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Event
Sonny Hammond Bluegrass Gospel Show
The complex harmonies in bluegrass gospel music strike a chord whether you believe in the gospel or not. By its very definition, the term gospel means good news and it can be moving, uplifting and joyful. Either way its a treat when its done right. On the evening of Saturday, January 28th, the OBA presents the 34th Annual Sonny Hammond Memorial Gospel Show. The evening begins at 5:30 with a jam and the gospel show starts at 7pm.
The bands: This year we present three great bands including special, one time reunion of the original Sunny South, reuniting for this one special evening. Sonny passed away in 1996 but original members Steve Reischman (guitar), Dave Elliot (mandolin) and Mike Stahlman (banjo), along with Tygh Trachsel on bass, have spent the last six months rehearsing tunes that Sunny South played in the early 1980s. Its pretty guaranteed that this performance, long in the works, is going to be great.
Next up is seven member Bethel Mountain Band from Salem. This band is the real deal. All of their gigs are in churches and from what weve heard, theyve got the vocal harmonies nailed.
Then as a special treat, well be featuring Annie Staninec and John Kael for a short set. Many of you have heard this duo as part of the band Whiskey Deaf.
A little history about the OBA Gospel Show:
These well-chosen bands are the latest piece in a long and rich history of the OBA Gospel Show. Steve Waller, one of the founding members of the OBA, said that in 1982, the year after the OBA was formed, the concept came together during his annual picking party which included Dave Elliott, Mike Stahlman, Steve Reischman and of course Sonny Hammond.
According to Steve, Sonnys idea was to make it into a fund raiser and a means to celebrate the great gospel tunes in bluegrass. This was during the early years of the OBA when many people donated time and money to get the organization off the ground. This included helping to rent the NW Service Center, the original venue for those early Gospel Shows. The bands donated their time. Steve says, During those first years, the bands maybe got some gas money but nothing else. We worked on it later to get them a modest fee for the shows they were on.
The show was officially christened the Sonny Hammond Gospel Show. Sonny was quite a character as well as one of the most charismatic people Ive ever met, says Steve Waller. Placing flyers in every music store was that first shows sole means of advertising, and it was an immediate hit. Sadly, Sonny passed away in 1996 and in his honor the show was renamed the Sonny Hammond Memorial Gospel Show.
Sonnys dream was for it to always be an all gospel show and its custodians always made sure it was kept that way. Ken Cartwright produced it in Salem for a few years before it returned to Portland with a succession of different producers, always flying under the Sonny Hammond Memorial Gospel Show flag and always an all gospel show. Mason Smith took over the job of producing it a few years ago. Since Mason already produces a monthly bluegrass series at a church, and since gospel happens to be Masons favorite form of bluegrass, it is a labor of love
Coming to the show is another way of supporting the Oregon Bluegrass Association, which is dedicated to the promotion, performance and preservation of the genre
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LocationClackamas Bible Church (View)
15655 S.E. Johnson Rd.
Clackamas, OR 97015
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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