YACHATS CELTIC FESTIVAL ALL-STARS

Join the after-Commons crowd as the best of the fest rip it up into the night

The Celtic Fest is back and a host of players will be just warmed up by the time they reach our doors. Members of Circled by Hounds, Cul an Ti, Stringed Migration and many more will crowd the stage. The sounds of Celtic, Irish, Balkan and Americana are promised from a music store full of sounds. Accordions, flutes, fiddles, guitars, drums and banjo will be heard. It's the 9th annual gathering of the tribes in Yachats and we are glad to be part of the fun.

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Saturday,
Nov. 8
9 p.m.

EDEN BRENT

Boogie-woogie piano stylist who can belt out the Mississippi Delta blues

They say she is Bessie Smith meets Diana Krall meets Janis Joplin, but to this ear she sounds all her own. A Delta native who has been getting out on the road, she's already won the 2006 International Blues Challenge and charted a No. 1 CD on the Roots Music Report Blues Chart. She was a hit at the Waterfront Blues Fest and has headlined the Highway 61 Blues Festival and the Beale Street Caravan. She's appearing solo but with all the musicians in town, you never know what might happen.

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High-energy blues from a Muddy Award nominee

Selfe, before moving to Portland two years ago from his base in Roanoke, Va., played over 1,500 gigs in 15 states, conquering a wide circle of East Coast venues. But his new start in the Northwest has given him a fresh outlook and he is getting some recognition, with two Muddy nominations from the Cascade Blues Association. He's become something of a mainstay at the Landmark, giving a variety of performances, suitable to the crowd, the weather, the whatnot.

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THE SUMMIT UNDERGROUND

Mike Riley brings in the blues from up the mountains

Riley is a consistent and generous blues player who has lived the life all his life. This band is 15 years old, a testament to the mellow style and the depth of appreciation its members have for the music. The blues lives because musicians live the blues. Mike is backed by Vegas and LA session harp player Kooch Kucera and Bongo Bob Pettit on drums.

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Alt rock from Eugene veterans, featuring Dana Vion originals

Dana has been writing songs for 20 years and while we all know about the importance of classics and standards, it's also nice to hear originals. Dana Vion's songs are funky, well-arranged music that rocks. It's been a while since the band played here, it has gone through some changes -- all for the better, we are sure.

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Eugene piano master brings in his own band for some rollicking blues

Jones is a piano player partial to roots, blues and barrelhouse piano, and has made it his mission to keep the music alive for future generations. He's played in several bands at the Landmark, but this is his own baby, cooking with the NOLA juice since 2003. Like many musicians, Jones dabbles in a number of styles and flavors, but always returns to his favorites: Booker T. and the MGs, Doctor John, James Booker and Professor Longhair. "Our shows are like a blues travelogue, but we always return to New Orleans. New Orleans is our base camp," he explains.

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T. RAY & THE SHADES

Rock and blues from a band with roots on the Oregon coast and New York

T. Ray and the Shades got a great shot in the arm last year with the addition of Matt Zekala, a guitar player from New York who learned his licks in the heady 1990s eastern jam atmosphere sparked by Blues Traveler. He provides a great counter-point to former South County resident T. Ray, the singer and shaker on the stage. And there is also Scott Johnston on the sax, transplanted from San Francisco. And pulling it all together is drummer Matt Murray, who grew up in Waldport.

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