4
AUG. 10�17, 2022
SOUND CHECK
WHAT’S PLAYING AROUND
THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
Wheatstock Music Festival rolls out the grass carpet
By Tammy Malgesini
Go! Magazine
HELIX — With three bands based out
of Austin, Texas, fi lling half the lineup,
DeWayne Dunlap, Wheatstock Music
Festival board president, said the 2022
festival is among the best yet.
The Lone Star State acts include
Josh Abbott Band and Micky and the
Motorcars, both from the red dirt music
scene, and Giovannie & The Hired Guns,
who incorporate everything from South-
ern rock and stoner metal to la musica
norteña and Latin hip-hop.
“The Josh Abbott Band is one of the
hottest groups out of Texas right now,”
he said. “It might be the best band we’ve
ever had.”
In its 14th year, Wheatstock is Sat-
urday, Aug. 20, 3-10 p.m. at Quantum 9
Arena. The nonprofi t festival was found-
ed with the purpose of raising money for
the Helix School District. It also donates
proceeds to Cross the Divide, a wilder-
ness retreat for combat veterans in the
Wallowa Mountains.
After making a desperate pitch in
the spring, Dunlap said Micky and the
Motorcars signed on the dotted line.
They cemented the deal, he said, after
founders Micky and Gary Braun talked
to their older brothers, Cody and Willy
Jef Farley and
Shaner Applegate
of Imperial Twang
entertain the crowd
on Aug. 17, 2019, at
Wheatstock Music
Festival. In addition
to popular acts from
Texas and Oklahoma,
the Eastern Oregon-
based band will
take the stage on
Saturday, Aug. 20,
2022, at Quantum 9
Arena, Helix.
Kathy Aney/EO Media
Group, File
Braun, frontmen of Reckless Kelly, who
headlined Wheatstock in 2019.
The older brothers sang praises
about the venue. And that is music to
the Wheatstock board’s ears.
While organizers don’t roll out a red
carpet, they take pride in the arena’s
lush grass.
Dunlap said after Memorial Day
weekend’s Heart of the Country Rodeo,
the arena is re-seeded and pampered.
Comparing it to a golf course, Dunlap
said people won’t go home with dirty
feet or a mouth full of grit.
The rest of the lineup are Oklaho-
ma-based Ragland — off ering up Okie
Americana with edgy, alt-country — and
bands hailing from the region, Imperial
Twang and The Froghollow Band.
Imperial Twang is sometimes re-
ferred to as Pendleton’s quintessential
party band. Performing in the inaugural
festival, the group has taken the stage
numerous times over the years. They
play alt-country, folk, Americana and
rock and roll.
Walla Walla’s Froghollow Band con-
tinues to hop on stage after originally
forming for a one-time New Year’s Eve
gig in 1994. The alt-country band per-
forms original music and covers from
multiple genres.
“These boys aren’t from Texas but
at least they got a fi ddle in the band,”
Dunlap said in a 2019 interview.
The festival off ers free camping,
bouncy houses and shopping for event
swag and band merch. Food vendors
include a taco truck, Texas barbecue,
made-to-order donuts and a boutique
lemonade stand.
The beer garden will feature Budweis-
er products, wine from Saviah Cellars
and Wheatstock Hefeweizen, created
as a tribute to the local wheat farmers
and music festival by The Prodigal Son
Brewery & Pub.
To catch a ride to/from Helix, head to
the MotoLodge, 310 S.E. Dorion Ave.,
Pendleton.
The initial transport is at 2 p.m. and
continues hourly. The last ride back to
Pendleton is around 11 p.m.
General admission tickets are $59
and VIP packages are $149, which
includes one admission ticket, a limit-
ed backstage pass, a meet-and-greet
with the Josh Abbott Band and a signed
event poster. For tickets or more infor-
mation, visit www.wheatstock.org.