It's not uncommon to spot teenagers snacking on fries or ice cream on a warm afternoon, while gentlemen in Stetson hats, silver belt buckles and cowboy boots wander into the watering hole at Redmond's General Duffy's. The Highway 97-adjacent bar, food cart pod, sit-down restaurant and concert venue has a little bit of something for anyone who enjoys the sun-soaked environs of Central Oregon.
From lawn games to trivia night to Saturday market and Sunday brunch, overseeing it all is the namesake mascot: a massive, 12-point bull elk wearing a burgundy crown. Hung on high in his place of honor, General Duffy was brought home by Dick Robertson after a bow hunting trip in Eastern Oregon near the Silvies River. It was the first bull elk he'd shot after eight years of bow hunting, and the decisive arrow sits atop General Duffy's expansive antlers.
He was nicknamed "'The General' because he had so many cows with him. He was really the king of the forest," describes Tanner Robertson, who runs General Duffy's with his parents, Susan and Dick. He represents "that romantic, majestic experience about being outdoors and the true appreciation of the wilderness; the experience of feeding your family and having that really close, intimate hunting adventure story. And then, of course, my mom wouldn't let my dad hang General Duffy in the house, and so he built a tap house to share his love of adventure, hunting and outdoors with the community in a place that my mom would approve."
Since 2019, the Robertsons have been building community at General Duffy's. There are open mic nights and live music on the patio or a larger outdoor stage. Sometimes the shows are free; other times there's an affordable cover. And there's always room for dancing, food and drink.
Four years ago, the Robertsons saw an opportunity to throw a bigger concert event in their outdoor, triangular asphalt space. "We wanted to utilize our property for national artists to come in and [for] the community of Redmond to really enjoy," Robertson says. He was also inspired by his first concert ever when he saw Everclear at Portland's Crystal Ballroom in high school. So who'd he book? The Rose City-grown alternative and power pop rockers themselves, natch.
They've since branded their homegrown showcase General Duffy's Summer Kickin' Concert Series, booked a host of national touring country, pop and rock acts that draw crowds of up to 3,000, and cultivated a community of supportive fans and local businesses to help them pull it off.
“One of the really cool things about bringing national touring shows to Redmond is the excitement and the energy that it brings.”—Tanner Robertson, General Duffy’s
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"They recognized that there was an opportunity to grow their little watering hole into something bigger, which now has become what I believe to be the largest locally owned and operated outdoor venue in Central Oregon," says Jennifer Davis of Breaking Free Media, who handles marketing, sponsorship sales and public relations. And while she jokingly apologizes for the NASCAR feel of promotional materials plastered with some 36 logos of stage or presenting sponsors alongside myriad local businesses, she whole-heartedly exclaims, "We couldn't do without our partners, and we really mean it."
"How do you put on bigger shows and bring in 38 Special, Trace Adkins and Smash Mouth without big corporate dollars?" Davis asks. Power in numbers. "Without those people, it wouldn't happen. It shows this incredible community really coming together to elevate Redmond. And it's really beautiful."
Easily overlooked if you're simply looking for a good time, what really makes the Summer Kickin' Concert Series special is that it's entirely booked by the Robertson family: a mother, father and son team who'd never booked musical artists on this scale prior to a few years ago. When they decided to get serious about bringing talent to Redmond, "we took the initiative to reach out and build relationships in Nashville as the hub of country music. We took that grassroots approach," Robertson explains.
"We go to Nashville once a year and reconnect with all of our friends to dream and conceive our Summer Kickin' Concert Series lineup every year." With the support of some established industry pros, "we're able to do it as a family-owned establishment, and it makes it more special when we've seen the process from start to finish, through the correspondence of dreaming about this artist — Nate Smith or Elle King or Trace Adkins — and then we have that face-to-face interaction with those agents," who ultimately make decisions on where and when their artists will play.
The Robertsons also coordinate local vocalists to sing the National Anthem at every concert and are sometimes able to feature local talent as openers, like country musician Austin Lindstrom who plays several spots this summer. The rest of the series will see country stars Trace Adkins, Nate Smith, ERNEST and Shane Smith & The Saints sharing the General Duffy's stage with pop rockers Smash Mouth and the dynamic alt country and blues singer Elle King in July, August and September.
"One of the really cool things about bringing national touring shows to Redmond is the excitement and the energy that it brings," Robertson says. "It's really the network of families and business owners that have rallied behind [us]" to create the "community spirit that is generated by doing larger shows."
Embracing these opportunities, both Davis and Robertson highlight General Duffy's ability to give back, whether that's fundraising for local high school sports, the people of Maui after the wildfire last year, or the Sisters-based nonprofit Mission 22, which supports veterans and is on-site during this summer's concerts.
