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This year’s Waterfront Blues Festival is stacked, with major names like Tiny Desk Contest–winners Tank & the Bangas and ’70s psych-funk legends Cymande folded into its impressively broad definition of the blues. (Hailu Mergia, the great Ethiopian jazz pianist, unfortunately had to drop out.) It’s also, in a roundabout way, a strong showcase for local country music, so anyone interested in learning more about Portland’s honky-tonk universe should check out these three Waterfront performers.
Thursday, July 2
The impressively bearded psych-rocker Ripley Johnson has spent decades realigning people’s neurons as a member of bands like Moon Duo and Wooden Shjips, so it’s no surprise that his turn towards country music would be a little different than most. Featuring virtuoso local pedal steel player Barry Walker (North Americans, Jeffrey Silverstein, The Barry Walker Unit), Johnson’s newest outfit, the Rose City Band, performs cosmic Americana paced at the tempo of a honeyslide dripping off Neil Young’s spoon. 6:45 pm on the Main Stage
Friday, July 3
Ashleigh Flynn put out her first record in 1999, long enough ago that the Decemberists’ Chris Funk appeared on it when his most famous band was a twinkle in Colin Meloy’s eye. That album was steeped in grunge, but her newest project, The Riveters, is a proudly queer and countrified all-female unit, named in tribute to everyone’s favorite World War II heroine and her hardworking ethos. Their newest record, Good Morning, Sunshine, carries a woozy, Western vibe; it’s hard to tell if the heat waves are playing tricks on your eyes or if you’re just day-drunk. 1:15 pm on the River Rhythms Stage
Saturday, July 4
Punk rock has a long love affair with country, and if you boil them down you’ll see they’re made of the same things. “Three chords and the truth,” sure, but also a commitment to the Great Song. Jenny Don’t and Kelly Halliburton, co-founders of Jenny Don’t & the Spurs, have deep roots in Portland’s punk scene, with connections to legends like the Wipers and Dead Moon. But their love of honky-tonk heroes like Hank Williams and Ernest Tubb led them to collect a massive catalog of country chestnuts—then to start writing songs that could plausibly compete with them. 7:30 pm on the Stay & Sway Stage
