The first weekend in October, hundreds of people travel from out of town to our beautiful Rogue Valley. They don’t come to taste the wine, although they are sure to. Nor do they come to hike, although their feet may feel as if they had. No. They come for three days of live music and dancing. Beginning 2:00pm Friday, October 2, until the finale’s conclusion at 4:00pm, Sunday, October 4, 16 bands will perform a total of 95 sets of danceable music at five distinct venues, all within seven blocks in downtown Medford. More than 100 hours of musical entertainment, from jump jive, blues, doo wop, rockabilly, swing, zydeco, R&B, funk and rock ‘n’ roll to traditional jazz, are performed by the nation’s top festival bands from the east coast to the west. Southern Oregon Music Festival (SOMF) has attracted bands from 27 states, the same number of years it’s been staging festivals. Its intimate venues and the appreciation of our audiences are credited for enticing talented festival musicians, most of whom perform at many of the 130 other festivals around the country.
A total of five venues, two at the Inn at the Commons, KOBI-TV Studio C and Tequila Event Center play host to each band and welcome all ages, with the exception of Howie’s, which is restricted to 21 or older. Inn at the Commons (formerly Red Lion) continues as the Festival’s Headquarters. KOBI-TV’s Studio C is the Festival’s premiere dance venue, featuring a first-ever 1200 square foot, professionally-engineered, competition dance floor. The newest venue, the Tequila Event Center, is adjacent to the Fiesta Market and Restaurant (the former location of JJ North’s Buffet). It’s spacious and recently-renovated interior offers ample seating and dancing space. Tequila Event Center owners are making their entire parking lot available for additional free parking. Free shuttle service is provided to and from the other venues.
The big news last year was the Festival’s name change from Medford Jazz Festival to the Southern Oregon Music Festival (SOMF). The reason for the name change was the promise that the Festival would be bringing new talent and new events to attract a broader audience. And they’re delivering on that promise. If their new, bold website isn’t enough of an indication that change is coming, the Festival added a new event: LATE & LIVE, an extension of the traditional Saturday Night Prime Time. From 5:00pm Saturday until 2:00am Sunday, six different bands will feature danceable music. West Coast Swing circuit solo artists, Danny Maika and Leify Green, each perform their own set, sure to draw dancers from the Bay Area to Seattle. For serious night owls, the dancing continues until dawn a few blocks up the street at Firehouse Dance Hall, where a DJ will keep the beat going. All of this Saturday night hoopla is available for just a $25 Prime Time ticket.
The entire Festival lineup includes local talent, Bishop Mayfield and Friends, and bands that have traveled half way across the country, Bob Draga with Friends, Climax Jazz Band, Cornet Chop Suey, Danny Maika, Dave Bennett & The Memphis Speed Kings, Gator Nation, High Street Band, Leify Green, Lisa Kelly and JB Scott Sextet, The Midiri Brothers, Oregon Coast Lab Band, Stompy Jones, Tom Rigney and Flambeau, Twice As Good, The Young Bucs, and youth performances by Rogue Valley high school bands.
Tickets can be purchased online until September 30, with a savings of $5 on All-Event passes. After September 30, All-Event tickets are $80, for all three days, and can be purchased at Inn at the Commons beginning October 1 through October 4. During Festival dates, October 2-4, tickets are also available at KOBI-TV Studio C and Tequila Event Center. Day admission tickets are available: Friday $30, Saturday $50 or Sunday $25 or if you prefer a bit later, you can enjoy as many bands as you wish at all five venues with a Prime Time Friday pass (5:00pm to close) or Saturday (which includes LATE & LIVE 5:00pm ‘til dawn), each just $25. Free shuttles between venues are available starting 30 minutes prior to the day’s first scheduled set, until 30 minutes after the last set.
The general public is welcome to partake in the annual pancake, egg and sausage breakfast hosted by Troop 5 of the Medford Boy Scouts for only $6 at KOBI-TV Studio C, Saturday, October 3 at 8:00am, during which you’ll be complimentarily serenaded by The Oregon Coast Lab Band followed by select Rogue Valley high school band Youth Performances, from 9:30am to 12:10pm. Also free, and open to the public, is an inspirational set by the Midiri Brothers and Bob Draga at the First Presbyterian Church, Sunday, October 4, at 10:30am. A full band schedule of dates and times is available for download at somusicfest.org.
Four days prior to the Festival, two bands perform at more than 30 local elementary and middle school assemblies. Over 12,000 students learn about music through interactive entertainment. The rest of the year, SOMF’s Music Education programs supplement Jackson and Josephine County Schools music and orchestra programs, at all grade levels, providing classroom instructors, private music lessons, and musical instruments. SOMF’s “Leave a Legacy” campaign encourages individuals to donate their instruments to the Instrument Donation Program. The program has collected more than 200 instruments since its inception in 2011, including Karen Denman, who donated her collection of 82 instruments, entrusting SOMF with the task of placing them into the hands of eager young musicians, unable to afford their own instruments.
To learn more about the Festival and its commitment to Music Education or donating an instrument, visit somusifest.org or call 866-448-1948.
