COOS COUNTY, Ore. — There won’t be any clams but there will be what’s known as a clambake or a jam session but on a grander scale at the 35th South Coast Clambake Music Festival in North Bend.
Though the venue falls under a new moniker, no longer The Mill Casino but the Ko-Kwel Casino Resort Coos Bay, the heart of the program hasn’t changed at all — spreading musical magic like clambakes of old.
“It’s a jazz term that means party or group. You get together and make music together,” Ko-Kwel Casino Sales and Events Manager Amy Bailey said. “It’s really community wide. They’ve been in multiple schools all around the county all week. They’re working with students and trying to show the love of music.”
For 35 years, the festival has brought an array of bands from California to Portland and many dance styles to the South Coast, and this year is no different.
Eleven bands will perform throughout the four-day event, and those like Gino and the Lone Gunmen, the Rae Gordon Band, and local band The Throttles show up year after year simply for the love of the coast and the love of music.
“With clubs closing down, live music is more important than ever. Festivals like this where we get to come to the casino and hang out and get to know and see each others bands. The crowd is great too; I want to support that in any which way we can,” Rae Gordon Band guitarist, Kivett Bednar said.
Four high school bands, Bandon, Coquille North Bend, and Marshfield were featured Friday for a free concert for the community before the pros took the stage in the afternoon.
“Music means so much to a lot of my students. It gives them a place of belonging. It gives them a place to invest their passion and their heart into something,” Coquille High School Music Director Shawn Bridges said. “Even some of them are kind of like me, it keeps them out of trouble, puts something in their hands that they can release their emotions and all their feelings into in a constructive and beautiful way that creates art.”
The president of the festival’s board of directors Jim Ring says it’s the ultimate dance celebration.
“It started with local people putting it together and then just kind of continued on. Fans that have come from all over that have been great fans of our festival and have come for years, and years, and years,” Ring said.
With several dance floors, many who participated in the free dance lessons leading up to the Clambake, get to put their West Coast swing and other dance tricks to the test.
The event continues Saturday and Sunday featuring more bands with a free gospel celebration on Sunday.
Dance instructors are also on site to help get wall flowers in on the eight count action.