“I got 50 lists for this section this year! Visit www.bendbulletin.com/frequency to see the overflow.”
— Bulletin music writer Ben Salmon

DOWNHILL RYDER
roots, rock 'n' soul band
1. Powerful CD releases from Mike Potter, The Quons and Erin Cole-Baker!
2. Being so impressed by the Portland-based band Norman at The Bite of Bend this summer that all their CDs had to be purchased.
3. Seeing musicians come together for the Roots Revival and the High and Dry Bluegrass Festival for the good of all.
4. Seeing Brandi Carlile for the first time and it “changing” a life.
5. Downhill Ryder laying it down sweet and tight on a First Friday at Deschutes Brewery.

JAMIE HOUGHTON
bass/vocals, The Dream Symphony
• Joan Osborne at the Athletic Club this summer. I always enjoyed hearing her wail with the Dead, but this show's sparse voice and piano arrangement opened up a whole new appreciation for her gorgeous vocals.
• Red Elvises at Silver Moon in March. Yes, I am a closet disco dancer. Even better is looking up their Behind the Music on YouTube. Two Russians + surf rock + Venice Beach. This is beyond entertainment.
• Local writer Suzanne Burns' mixed Christmas and Halloween CDs. I highly suggest bribing her to get one.
• Shireen Amini with her loop pedal at Hawthorn Healing Arts Center.
• Ozomatli on Cinco de Mayo from the rooftops.

DORI DONOHO
host, “Homegrown Music Showcase,” Clear 101.7 FM
1. John Butler Trio at Clear Summer Nights! Getting to hang out with John backstage before the show then dancing my tail off to one of my all-time favorite musicians/human beings on the planet. Definitely No. 1 on my list of the best of the best of 2011.
2. What do you get when you mix a motor home, cinnamon whiskey, good friends, and out of this world blues to bluegrass and beyond music? Three days of insane fun, music, and bohemian abandon! Did I say too much? The Sisters Folk Festival rocked my world this year.
3. The Maiden Bend fest at the Tower Theatre was the icing on the cake for me this year. Six strong, beautiful, talented women graced the stage for a diverse evening of Woman Power and amazing indie music! Peak Artist Alliance really raised the bar on multi-band performances; this was smooth as silk, and well worth the expensive tickets.
4. Cinco de Mayo. Woop woop! 5,000+ folks crammed into the streets in downtown bend to celebrate Cinco de Mayo in style with the bands Ozomatli, Rubblebucket and Todd Haaby! Arriba! Hope this becomes an annual event.
5. For the fifth slot, I am going to cheat a bit because I love these two albums released this year equally: Amos Lee's “Mission Bell” (start to finish AMAZING) and Iron & Wine's “Kiss Each Other Clean” (oh yeah)!

“Any moments that included watching our son Leo dance, most especially watching him dancing with Kal from Rubblebucket when they opened for Ozomatli on Cinco de Mayo.”
— Gabe Johnson, promoter/booking agent

“Ice Cube at the Midtown in Bend!! What more needs to be said?”
— Rhoda Jones, co-owner, Midtown Ballroom

“Warm summer nights hearing music ringing in the air in Bend! Whether it be on the Deschutes River, or on the streets of downtown Bend, or resounding from the Roots Revival! Live music is the best!”
— Rhoda Jones, co-owner, Midtown Ballroom

“In my opinion, there can never be too many music venues in Bend. The Horned Hand has a funky strangeness to it. It's like going to hear music in someone's garage. I hope The Horned Hand thrives!”
— Mark Quon, singer-songwriter

“Larry and His Flask, The Confederats and Tuck and Roll at The Horned Hand. Were you one of the lucky 49 that got to actually be inside? I was and it was great. I planted myself stage left in front of the Flask's guitar player while a throng of the unfortunate ones were held back by a rope and the unfortunate fire marshal's opinion regarding fire exits.”
— Sean Garvin, drummer for Tuck and Roll, Boxcar Stringband

“Best new venue in Bend: The Horned Hand. This place rocks! The local music scene has not been the same since Wesley and Callie put themselves out there to provide Bend with something Bend has desperately needed: a place to see lesser-mainstream bands, in a venue that screams rock 'n' roll.”
— Dana MacKenzie, illustrator, designer, music fan

CHRIS GEORGE
owner, AC Sound in Bend
Top five live shows of 2011. (Editor's note: George did the sound at nearly 100 shows in 2011. Many are streaming at www.acsound.org.)
1. Gregory Alan Isakov with Fairchildren, PoetHouse Art, April. I had no idea what to expect and was entirely blown away from beginning to end.
2. The Pimps of Joytime, McMenamins, January. They were clearing out tables the entire show. It was wall-to-wall funky!
3. Tornado Rider, The Horned Hand, July. Performing a cello solo while being dragged across the floor on your back? I double dog dare you to try that!
4. Dawes, Silver Moon Brewing, January. Everything's gonna be all right!
5. Eric Tollefson and Sara Jackson-Holman, McMenamins, May. When these two sing together, I forget to breathe.

ERIN COLE-BAKER
singer-songwriter
1. The music extravaganza benefit for Erin Zurflu's lung cancer fund. Ridiculously amazing support from our community. It was overwhelming and touching to see that people are good.
2. Gregory Alan Isakov at the PoetHouse! Amazing!
3. The short-lived Consider the Fox union of my wonderful friend Chris Beland and I! So much fun.
4. Discovering the music of Laura Veirs and Brandi Carlile. So inspiring!
5. Sisters Folk Festival! I discovered so many great musicians including Matt the Electrician (soooooo good). It was an honor to be in the lineup!

ASPEN CLAYTON
one-third of The Prairie Rockets
The Gregory Alan Isakov show at PoetHouse Art with Fairchildren and the opening duo Lo and Behold. First of all, PoetHouse is one of the most intimate and interesting venues in Bend for an acoustic show. Secondly, Chris George was doing the sound. Yes, I am biased, but he is the best! I was spellbound when Grace of Lo and Behold started singing. This young lady, obviously new to playing out, just blew me away. Her harmonies with Tom Monson and original songs were fresh. Then Fairchildren played. Again, spellbound. This time the material was so interesting and the sound so true I was mesmerized. Then Gregory took the stage. OMG! He and the fiddle player were totally in sync. The keyboard and drums were right on. The sound was perfect. I talked to other people later and mentioned that show. Everyone I spoke with had the same expression of amazement ... like it was just some fluke. Bend was lucky that night. The best show of the year in my humble opinion.

Tiffany Odiorne
Hospitality Coordinator, Tower Theatre
Top 5 most unusual backstage catering requests at the Tower:
1. Shangri-La Chinese Acrobats: Frosted Flakes, Fruit Loops, doughnuts
2. Miles Davis Experience: sparkling water, flat, at room temperature (wouldn't that be tap water?)
3. Tower of Power: Four Starbucks double-shot espressos, six cans of diet Red Bull
4. Marty Stuart: Three rolls of paper towels, one box of wooden toothpicks
5. Paula Poundstone: Diet Pepsi. That's it. No food, just a six-pack of soda

MIKE BIGGERS
singer-songwriter
• Tommy Emmanuel at the Tower Theatre
• The whole Sisters Folk Festival experience
• Watching and “working” with the fabulous Central Oregon musicians/producers/artists on my latest CD
• KPOV achieving full power
• Any and all Americana student performances (they remind us of why we started playing and performing in the first place)

Willie Carmichael
folk singer
I was playing First Friday in August behind the Deschutes Brewery. Hot day, nice crowd, the brewery folks are grilling steaks and serving beer. This beautiful little 4-year-old — Ava or Eva I think she said — came up to visit and dance while I was playing. Pretty much your standard “cute kid approaches the stage” moment we've all seen a zillion times.

Between songs I asked her what I could do for her. She said, “You can give me a hug.” So I gave her a little hug and a guitar pick. She was so sweet and intensely happy — so present, you know? It was the most connected I've ever felt to a stranger.

She came up a couple more times and the last time as I knelt down to talk to her, she looked me dead in the eye and told me, “My mom says we have to go now, but I'll be back.” It was like we'd known each other all our lives, or maybe from past lives, or will in a future life, maybe. It was eerie and sweet and delicious and pure and I hope I never forget it.

“The Shins at the Domino Room with a new lineup. They sounded fantastic and the place was packed. Good job Bend!”
— Sean Garvin, drummer for Tuck and Roll, Boxcar Stringband

JASON SCHMIDT
drummer, Mosley Wotta, Warm Gadget
1. Ween at Les Schwab Amphitheater and 16 hours later on the same stage, watching Jason Graham, still in scrubs and on top of the world, playing immediately after cutting the cord for his new son Evers.

2. Any show Tony Smiley plays.
3. The Shins at the Domino Room.
4. Following the Flask boys' rise to national recognition.
5. Covering “Der Golem” by Fantomas, then getting shut down by the police.

“Playing with Mosley Wotta at the Les Schwab Amphitheater on July 3! My grandson, Evers Keen Graham, was born that day, and Jason (MoWo) arrived at the show in full scrubs from the birth and had over 3,000 people cheering Evers' arrival on the planet! Beautiful, sunny summer day and the band played great!”
— Thomas Tsuneta
bassist, Mosley Wotta

JAY TABLET
MC, producer
1. Anything MadChild from Swollen Members has touched all year! Seriously. The Monster is back!
2. Drake, “Take Care.” A lot of people hate on it. I disagree. This album is once again Drake proving he is in his own lane. The style of beats and songwriting are brilliant.
3. Pretty Lights for all his musical talents. I was recently introduced to his music this year.
4. Big Sean, “Finally Famous.” I've been a huge fan since I heard Big Sean on Mike Posner's original of “Cooler Than Me.”
5. The release of my debut solo album “Put It On The Tab” and touring for the last eight months off it.

“Dumpstaphunk and The Staxx Brothers at The Bite of Bend. Mmmhmm. Seeing my favorite funk band on the planet dominate the stage N'awlins style in our little mountain town ... priceless. And to those haters who complained about the volume at a downtown city concert and the sexy stage banter, please move to the country and leave the downtown to those of us who know what downtown is for.”
— Gabe Johnson, promoter/booking agent

CAMERON CLARK
owner, C3 Events
1. Side stage, Marc Cohn settling in at NorthWest Crossing.
2. The amazing Shireen Amini singing to her mom at The Old Stone.
3. The Joshua Redman Quintet on fire during the Portland Jazz Festival.
4. Nineteen-year-old Kate Davis conjuring up a modern-day Sarah Vaughn at the North Rim Lodge.
5. Johnny Clegg & Savuka telling stories, changing the world, live in Seattle.

TRAVIS EHRENSTROM
singer-songwriter, Sisters Folk Festival staff
1. Dawes opening for Brett Dennen at Clear Summer Nights was a musical perfect storm for me. Having played Dawes' debut album “North Hills” on repeat for months, I was entirely stoked for their follow-up “Nothing is Wrong.” It just so happened that this album was released a week before their visit to Bend. There is simply nothing wrong with “Nothing is Wrong.” I feel that this album was the best music released in 2011 from beginning to end. In my opinion Dawes is one of the most underrated acts out there right now and their opening set before Brett was a perfect example. Dawes is the perfect combination of The Band and Neil Young with a contemporary edge that sets them apart from all of the other folk-rock bands out there. Chances are they will be through Bend again in 2012, and I encourage everyone to see this awesome band!
2. “Pearl Jam Twenty.” Having moved from Seattle less than a year ago this documentary resonated very heavily with me. Seeing Eddie and the boys play some of my favorite venues in Seattle was simply mystifying. Cameron Crowe does such a great job of bringing music to life via film.
3. Ben Harper not bringing Relentless 7 to Bend. To put it simply, Ben Harper is better being Ben Harper.
4. Cahalen Morrison and Eli West playing to a totally packed and silent late-night audience at Sisters Folk Festival. Fifty minutes of flawless picking and old-timey tunes. At first listen they seem like a standard folk duo, but they are so much more. Cahalen and Eli are both young virtuosos who happen to write compelling songs.
5. Paul Simon, “So Beautiful or So What.” This album only proves that Paul Simon is still cooler than you.

“REO Speedwagon, Night Ranger and Joan Jett all played in Central Oregon this year!”
— Don Hoxie, The Substitutes

Les Schwab Amphitheater
Top 5 best-attended shows of 2011
1. Death Cab for Cutie, 5,790
2. The Decemberists, 4,012
3. Ben Harper, 3,705
4. Ween, 3,648
5. Alison Krauss, 3,409

"Chicago" at the Tower Theatre

“Being a part of the band was awesome, yes, but the show itself was amazing.”
— Jared Forqueran, drummer

“Very well put together and another display of great local talent.”
— Verda Hinkle, High & Dry Bluegrass Festival