Entertainment roundup: rain or shine, there’s still music in the air

By BEN OLSON/for The Herald  —  Spring, in these parts, comes at different times. Twice in the last week I was turned back before reaching my destination by snow in the road that was deeper than I was comfortable driving through.

Three thousand more feet in elevation and a narrow east-west road with big trees blocking the sun on the south side of the road can make winter linger on until June. Soon, though, I’ll be able to get through to the trailheads at the higher altitudes. The mosquitos will be waiting there to greet me.

It may be raining, but the music goes on

Although the dank weather kept a lot of potential travelers from heading for the hills this last weekend, there was a little live music around the area to keep us entertained. Lake Odell Lodge started their music for the season on Saturday. They’ll take a couple of weeks to let things warm up before their next live music on the deck.

I’ll be playing at the 3 Legged Crane on 1st Street in Oakridge this Thursday evening, June 2, from 7 – 9 p.m. I will be equipped with my guitar, bass, and harmonicas, as well as a deluxe 3 Legged Crane kazoo, which can only be purchased on site. (No mail order, please)

Thursday is an open mic night, and I’d be happy to back up any pickers or singers that stop by.

On Saturday, June 4, Crazy Mountain Billies will be taking the stage at 7 p.m. With a little research on Facebook, I found that Crazy Mountain Billies may, in fact, be one very energetic guy with a banjo who has been plying his trade from the Dakotas to the Pacific Ocean for the last 10 years. I’m not going to miss it.

The 3 Legged Crane brews their own beer and cooks up tasty sandwiches, appetizers and dinner entrees. There is no cover charge for the live music.

Deep Woods is gearing up for some outdoor fun

A couple blocks further west on 1st Street is the Insensitive Wetlands of the Deep Woods Distillery, where Ripple Vision will be taking the stage sometime shortly after 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 4. Cocktails made with the small-batch products of the distillery will be available and there will be a food wagon on site, although at this time it is still TBA. There will be a nominal cover charge to attend the show.

It looks as though I’ll be splitting time between the two venues in Uptown Oakridge that evening.

At the Lion Mountain Bakery on Highway 58 in Oakridge, Broken Horn will be playing the hits of yesterday with his Epiphone guitar and vocals from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Sunday June 5. I’ll be opening the show at 9 a.m. with my ukulele. The Lion Mountain serves both a breakfast and lunch menu and offers a spacious comfortable atmosphere for both dining and listening to some live music. There is no cover charge for the live music events.

Don’t drive into the lake!

In describing the location of the Dexter Lake Club last week, I erroneously said that it was at milepost 13- it’s actually located at milepost twelve. Sorry if that caused anyone to get lost.

The jam sessions are every Sunday and Tuesday, although I didn’t get all the details as to who would be hosting them this week. I will tell you that the Tuesday night jam tends to attract the country music pickers and singers, and Sunday’s focus is a little more on rock and roll music, with a back beat,  you can’t lose it.

As Chuck said, “It’s gotta be rock and roll music, if you wanna dance with me, if you wanna dance with me.” The Dexter Lake Club has a full bar and serves a sandwich and dinner menu. There is no cover charge for these music events.

I promise to update the karaoke scene in next week’s column. If you know of a live music show taking place here in the Highway 58 corridor, drop me an email with all the details and I’d be happy to get it in my column. Please support live music and the musicians who make it!