Back in 2001, a new outdoor, riverfront amphitheater was being built in the heart of Bend. Soon thereafter, Coldplay came to town. Dylan and Willie followed. Subsequent years saw the Pixies, Paul Simon, Phish and countless more.
As rock stars made Bend a pit stop, local musician Mark Ransom sat on the riverbank with a friend. "We were eating a sandwich and drinking a beer, reminiscing about how none of that area had been developed before. These big acts are going to come in here, and they're going to jump on stage and jump off and roll off to the next place. We kind of felt like we were losing our soul a little bit," he says. "So, we really consciously said, 'It'd be a great thing if we could celebrate the local artists and always have a place for them to play.' That was how it was born."
The year 2006 marked the inaugural year of what's become the city's mainstay, local-focused music festival, Bend Roots Revival. Now in its 18th year, the three-day weekend from Friday, September 13 to Sunday, September 15 will see more than 100 regional acts descend upon downtown Bend, playing up to hour-long sets on 10 stages. During the daytime, Silver Moon Brewing, Bunk+Brew and Deschutes Brewery Public House will each host three stages until 10pm, while two bands will grace The Domino Room on Friday and Saturday nights for after-hours sets. All shows are free to the public, with daytime concerts open to all ages. Late-night shows at The Domino Room are 21 and over.
Ransom is excited that this year "all the same venues are involved" and mentions that Deschutes has expanded its presence by "hosting three stages: two in the alley, which will be full-blown band stages, and then one upstairs in the tap room that's going to run all of the songwriters in the round all weekend long."
“Roots is a big ritual celebration where the community comes together and clears out the cobwebs and gets ready for a new season.” —Mark Ransom
More than just a showcase of local talent across all genres, Ransom believes "it's a psychic cleansing of sorts that happens every year." For almost two decades, Ransom has worked as a music educator and developed performing arts programming in Central Oregon schools. He carries this ethos over to Roots.
"It's my belief that if we educate people in the language of the arts, and music in particular, we create the opportunity for more differing opinions and ideas and feelings in the world, and in ourselves, to be held without conflict. That's what happens in the jam session," he explains. When faced with students who are struggling, Ransom finds that "the arts tend to be a place where they can process some of that." He recently "worked on a master's that combines music, education and psychology" and has been working on a dissertation, a PhD, that centers on the potentials for community-wide education and, for lack of a better word, therapy. The idea of Roots is tied to that hugely, because it's a big ritual celebration where the community comes together, and I think kind of clears out the cobwebs and gets ready for a new season."
The Bend Roots festival used to incorporate more educational workshops, but these days "there's so many people that want to perform, and our goal is to give those people an opportunity to perform," Ransom says. This past June saw the group spin-off the Bend Roots Music Camp at Silver Moon and "enlist our local top players to share their craft and workshops, varying in all the same kinds of disciplines that we try to give exposure to when we're working with the kids." All ages and abilities were welcome, and folks learned ukulele, guitar, piano, drumming, bass, strings, horns and songwriting. It was so well-received and -attended that the second weekend of June 2025 (Father's Day weekend) will see it expanded to two days at the Century Center.
As for this year's festival, you can catch Ransom's band The Mostest, Jeshua Marshall & The Flood (who helped book the festival), Billy and the Box Kid (percussionist Scottie McClelland contributed booking as well) and Spencer Marlyn Band (who designed the group's great new logo) alongside so many other familiar names like Leadbetter Band, Alicia Viani, Flying Caravan, Pete Kartsounes, Company Grand, Fractal, The Critical Blues Band, Gbots & The Journeymen, The Hasbens, Jake Soto, Linda Quon & Hello Trouble, Palo Sopraño and The Rumpeppers.
Ransom emphasizes that "it's a family-friendly event" and "volunteer-powered." Running on "a shoestring budget," everything is "supported by sponsors and donors at all levels, and that's how we make the whole thing work. There's a very easy way to give on our website."
What sets Bend Roots Revival apart is "it's truly a friends of friends kind of thing," Ransom says. "We don't advertise," which means so much of the culture is organically created through word of mouth. And it's hard not to hear about it when most of the musicians in your community are performing! The fest is "rooted in education and sharing and celebration of local creative voices."
As he adds, "I love the fact that all of my musician friends, and a lot of new ones — young folks who are amazing musicians — get to come out and get to know one another. It's beyond networking. It's like this invigoration of the community that supports itself, and it helps cultivate a non-competitive, more supportive vibe in the music community."
