Submitted photoThe Oh Hellos

One time when I was in line at Subway, I heard the sandwich artist tell the guy in front of me that she was “homeless by choice” for a year. Which is fine; whatever’s cool with me.

But I thought of her this week when I landed on the Bandcamp site of The Oh Hellos, a Texas-based folk-pop duo that will play Bend’s McMenamins Old St. Francis School on Wednesday. There, siblings Maggie and Tyler Heath describe themselves as “intentionally-independent,” putting a positive spin on being unaffiliated with a record label and other music-biz infrastructure.

To be clear: I’m not questioning their use of that phrase. I’m not saying they would like to ditch independence for a suitcase full of cash. But know this: If The Oh Hellos want to, they’ll be able to climb aboard with some music-facilitating company soon enough. Also on that Bandcamp is a “Play” button, and when you hit it, you’ll hear an earnest and catchy brand of roots music that would fit snugly between The Lumineers, The Head and The Heart and Of Monsters and Men on your FM dial. These two folks do soaring melodies over a bed of strummy string-band pop as well as just about anyone out there.

What does that mean for you? It means if you want to see ’em for free on the tiny stage inside McMenamins’ cozy Father Luke’s Room, this week is your chance, because who knows where they’re heading.

— Ben Salmon

Find more information on events happening in Central Oregon in our calendar.