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Yonder Mountain String Band

07/13/2017

Northwest String Summit kicks off today in North Plains

By SCOTT CUNNINGHAM // Annual event features national and regional artists in a one-of-a-kind setting.

Today kicks off the 2017 Northwest String Summit at Horning's Hideout in North Plains. The annual event features a wide variety of music including bluegrass, folk, Americana, soul, and Celtic. In addition to well-known national acts, the event also features some of Portland's best acts.

Music starts today at 3:00PM and runs into the night on all four days, spread across four areas. The Shook Twins wrap it all up Sunday evening with a two-hour set starting at 9:30PM.

Artists to Watch

First and foremost, the summit hosts Yonder Mountain String Band are a must see this year. They have three performances lined up and are sure to be a crowd pleaser. They've also just dropped a new album titled "Love. Ain't Love", which is full of great new songs, a great cover of Dancing in the Moonlight, and some terrific engineering that creates plenty of room to capture the complexities of their instrumentation.

Next on my list would be the California Honeydrops, a San Francisco band that is joing the retro soul movement. The band features top-notch vocals from band co-founder Lech Wierzynski, who would certainly have been right at home in Memphis during the peak of the Stax era. JJ Grey & Mofro are also appearing this year if you need more of a straight-up blues fix.

Out of Colorado, Elephant Revival has been making a solid name for themselves with their mixture of Americana, folk, and Celtic songs. Portland favorite Todd Snider is sure to be as entertaining as always as will be the Shook Twins.

Other artists to catch if given the opportunity are Dead Man Winter, The Travelin' McCourys, Darol Anger, Slocan Ramblers, and the Last Revel. These are only a handful of all the artists performing this year so I'm certain there are plenty of others worth catching as well, these are just a few that have caught my attention for various reasons. Full schedules.

Ticket Information

Tickets for the summit are still available, including three and four day passes. Full ticketing information can be found on the NWSS website. Parking passes can be purchased in advance or at the gates. Ticket information.

Directions

Horning’s Hideout is located just 35 minutes west of Portland in North Plains, Oregon. From Portland Take Highway 26 West approximately 15 miles to the North Plains/Glencoe Road Exit 57. Turn right (North) from the exit onto Glencoe Road. Take Glencoe Rd. approximately 1.5 miles to a left fork that is Pumpkin Ridge Road. Follow Pumpkin Ridge Rd. for 5 miles to Brunswick Canyon Road, which is an easy to miss gravel road on the right. Follow Brunswick Canyon Road down, down, down into the canyon. If you’re coming from the coast, you can hook up with 26 East from Hwy 101. If you’re coming either North or South on I-5, or on I-84 through The Columbia River Gorge, you’ll drive into Portland and take the I-405 loop to 26 West, then follow the directions above.

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