14
AUGUST 11�18, 2021
SOUND CHECK
WHAT’S PLAYING AROUND
THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
Wheatstock lineup waits
out pandemic cancellations
Randy Rogers Band headlines Aug. 21 festival
By Tammy Malgesini
Go! Magazine
H
ELIX — Just like the title of
Randy Rogers Band’s 2004
album, “Rollercoaster,” things
have been up and down for
DeWayne Dunlap, founder and
president of Wheatstock Music
Festival.
The Helix man was absolutely
thrilled when he talked about
booking the Texas-based group
for the 2020 summer event.
Then everything went downhill
as COVID-19 restrictions forced
its cancelation. Now, Dunlap is
riding high as Rogers and his
bandmates — as well as the rest
of last year’s confi rmed lineup —
are set to play Saturday, Aug. 21,
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S C R AT C H M A D E
BEER
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G L A C I E R C O L D • FA W N F R E S H
from 2:30-11 p.m. at Quantum 9
Arena in Helix.
“They’re the best band com-
ing out of Texas playing real
country and red dirt music,”
Dunlap said about the Randy
Rogers Band. “We’re lucky to get
them.”
The festival features free
camping, food vendors, a beer
garden and bouncy castles. Gen-
eral admission is $40 and VIP
passes are $149, which includes
admission, a limited backstage
pass and event swag. Entry is
free for active military personnel
and kids 12 and younger.
A biography written by Marisa
Brown for AllMusic.com reveals
that Rogers was 6 when his
great-grandmother taught him to
play piano. And fi ve years later,
he was writing his own songs
and learning guitar chords.
Rogers played in a backing
band before deciding to form his
own group. Shortly after their
fi rst practice, the band released
its 2002 debut album, “Live at
Cheatham St. Warehouse.”
Since then, they haven’t
looked back. In addition to eight
albums, Randy Rogers Band
plays upward of 200 shows each
year.
TYLOR AND THE TRAIN
ROBBERS
Wheatstock co-headliners
Tylor and the Train Robbers is
a Boise-based band with deep
roots in Eastern Oregon. Dunlap
coached frontman Tylor Ket-
chum in basketball during his
younger days in Helix, and this
summer won’t be the band’s fi rst
appearance at Wheatstock.
Calling him a “wordsmith,”
Dunlap said Ketchum’s song-
writing is Bob Dylan-esque. As
for the rest of the band, he said
people will be really amazed by
Courtesy of Wheatstock
their playing abilities.
“They are really stepping up
their game,” Dunlap said. “They
are really making a name for
themselves in the country music
world.”
The rest of the music festival
lineup features Wanderlost, Nor-
man Baker and the Backroads,
Great American Trainwreck and
Hillfolk Noir. Dunlap said many of
them are headlining acts in their
own rights. The audience will be
treated to a variety of sounds
— everything from southern
rock, country and bluegrass to a
unique funk vibe.
“You’re not going to see the
same kind of music back-to-
back,” Dunlap said. “By the time
you get to the headliner, Randy
is going to blow them away.”
Wheatstock was founded with
the purpose of raising money for
the Helix School District music
program. It continues to support
that eff ort as well as donating
proceeds to Divide Camp, a wil-
derness retreat for combat vet-
erans in the Wallowa Mountains.
The festival is dedicated to Army
warrant offi cer Adrian Stump,
a Pendleton man who died in a
helicopter crash in Afghanistan
in 2005.
For more information and
tickets, visit www.wheatstock.
org.