Oregon Coast Fun in the Chill: Florence's Winter Music Fest Gets Early Ticket Start

Published 06/27/22 at 5:25 AM PST
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Florence, Oregon) – Sure, it's a long ways off now, and we certainly only very recently squeezed out of a late winter's chill. Even so, Florence's 2023 Winter Music Festival has just announced its lineup and is offering early bird tickets now through July 14. The large-scale Oregon coast favorite will be packed to the gills with bluegrass, heartwarming new and traditional folk, and foot-stompin’ Americana on January 27 to 29. (Above: courtesy Florence Visitors Center)

It's the 20th season of the tune-filled shindig, hosting twelve high-caliber rigs that will shake the frost from your winter jaunt to this central Oregon coast town.

Kirk Mlinek, Winter Music Festival chairperson for the event’s producer Florence Arts, Culture & Entertainment (FACE), said this one has something special.

“This just may be our very best line-up ever,” he said.

Planning ahead will get you some substantial savings. Two- or three-day passes can cost you $20 less, or chop $5 off an individual pass. These prices are available until July 14, while some advance ticket discounts kick in from July 15 through August 31. Regular ticket prices start on September 1 and are on sale until the last day of the festival.

Specifically, the three-day pass, good for all performances on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are $129/139/$149 for early bird/advance/regular price packages respectively. Two-day passes for Friday and Sunday are $99/109/119. A two-day pass combining Friday and Saturday, or Saturday and Sunday, is $60/70/75. All single-day performances for Friday evening, Saturday night, or Sunday are $40/45/50 for the early bird/advance/regular prices. Saturday afternoon’s session tickets are $35/40/45.

Kicking off the Oregon coast party is the Friday Afternoon Free Show. This entails a community concert given the Saturday night performer, Jake Blount. Catch him one day early for nothin'. The show goes from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. This is a first come, first seated, space limited event.

Festival Schedule

Friday Night -- 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Never Come Down performs, weaving together modern and traditional styles of bluegrass and Americana, Never Come Down is a highly popular Portland, Oregon, based five-piece band.

Friday Night -- 8:30 to 9:45pm
AJ Lee & Blue Summit
Led by singer, songwriter, and mandolinist, AJ Lee, the bluegrass band has performed all over the world, but finds home in California’s Bay Area.

Saturday Daytime
11:00 a.m. to Noon
Cabin Fever NW
If friendship had a soundtrack, this would be it. The Alternate Root magazine says “Imagine Simon and Garfunkel singing with the Carter Family’s devotion.” Vibrant original songs performed with rich vocals and masterful instrumentation, Cabin Fever NW has wide crossover appeal for fans of bluegrass, singer-songwriter, Americana, country, pop, and gospel.

12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
Josh Goforth
Josh played fiddle for the movie Songcatcher, both onscreen and on the soundtrack. He has toured extensively with a variety of ensembles with several bluegrass bands like Appalachian Trail, the Josh Goforth Trio, the Steep Canyon Rangers, and Open Road. He has performed at the Grand Ole Opry, the Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall.

2:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Crary, Evans & Barnick
Dan Crary is a pioneer of flatpicking guitar music, one of the founding fathers of the flatpicking and “newgrass” movements in Americana and bluegrass music. Bill Evans is one of the most exciting and celebrated banjo players of the 21st Century. He a dazzling and entertaining live performer and recording artist. Lead singer and bass man, Wally Barnick, completes the ensemble with soulful, I-remember-long-ago vocals and harmonies, blazing instrumental artistry, and deep-down, powerfully felt musical moments.

3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
The Slocan Ramblers (2020 IBMA Momentum Band of the Year Award Winner & 2019 Juno Award Nominee) are Canada’s bluegrass band to watch. Rooted in tradition, fearlessly creative, and possessing a bold, dynamic sound, The Slocans have become a leading light of today’s acoustic music scene. With a reputation for energetic live shows, impeccable musicianship, and an uncanny ability to convert anyone within earshot into a lifelong fan.

Saturday Night
7:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Jake Blount is an award-winning musician and scholar based in Providence, RI. He is a 2020 recipient of the Steve Martin Banjo Prize, and a two-time winner of the Appalachian String Band Music Festival. As a specialist in the early folk music of Black Americans, Blount is a skilled performer of spirituals, blues and string band repertoire who has performed at the Kennedy Center, the Newport Folk Festival, and numerous other venues across and beyond the United States.

Saturday Night Headliner
8:30 to 9:45 p.m.
Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
At age 9, Michael Cleveland was invited to sit in with the legendary Bill Monroe at the Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival. Soon after, he brought his virtuosic style to the Grand Ole Opry as a guest of Alison Kraus, and was handpicked for the International Bluegrass Music Association’s (IBMA) Bluegrass Youth Allstars before he was 14. “He plays fearlessly and it’s intoxicating to play along with him because he makes you play fearlessly,” says Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill. “He takes no prisoners, but he plays with restraint and soul, (and yet manages to play) without abandon.” Cleveland won the 2019 Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album, and clearly, the IBMA concurs as he’s their most awarded Fiddle Player of the Year with 12 wins and is a 2018 Inductee to the National Fiddler Hall of Fame.

Sunday Folk
11:00 a.m. to Noon
The McCornacks
Singer-songwriters Mike & Carleen McCornack have been delighting audiences for nearly fifty years with an engaging musical style that blends clear, expressive, harmonious vocals with sparkling acoustic instrumental accompaniments.

12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
Hank Cramer
Hank Cramer is one of the best-loved folksingers in the American West. He is widely known for his booming bass voice, smooth picking on a vintage flat-top guitar, and his wry sense of humor. He has a repertoire of over a thousand modern and traditional songs, spanning the genres of Celtic, Appalachian, maritime, cowboy, and plain old folk music.

2:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Phoenix
Based in Salem, Oregon, the folk pop duo Phoenix consists of award-winning songwriters Tim and Kathy Crosby, who have been performing together for well over 20 years.  Together they have collaborated on several CD's, and are known far and wide for their songwriting abilities and high energy entertainment style.

3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Three Together
Three Together is loved by audiences for their intricate 3-part harmonies on many songs from 60's and 70's era folk, pop, and rock artists we've grown up with such as Crosby, Stills & Nash; Peter, Paul & Mary; The Beatles; the Everly Brothers; and We Five.

A complete festival overview, with artist profiles and early ticket discounts, is available at WinterMusicFestival.org.

The weekend also offers workshops by some of the performers on songwriting, guitar skills, and jamming (separate admission for non-concertgoers). Free, dedicated on-site jamming space is available beginning at noon on Friday and 1:00 on both Saturday and Sunday.

Call 541-991-8811 or email FACEFlorenceArts@gmail.com.

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