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All the town’s a stage in Sisters for one weekend every September — a weekend when world-class roots musicians from all corners of the country and beyond descend upon this small, Western-themed town in devoted celebration of musical expression and experience.

This tradition will continue Friday-Sunday, Sept. 9-11 when the Sisters Folk Festival hosts its 21st annual event, welcoming an eclectic mix of festival newcomers and a few returning artists, along with some local favorites and, of course, student songwriters and performers from the Americana Project.

More than 40 artists representing a diverse selection of musical genres — sounds that offshoot from a roots system often described simply as “Americana” — will perform on 11 different community stages throughout the weekend.

“I love the folk idiom and everything it entails and the wide-ranging possibilities within this musical spectrum,” said Sisters Folk Festival Creative Director Brad Tisdel. “On one hand, we’re presenting New Orleans funk and R&B, and on the other hand, we’re presenting a very well-known Scottish fiddle player. That’s just an illustration of how folk music is for everyone.”

One subtle yet significant change to this year’s festival, said Tisdel, will be the length of artists’ sets. Often limited to 45 minutes in the past, artists will be given from an hour to 90 minutes to play and interact with the audience.

“This gives the artists an opportunity to dig into their music a little more,” Tisdel said. “Now that we’re playing on 11 stages, we just wanted to decompress the hurry and anxiety around it all — give the artists a more relaxed environment, the patrons a more relaxed atmosphere, and our production team a greater opportunity to get things right.”

Performers such as Richard Thompson, Shawn Mullins, The New Orleans Suspects, Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas, and popular returning performer Ruthie Foster, Tisdel said, will take audiences through musical journeys that include elements of folk, rock, country, funk, soul and bluegrass.

“Sisters truly becomes a canvas of music, and we’re just trying to get better at what we do” said Ann Richardson, managing director of Sisters Folk Festival. “We want it to be a quality listening experience … a quality festival experience. We’re not as interested in getting big as much as making it a fantastic event and the place to be for our patrons.”

Along with the eclectic mix of music and personalities, the festival’s venues enhance this canvas. From large (e.g., Village Green, Sisters Art Works) to more intimate (e.g., Angeline’s Bakery, Depot Café), the location of the stage often colors the experience.

And back in the fold this season is Sisters Folk Festival’s 11th venue, Sisters Saloon — formerly Bronco Billy’s, a popular high-energy, late-night, outdoor venue that was on a five-year hiatus from the festival. Back as a Friday- and Saturday-night venue, the Sisters Saloon stage will feature Baskery, The Ballroom Thieves, Nora Jane Struthers & the Party Line, Scott Pemberton and Los TexManiacs.

“We thought, ‘It’s a saloon. It should have upbeat, high-energy music where people can have fun,’” Tisdel said. “We have a great history with that building as far as the Sisters Folk Festival goes, and we thought it was really important to reach out to the new owners and bring it back into the fold.”

The Sisters Folk Festival was founded in 1995 by Jim Cornelius and Dick Sandvik, who hosted a modest one-day music event and songwriting contest at Sisters High School — now the Sisters Middle School. Each year after, organizers built on the momentum of previous festivals to create a tradition that, while staying true to its roots, has evolved to include elements of outreach, art and education.

Now a year-long effort, Sisters Folk Festival, Inc. programs have grown to include The Americana Project, My Own Two Hands, a Winter Concert Series and, leading up to the main weekend festival, the Americana Song Academy. The festival itself has evolved, as well, to include free workshops with the artists and free community venues.

“I think that each venue has a real distinct flavor,” Tisdel said. “And between the artists and the venue, there’s something to discover at every location. The model that we’ve created and follow really gives patrons the opportunity for new discoveries and an appreciation for something they may have never expected.”

According to Richardson, the Americana Stage at Fir Street Park and Sisters Coffee Company will each offer free performances Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 10 and 11. This is good news, she added, considering all-event passes for the Sisters Folk Festival have once again been sold out since June.

“It’s our opportunity to give back to the community — to let people who couldn’t get a ticket come and experience the festival and be amazed by the artistry of the young people coming out of our educational outreach program, the Americana Project.”

Richardson added that at Village Green Park, beer and wine sales will be open park-wide in order to serve adults both with and without festival tickets. All the beer served at Festival bars (Village Green, Melvin’s and Sisters Art Works) has been generously donated by Deschutes Brewery.

While all-event passes are sold out for this year, tickets remain available for Sunday, when performers will play at 10 venues from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday tickets are $65 for adults and $50 for youth 18 and younger. Visit sistersfolkfestival.org for more information.