Entertainment at Moonshadow Festival 

As we prepare for the solar eclipse on Monday, August 21st, there will be no shortage of entertainment and recreation opportunities at Moonshadow Festival. Live music starts Friday August 18th and continues through the weekend, wrapping with open mic sessions on Monday following the total solar eclipse viewing. Authentic cowboy storytelling, farm tours, open hiking and a fun poker hike, morning yoga and markets featuring artisans and local farmers add to the activities we have planned. Download the printable schedule here

Find out more about our featured performers and schedules below: 

Musicial Performers

Crow & The Canyon
Bluegrass (Portland, Oregon)

Performing Sunday evening

Although the band has only been playing together since 2014, Crow and the Canyon sound like a band of age-old collaborators and friends. Their heartfelt yet cerebral lyrics, soaring vocals, and impressive instrumentals are endlessly listenable, while also remaining inventive and interesting. Their debut album, Leaving Soon, is a refreshingly contemplative take on high-spirited Americana songwriting which rewards repeated listening, and weaves back and forth between precise bluegrass, heartland acoustic folk, and bluesy country. The result is a series of songs that sound just as natural on a front porch in the heat of summer, in a dimly lit basement pub in the dead of winter or rollicking on a big festival stage. Their charismatic, engaging performances have garnered them a beloved reputation that keeps music lovers returning time and time again.

The Talbott Brothers
Folk/Rock, Americana (Portland, Oregon) 

Performing Sunday evening

The Talbott Brothers are an Americana Folk/Rock band based in Portland, Oregon. Nick and Tyler form an alternative sound that balances sibling-blood-harmonies with their instrumental ensemble of guitars, mandolin, harmonicas and percussion. Their entertaining effect on stage is embraced by multiple generations, as they are known for charming and energetic performances that blend singer-songwriter styles with folk, rock and pop.

There Is No Mountain
Psych Pop Americana (Portland, Oregon)

Performing Sunday afternoon

There Is No Mountain is Kali Giaritta and Matt Harmon making a lot of noise as a duo.  Kali and Matt play an intricate, turn-on-a-dime brand of psychedelic pop, with audible influences ranging from ancient folk to modern americana, world music to doom.  They walk these lines using a surprisingly small stage setup - acoustic guitar running through distortions and other effects along with a couple standing drums and shakers - and tie everything together with almost-constant vocal harmony.

Papa Smoke
Classic Rock, Country (Portland, Oregon)

performing Saturday evening

Featuring stellar vocals and tight harmonies “Papa Smoke” is sure to deliver a great show performing your favorite Classic Rock, Country, Southern Rock and Blues. Collectively touring the Northwest for over 35 years and performing with several major artists, “Papa Smoke” has perfected the art of musical performance and engaging an audience.

Wayward Soul
American Roots/Soul (Central Oregon)

performing Saturday evening

A 6-piece band built from strong roots in the gorgeous Central Oregon landscape they call home, Wayward Soul blends styles from Bluegrass and Country to Funk and RnB, weaving their music into the subtle tones of the world around them. This eclectic group of musicians each bring their own sense of style to the mix, creating a sound that is truly their own. With six different musicians bringing in different influences, the band that swept the competition in the 2015 Make-A-Band Showcase in Bend is in no danger of becoming a straight country group. This premiere Alt-Country group is already making huge waves throughout Central Oregon and is set to take the stage across the Pacific Northwest as the next hit band in Country music.

Bottom of the Barrel Band
Bluegrass, Dance Band (Prineville, OR)

performing Saturday afternoon

Bottom of the Barrel Band is the collaboration of Prineville’s first commercial brewer and owner of Ochoco Brewing Co., Joe Barker, and oft-barefoot music man and folk-dance-junkie, Ron Larsen. Both staples of the local community, they support and play neighborhood parties and dances, bringing in any other musicians they can “scrape off the bottom of the barrel” to join their fun party bluegrass sound.

Will Dudley | Kora, Ngoni
World Music (Portland, Oregon)

performing during morning yoga on Saturday and Sunday

The kora is a 21-stringed harp, played by the Mande people of West Africa. Its players descend from a lineage of jeli families, who act as historians, storytellers and spiritual leaders within their communities.  

The instrument is built from a large calabash gourd, cut in half and covered with cow hide. This body serves as a resonator, from which a long hardwood neck and free-standing bridge extend. The strings are traditionally made of fishing line.

Festival Activities  

Rick Steber
Award-winning author (Prineville, Oregon)

Cowboy storytelling Saturday afternoon

Rick Steber, the author of more than 30 books and sales of more than a million copies has received national acclaim for his writing. His numerous awards include the Western Writers of America Spur Award for Best Western Novel, Western Heritage Award, Benjamin Franklin Award, Mid-America Publishers Award, Oregon Library Association Award, Oregon Literary Arts Award, Independent Publishers Book Award, Indies Award for Excellence; and the USA Best Book Award. Three of his books have been optioned to movie production companies. In addition to his writing, Rick is an engaging Western personality and has the unique ability to make his characters come alive as he tells a story. 

Poker Hike (all ages)
Saturday noon

Join us Saturday for the Poker Hike, a 3.5-mile loop hike through Wine Down Ranch and crossing into the Ochoco National Forest. Participants will draw playing cards at each of 5 stations along the route, keep a score card, and those with the best poker hands by the end get the first pick of a pool of prizes donated by our generous local partners. The first hand is free with festival entry, but you can buy into as many hands as you would like!

Live Music Yoga
Bhakti Earth Yoga (Prineville, Oregon)

Saturday, Sunday, Monday mornings

Live Music Yoga classes are at the main stage for gentle yoga practices Saturday and Sunday mornings. Instruction provided by Alia Beyer of Bhakti Earth Yoga and live music by Will Dudley.

Also join a special Solar Eclipse Sequence from 4,400 ft with views of the Ochocos and Cascades during the Total Solar Eclipse on Monday the 21st. The sequence will be based on combined Sun and Moon Salutations to honor the event

Starlight Yoga
Mystical Hug Yoga (Portland, Oregon)

Saturday late night

Meet Kali from Mystical Hug Yoga and your host for Starlight Yoga on Saturday night. Kali is a gentle soul with a colorful teaching style that leaves every student feeling good both in their skin and spirit. She enjoys teaching dynamic yoga classes that incorporate more than just asanas (physical poses). Kali's experience as a nationally touring musician (check her out on stage Sunday as half of There Is No Mountain) performing for a wide diversity of audiences has also made it possible for her to create a safe, supported and positive atmosphere. Come enjoy the famously clear, dark starry skies with a relaxing session to finish the day, chilling out (and Wine-ing Down) to some of Kal's favorite tunes.

Movie Under the Stars

Friday and Monday evenings

Unbranded follows four men and sixteen mustangs on an epic 3,000-mile journey from Mexico to Canada through the American West to inspire adoptions for the 50,000 wild horses and burros in government captivity.