Bend Roots Revival returns in full color

Published 3:39 pm Wednesday, September 21, 2022

After the scattershot years of COVID-19, Bend Roots Revival is back, Friday through Sunday in its new spot, the Box Factory area of Bend. The event always features an array of artists and a bevy of bands, and you can tell just from reading GO! music man Ben Salmon’s interview with Bend Roots founder Mark Ransom that this year is going to be special.

The weekend event — always a coalescing of area talent — will also feature a very cool show at Immersion Brewing’s Barrel Room: black and white photos by Gary Calicott. The longstanding Bend photographer is one of those artists and art supporters who for years has quietly added his own splash of color to the tapestry of area culture by photographing bands in live settings. And when COVID-19 curtailed live music for a time, he began shooting musicians in another setting — his studio. Over 50 of the photos from the show can be seen this weekend.

Late last week, I had a lovely phone interview with Calicott, and was reminded of when I met him in person about five years back, when he’d turned his lens to skateboarding at a backyard ramp in southwest Bend. After our call, he kindly sent me a link to the photos on his site, garycalicottphoto.com. It was a thrill for me to see these photos for the first time.

For thrills of your own, stop by the Box Factory area for Roots Revival this weekend, and be sure to stop by Immersion Brewing to see Calicott’s work.

—David Jasper, reporter and editor