.

Presented by Pendleton Overground, this will be a show not to miss! She's spent time on the road touring with and singing backup for Mary Chapin Carpenter and has opened for Steve Earle. Now she's on a national tour to promote her new Vanguard album, The Sound of You and Me. She switches easily between delicate acoustic songs and hard rocking ballads. Read more at her website. Free show.

Hailing from Salem, Frog Hollow Day Camp is a fusion of funk and rock that lays down grooves sure to make you move. Employing a range of musical instruments from Moog synthesizers, cowbells and hubcaps to not one but two bass players... there's just no end to the grooves you'll hear from Frog Hollow. Free show.

Insurgent Bluegrass! Victor Barnes, of Northern Colorado, has been wearing out shoes on dance floors from Seattle to New Orleans with their original style of bluegrass-infused music since 1999. They've played with national acts like Yonder Mountain String Band, The North Mississippi All-Stars and Railroad Earth at venues across the west. Free show.