Horning’s Hideout in beautifully forested North Plains, Oregon kept its tradition this year, hosting the 16th Annual Northwest String Summit on July 13th through the 16th. The long-time festival boasts an eclectic gathering with several event stages, a wide variety of string-instrument bands and features camping, vendor booths, a children’s village, yoga and mindfulness sessions and more.

Over the course of four days, attendees were dancing and singing along to Yonder Mountain String Band, Greensky Bluegrass, Del McCoury Band, JJ Grey & Mofro, Elephant Revival, Todd Snider, Fruition, The Lil Smokies, and over fifty other diverse and talented bands playing from the Main Stage, Cascadia Stage, the Furthur Bus and the Kinfolk Revival Tent.

The Children’s Village had the days jam-packed with activities from 9:00 am until sundown, full of fun for all ages with crafts and creative time, compelling imagination and play.

Vendors and information booths were available for clothing and accessories, art, food and beverages, and other retail items. Klean Kanteen’s booth provided free filtered water taps for all to fill up their drinking vessels. The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics was on hand to educate about their principles and protecting our outdoors together.

On Sunday, the Lilli Trippe Memorial Shave took place for the sixth year. Sandy “Mama K” Kaufmann, mother of Yonder Mountain String Band’s Bassist Ben Kaufmann, raised money and shaved her head in support of Chelsea’s Closet and to bring awareness to children’s cancer. During the shave, Ben played a medley of music for his mom, including Cat Steven’s “If You Want to Sing Out.”

For regular attendees, the festival is something of a pilgrimage they take each year to camp out in the beautiful and idyllic setting of Horning’s, reconnect with old friends, meet new friends, have a lot of fun and listen to some truly wonderful music. As a first-time attendee, the Summit is a whirlwind of incredible sounds, friends, food, and enjoyment.

String Summit has already posted dates for next year: July 19th-22nd, 2018. Learn all about the festival on their website. This multi-day festival is family-friendly, held in a beautiful place, and full of talented musicians and artists.

Check out more photos from each day:  Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday

“Music is like color,” Lukas Nelson has said. “When I listen to the musicians who affected me when I was growing up, I take from the primary colors to find my foundation. Then I apply secondary colors and the music becomes more and more complex.”

Released this week by Fantasy Records, the new self-titled album by Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real is an evolution of the band's sound, color and a wealth of their lifetime influences. Building on what they started in 2008 when Nelson and drummer Anthony LoGerfo met at a Neil Young concert and began development of Promise of the Real, the band has some new additions and included a few guests on their album, adding fresh dimensions to their music. 

“This record, more than any record, really captures who we are as a band,” Nelson explained in a recent interview. “There’s a little more emotional weight to the songs and even to the quality of the recording. It’s more cinematic.”

True to their roots, the melody and lyrics tell a story, capture a feeling, and move listeners to emotionally react. “Set Me Down on a Cloud” is a raw and edgy track exploring the loss of love and it’s required recovery that many will find easily relatable. This updated version of the song features indie-pop vocalists Jess Wolfe and Holly Lessig of the group Lucius. 

Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real also features guest vocals from Lady Gaga on the songs "Carolina" and "Find Yourself." “She has an amazing versatility and is just a good friend. She can really do anything. I think she’s a true artist in every sense of the word,” Nelson said of Lady Gaga.

The album is emotional and soulful. Nelson says he was confident in his vision for the album and in this group of songs' ability to transcend the cultural boundaries between rock & roll and country. “I wanted to get the songs as pure as they could be,” he said.  

The pastoral “Just Outside of Austin” features a guitar solo from Willie, while Lukas’ 86-year-old Aunt Bobbi plays the piano, and is Nelson's love letter to Austin.

Life is the engine that drives the band's music. Nelson sings passionately, to both communicate and to purge and his stories come from actual experience. Says Nelson, “Believe me, it’s all real.”

Transitioning from "Cowboy Hippie Surf Rock" to "Country Soul" has been a journey for the band, and they are excited about this new phase of their music. Visit the band’s site for more information about the album and upcoming tour dates.

As part of their Good Day For A Good Day World Tour, Michael Franti & Spearhead made their way to the McMenamins Edgefield in Troutdale, Oregon summer concert series on September 11, and their ability to thrill and energize the fans was on point.

Following a lively set from North Carolina indie rock-reggae band Of Good Nature, Michael Franti & Spearhead took the stage starting with a video montage accompaniment that highlighted our current situation, the global pandemic, and how much we’ve missed live music and each other. The vibe was overwhelmingly positive and full of gratitude in just being together again as the waxing crescent moon rose over the jubilant, dancing concert crowd.

During the Edgefield show, a musical tapestry was woven with some older, classic Franti tunes, with some new sounds blended in. It was clear that the return to touring life was a relief for the band, not to mention the excited and energized crowd. At one point, the audience learned a new dance and sang along, “Life is amazing and then it sucks, and then it’s amazing again.” Something we can all relate to after the past eighteen months, for sure.

Michael Franti & Spearhead have a busy tour ahead. In addition to the band’s traditional touring, they will headline their own cruise in a new partnership with Sixthman, Soulshine at Sea, Nov. 3-7, 2021. After supporting over ten cruises in his career, Franti will embark on his first-ever hosted cruise which will not only have an incredible and diverse musical lineup including Fitz and The Tantrums, Allen Stone, Niko Moon, and more, with a heavy focus on health and wellness too.

“We are stoked to be announcing the lineup for Soulshine at Sea because we believe in the power of music; the connection of community; taking time to focus on health and wellness; and that in these challenging times, it’s important to have fun and rock out too,” shares Franti.

“We’ve put our creative caps on with our friends at Sixthman to curate an epic lineup bringing together a delicious blend of good vibes and music with some of the world’s most inspiring yoga, fitness and wellness teachers,” he continues. “This includes two Michael Franti & Spearhead shows and over 20 live band and DJ sets, along with over ten yoga and fitness classes, inspiring speakers, and uniquely curated activities hosted by myself and special guests.”

Franti continues to empower fans to take action in their own communities with resources available at MichaelFranti.com/Activism. The new portion of the website also provides resources to take action against climate change and join the REVERB Music Climate Revolution alongside Franti, with a mission to unite around music and tackle environmental and social issues we face while empowering millions of individuals to take action toward a better future for people and the planet.

Check out more photos from the show.

On Saturday, Nov 5, Dave Matthews Band took their fall 2022 North America tour to the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. Though the band has played near Portland in their annual The Gorge Amphitheater performances every Labor Day Weekend, this show was their first time in Portland since 2003. Portland fans were ready, and the crowd's roar was steady throughout the show as everyone sang along.

This headline run, which will conclude the weekend before Thanksgiving with a two-night stand at Madison Square Garden in New York City (November 18 & 19), is full of the signature Dave Matthews Band energy and excitement. As restrictions have been loosening since 2021, celebrating their 30th anniversary, DMB has been traveling around the United States. Their ever-growing and changing setlists give each city its own experience, and DMB continues to surprise and entertain year after year.

In 2020, Dave Matthews Band partnered with The Nature Conservancy's Plant a Billion Trees program, a global forest restoration effort. With this 2022 tour, DMB will have provided for planting an additional one million trees, bringing the total amount of trees funded to 3 million. DMB invites fans to join the band, The Dreaming Tree Wines, DocuSign, and other tour partners to help regreen our planet. For more information, visit dmbtrees.org.

DMB Tree Stewardship Video

Moda Center Setlist:

Granny

Do You Remember

You Might Die Trying

Madman's Eyes

Sweet

So Much to Say

Anyone Seen the Bridge

Too Much

If Only

Pantala Naga Pampa

Rapunzel

Lying in the Hands of God

Fool in the Rain

Lover Lay Down

Can't Stop

#41

You & Me

(with "Hope For Tomorrow" prelude)

Dancing Nancies

Ants Marching

Encore:

Don't Drink the Water

DAVE MATTHEWS BAND – NORTH AMERICAN TOUR

REMAINING DATES FOR FALL 2022:

11/8 Nampa, ID Ford Idaho Center Arena

11/9 Salt Lake City, UT Vivint Arena

11/12 Omaha, NE CHI Health Center Arena

11/13 Minneapolis, MN Target Center

11/15 Chicago, IL United Center

11/16 Fairborn, OH WSU Nutter Center

11/18 New York, NY Madison Square Garden

11/19 New York, NY Madison Square Garden