Country
Cross-o ver
familiar face, fresh choices and
missed musical opp or tunities at o cf
I
’m going to take a sec and highjack this piece on 2017’s
OCF music lineup to complain that Lane County —
and Eugene specifically — needs, nay deserves, a true
music festival: a Pickathon, a Bumbershoot, a Treefort
or, at the very least, a resurrected Eugene Celebration
that settles its identity crisis, putting it at odds with itself as
a community street fair versus an event focused on music
worthy of drawing an audience.
But as it stands, The Oregon Country Fair is the eldest
of all local happenings with a musical bent. For quite some
time, however, OCF seems to have treated its music com-
ponent as almost an afterthought, making lineup choices
that are comfortable, reliable and familiar — not unlike
OCF’s current overall iteration.
Could OCF leverage its longevity and status to now and
then take some musical risks with its concert billing? More
performer and genre diversity? That would be nice. All too
often with music and OCF things are, in the words of Da-
vid Byrne, same as it ever was.
So back to OCF 2017. Surveying this year’s music of-
ferings — despite my complaints —a few things stand out.
Namely, Chris Robinson Brotherhood performing 5:30
pm Friday, July 7, on the Main Stage. Robinson, former-
ly of The Black Crowes, is now on his own strange trip
with a chosen fraternal gang of easygoing groove-junkies,
producing stuff that’s a little bit Dead, a little bit Allman
Brothers and overall pretty out there.
JELLY BREAD
by w ill ke nne d y
And between Robinson’s rela-
tively big name, as well as the
Brotherhood’s consistent output,
CRB seems to be one of OCF’s big-
gest bookings in recent memory.
Elsewhere, I want to point out
Artis The Spoonman making an
appearance, first at 1:30 pm Friday,
July 7, at the Daredevil Vaudeville
Palace. With the recent, tragic pass-
ing of Soundgarden frontman Chris
Cornell — one of Soundgarden’s
breakthrough hits, “Spoonman,”
was inspired by Artis — his performances take on an extra
poignancy. Artis performs several times at OCF 2017.
Also notable this year are performances from Portland
singer-songwriter and world-traveling music educator
Jerry Joseph along with his band Jackmormons. Jo-
seph, a long-time fixture on Eugene area stages, performs
twice at Fair: 11:50 am Saturday, July 8, on Main Stage
and 5:50 pm Sunday, July 9, at Hoarse Chorale.
Also, don’t miss Tahoe/Reno-based funky fellas Jelly
Bread 3:30 pm Sunday, July 9, on Main Stage. And from
Colorado, be sure to sample the vagabond soul of Hello
Dollface, playing twice on Sunday, July 9, first at 12:15
pm on the Kesey Stage and then at 5:30 pm at Community
Village.
CHRIS ROBINSON
BROTHERHOOD
PHOTO BY JAY BLAKESBERG
A quick round-up of Eugene locals appearing at the Fair
this year includes, among many others: Wheels, a Gram
Parson/Flying Burrito Brothers tribute act featuring well-
known local musicians, the funk-soul-disco of popular lo-
cal band Soul Vibrator and the homegrown electro-swing
sounds of High Step Society. Check the website for show
details.
But with Eugene’s music scene hotter than ever, OCF’s
lineup could’ve worked harder to reflect what its home-
town has to offer.
Coming down from Portland, be sure to see World’s
Finest play “bluegrass inspired three-dimensional psy-
trance, funk, dub.” World’s Finest plays twice: 1:40 pm
Friday, July 7, at Hoarse Chorale and 2:50 pm Saturday,
July 8, on Main Stage.
For fans of the singer-songwriter and folk-rock genres
don’t miss Johanna Warren, Ashleigh Flynn and The
Riveters, Truckstop Honeymoon, Cassandra Robin-
son and Wynter Bynes as well as Joanne Rand.
And if you like your country a little bit spazzy with an
extra dose of caffeine — in other words “thrashgrassin”
— check out Whiskey Shivers from Austin, Texas. Trust
me, it’s a one-of-a-kind experience. Whiskey Shivers play
5:50 pm Friday, July 7, at Blue Moon Stage and 3 pm Sun-
day, July 9, at Hoarse Chorale.
Also from Austin, The Deer — featuring vocals from
singer-songwriter Grace Park — make their annual pil-
grimage back to the Fair to play their endearing brand of
indie-folk. ■
For more information about all these acts and more, check out
oregoncountryfair.org .
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July 6, 2017 • eugeneweekly.com