(Poster art by Dennis McGregor)
Sisters Folk Festival (SFF) is rolling out The Pronghorns, the new 2022 festival poster image commemorating its 25th annual event September 30-October 2, 2022 in beautiful Sisters. After a rousing and much-anticipated folk festival in 2021, the SFF staff and board are looking ahead with excitement to once again bringing roots music to Sisters and Central Oregon. Dennis McGregor, a Sisters artist, musician, songwriter and children’s author, has been the poster artist for the Sisters Folk Festival since 2000. He has created iconic images for the three-day music event, which includes riveting live performances at multiple venues, workshops and a songwriting camp that takes place four days prior to the festival in Camp Sherman.
This year’s image, The Pronghorns, is a nod to the fastest land animal in North America and which can be found east of Sisters in the desert sage land. If you look closely, there are “horns” on their head, which is an homage to Americana music, from jazz and blues, to folk, bluegrass, gospel, old-time and all the other threads that make up the umbrella of American roots music.
McGregor says, “I dreamed that I went to see The Pronghorns in a little club called ‘Grassland.’ They were drinking green smoothies and playing jazz licks really fast. They were well-dressed and had an unusual ability to play music and speak at the same time. I asked if they would like to play at Sisters Folk Festival. The sax player answered, ‘Folk? Yes, but only if we can be on the poster.’ I woke up and started this painting.”
McGregor has been a creative force for the festival as a multi-disciplinary artist for more than decades. He was one of the original artists in residence when the festival hired him to help support the guitar and songwriting class, the Americana Project at Sisters High School. He went on to win the festival’s songwriting contest, donate an original painting each year for My Own Two Hands, emcee the festival, lead a late-night jam at Angeline’s and teach at the Americana Song Academy since its inception in 2002.
“Dennis always has a unique and clever take on where we are at and where the organization is going. He lives in both the music and visual arts world and brings insightful artistic interpretation to his work each year,” said Brad Tisdel, creative director. “The past several years has forced our organization to think fast and be adaptive, but also be in it for the long haul. Apparently, pronghorns can maintain their speed for long periods of time, which — as we celebrate our 25th year — we see the long game as being critical to our impact in the community and region. Between the music and arts education support SFF provides, our creative programming for youth and adults and the annual events My Own Two Hands and Sisters Folk Festival, it is the breadth and interconnected programs that help our impact and programming continue.”
Fifteen artists are confirmed so far to perform multiple sets over the three-day weekend, and plans are in the works to add many more before the lineup is complete. The confirmed artists include indie folk duo The Milk Carton Kids, Le Vent Du Nord, Rainbow Girls, The Accidentals, Fireside Collective, Jeffrey Foucault, JigJam, Caroline Spence, The Sweet Water Warblers, Making Movies, The Small Glories, James Hill & Anne Janelle, Seth Walker, O’Connor Lee, Beth Wood and more to be announced. A new round of bookings will be released March 29.
SFF is also looking ahead to the 2022 Americana Song Academy, taking place again at House on Metolius in Camp Sherman from September 26-29. The breathtakingly beautiful site is near the town of Sisters and was host to last year’s academy, with approximately 50 participants attending. Space is limited, with just a handful of spots remaining. The full lineup of teaching artists will be announced in the next few weeks.
Additional information on SFF’s programming, including tickets, lineup and volunteering, is available at sistersfolkfestival.org.