(Photo by Rob Kerr)
Sisters Folk Festival (SFF) is back with an incredible lineup of festival favorites including John Craigie, Darlingside, Donna the Buffalo, and Steve Poltz. The annual music festival will take place Friday, September 29 through Sunday, October 1 in beautiful downtown Sisters. This year’s lineup includes 33 diverse artists representing many genres of music including jazz, bluegrass, gospel, indie, sing-songwriter, and blues.
For more than 25 years, SFF has proudly produced an intimate, multi-genre festival presenting a mix of high-profile and up-and-coming artists — both singer-songwriters and bands — to perform at seven intimate venues including expansive tents, a historic church, and courtyard patio stages at local restaurants. In a world of overcrowded, homogenized music experiences — SFF delivers something much different and much more personal. It’s a true discovery festival for real music lovers.
Long-time loyal patrons revere the long-running music festival for its small-town, friendly vibe and unique ability to provide lasting lyrical inspiration and recharge the soul through the power of music. New patrons can expect to have a transformative festival experience with world-class production in a laid-back community setting.
Artists performing at this year’s festival include John Craigie, Darlingside, Donna the Buffalo, Steve Poltz, Alex Cuba, Nick Shoulders, Gina Chavez, Daniel Rodriguez, The Way Down Wanderers, Seth Walker, The Sensational Barnes Brothers, The Slocan Ramblers, Crys Matthews, Handmade Moments, Chastity Brown, Shamarr Allen & The Underdawgs, Damn Tall Buildings, Sam Reider & Jorge Glem, Beth Wood, Goodnight Moonshine, Humbird, Griffin House, Willi Carlisle, Heron Valley, Bab L’Bluz, Two Runner, Chatham Rabbits, Elias Alexander, Jenner Fox, Anna Moss, Sweater Weather String Band, Olive Klug, and Edie Carey.
In addition to 13 artist-led workshops on Saturday, September 30, SFF has brought back the historic Dave Carter Songwriter Showcase featuring Griffin House, Edie Carey, Olive Klug, and Jenner Fox. The showcase celebrates the art and craft of writing a good song and honors the 1995 Sisters Folk Festival songwriting contest winner, the late, great Dave Carter.
On Sunday, October 1, everyone is invited to enjoy another of SFF’s longtime traditions at the free Community Celebration taking place at Village Green at 10am. Led by singer-songwriter and poet Beth Wood, the celebration includes performances from several other festival performers and traditionally ends in a rousing, collaborative finale.
Sisters Folk Festival works to strengthen the community by centering the arts as an economic driver and foundational centerpiece of the town. The festival is the organization’s largest fundraiser of the year and supports year-round art and music education programming in the Sisters community and beyond, including educational outreach programs at all three Sisters public schools, summer creativity camps for youth at Sisters Art Works, the Americana Song Academy, art and music classes for adults, and more. Many of SFF’s educational programs are offered on a pay-what-you-can basis to help eliminate financial barriers to participation.
“The Sisters Folk Festival is a unique music festival, not just because of the community building that takes place around the event, but also because it gives so much back to the Central Oregon community by creating and nurturing an incredibly powerful culture of creativity,” says SFF executive director Crista Munro. “As we see large, international corporations move into and begin to dominate the Central Oregon music market it’s worth noting that SFF is a nonprofit organization employing local residents. We reinvest event profits back into the local community. We don’t answer to shareholders; we answer to our dedicated supporters who have built this organization with passion and a desire to make Central Oregon a place that’s rich in arts and culture.”
The seven downtown venues range in size and include Sisters Art Works, The Belfry, The Depot, Open Door, Sisters Saloon, Oliver Lemon’s, Village Green, and a free, family-friendly KidZone at Fir Street Park on Saturday, September 30. The full festival schedule and lineup are available at sistersfolkfest.org. Three-day all events passes and a limited number of Friday- and Sunday-only tickets are available for purchase at aftontickets.com/SFF2023tix. It is anticipated that tickets will sell out in advance.