$10 if you bring your own beer cup
$15 if you don't (but we'll give you a lovely PIELC mug)
Featuring Gavin Wahl-Stephens and the New Americans
with special guests Moon Mountain Ramblers
Tickets available through PIELC Registration,
on site during the conference, or at the door.

Please join us at the annual PIELC Celebration at 9 pm on Friday, February 26, 2010 at Agate Hall on the campus of the University of Oregon (at the corner of 18th St. and Agate St.). $10 gets you in the door if you bring your own beer cup, $15 gets you in if you don't (but includes a reusable mug). Admission includes three hours of dancing to two incredible Oregon bands and some unbeatable microbrews.

The Moon Mountain Ramblers from Bend will kick off the evening. MMR consists of five musicians drawn together to create an original high desert sound and a soulful interpretation of traditional bluegrass, jazz/swing and country tunes. The Ramblers have stayed true to the music and have established the band as the most popular musical group in Central Oregon. Voted Best Band by The Source Weekly in 2004, 2008 and 09. The Ramblers consist of Dan (Bassdawg) McClung slappin' the upright bass and blowin' the harmonica, Jenny Harada sawin' the fiddle, Joe Schulte choppin' the mandolin, Matt (Mai) Hyman pickin' the guitar and singing lead vocals, along with Dale Largent holding it down on percussion.

Headlining the event will be Portland-based blues-rock heavy hitters Gavin Wahl-Stephens and the New Americans.

In an era when every independent band in the country seems to be moving to Portland, Oregon The New Americans are a homegrown sound all its own. Portland native Gavin Wahl-Stephens grew up at the city's blues festivals, grooving at independent gigs and pouring over early blues and rock n’ roll tapes in his Southeast basement. Gavin became a mainstay in town after getting his solo start from blues jams in Pabst-soaked taverns to songwriter circles.

Going into the studio in 2007 to record his first album as a solo act, he left with a band. Now under the name The New Americans the lineup consists of Adam Corkery on guitar, Joe Simpson on bass, T.J. Muhly on drums, and Wahl-Stephens on guitar, vocals and harmonica. Maturing into a tight progressive rock n’ roll outfit, the band has won accolades for its musical diversity and roaring live shows. “I'm trying to find the laid-back groove of The Band," Gavin explains, "and the intensity and drive of Dylan electric." Inheritor of the roots-rock tradition and an angular interpreter of American standards, The New Americans produce a sound that moves between accessible folk, atmospheric jams, and unyielding rock n‘ roll.