Palouse Music Festival rolls into second year

The second incarnation of the Palouse Music Festival will take place Saturday in Hayton Greene Park. Formerly the Palouse Bluegrass Festival, the event will again feature a range of local acts concluding with veteran group The Senders in their first Festival performance.

“A dance party in the park at the end,” said Paul Smith of the Palouse Arts Council, which is staging the day-long event for the second year.

All told there will be nine hours of music along with food, craft vendors and a beer garden featuring Paradise Creek Brewery.

The music will begin at 11 a.m. with Moscow’s non-profit Sesitshaya Marimba Ensemble followed by Palouse blues guitarist/singer Jens Hegg and Pullman’s Bart Budwig & Friend. Next will be the modern bluegrass of Forgotten Freight followed by Pullman folk singer Dan Maher. At 5 p.m., the Appalachian celtic blues of Wanigan will be heard from the Lewiston-area group which has played several Palouse Bluegrass Festivals.

Their name comes from the term for the cook shack and sleeping quarters on the former annual log drives on the north fork of the Clearwater River.

Following Wanigan, as the evening sets in, Palouse family trio Tiana Gregg, Emmy Lou Gregg and Christopher Holmes will play, along with sideman fiddle player Paul Smith. The trio has played the Palouse Bluegrass/Music Festival every year.

“There’s a vast repertoire there,” said Smith. “Including songs about Palouse.”

The Senders will then take the stage at 6:30 p.m. for the finale.

Jim Roberts of Palouse plays guitar in the group, which has been known in the region since forming in Spokane in the mid-‘80s

“They’ve been on and off for decades,” said Smith.

Aside from Roberts, the other band members are now in Moscow.

The Senders play a mix of danceable rock songs from the ‘50s to the ‘80s. From the Rolling Stones’ version of Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away” to Richie Valens’ “Come On Let’s Go” and the Commodores’ “Easy.”

All the while, food will be available all day, including new items such as salads from the Viola Ladies Club and brauts and chips to benefit the Palouse Community Center, whose volunteers decided not to do their annual pig roast this year. There will also be hamburgers from the Palouse Lions Club and kettle corn from the Moscow Rotary.

In addition, the Palouse skate park effort will partner with the Viola Ladies to provide beverages. Viola’s group is raising money to build a community center.

New craft vendors for the Palouse Music Festival this year include Sarah Bailey Photography, Jane Wood Repurposed Vintage and Pink Sweetie handmade handbags and more.

Admission is free in the morning to visit the vendors from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Proceeds from the festival will be shared between the Palouse Arts Council, Community Center and Chamber of Commerce.