This past summer we were very busy with so many local events happening in Cottage Grove. One of the last big activities that we were involved with was the Cycle Oregon Bicycle Tour. They started off this year's ride in Sutherlin and made their first stop in Cottage Grove. Our band had the pleasure of performing in the downtown area where Main street was closed off'.

Many vendors set-up booths and lots of bicyclists and visitors wandered in and out all day to enjoy the food, unique shopping and of course stop and listen to our music. It was fun to see the bicycle riders come by and stop and listen and some even did a little dancing.

Another fun and unique thing we got to do was visit the famous Deathmobile from the movie Animal House. Many people stopped by to have their picture taken with the historical movie car and of course we did too.

So now we are ready to kick back for the winter season and work on more music. Now with Linda, our new fiddle player joining the band, we are looking forward to some new and exciting songs to work up. We are very happy and fortunate have Linda join our band and I will have more on that in the future, so keep checking back for more news and band performance dates!



Pictures courtesy of Sarah Craig of So Fresh Photography.com == Thanks Sarah!

Summer Events

This year has been a very busy summer for the annie mae Rhodes band! We have played for many different events all over town and we have really enjoyed all the great response from our fans new & old.
This year our new endeavor has been the addition of drums for another variation of songs for us to play with a little more of a country rock sound. Herb Hill steps in on the drums, Kelly White takes over on the bass, Brad Markham continues to add the awesome banjo picking which gives us our unique style and flavor. Neil Fain grabs his telecaster electric guitar and gets the rocking started and with me (Annie Mae) switching back & forth on rhythm guitar & mandolin, we have a great time!

We have already played our first gig at Saginaw Vineyard with the drums and look forward to going back a second time in August. The setting there at Saginaw Vineyard is very beautiful. The people can bring their own food for picnicking and sit around in the grass or under the huge tree and relax while they enjoy the music. They also have food catered there too and of course plenty of wine & beer!

One of the last public events we played for was the Cottage Grove 3rd annual Town & Country Garden Tour of local homes. This seems to be a very popular tour now and this year we set-up and played in downtown and the backdrop was awesome! The small park is right on main street and the wall behind us has a huge mural of a beautiful historical woman in a very unique and colorful picture. We were very excited to have some new photos taken of our band with the beautiful mural behind us. Later on we will be back here to play again for the annual Bicycle Tour.

So keep an eye on our schedule listed on the right and come and have a good time while we play our selection of country/bluegrass and mixture of favorite oldies songs.

The Rose Garden

We had the opportunity to perform at the Rose Garden (Drain, OR/not Portland) this weekend and we sure had a great time. Larry Barkemeyer was so kind to invite us down to be a part of his Saturday night gig and we had a blast. There were a lot of people who came out to hear us and we really got some terrific warm applause and cheers from the crowd. Amy Coumas did a fantastic job taking photos of us and I want to give her a big thanks for the pics.
Also enjoyed listening to Larry and his band The Huckleberrys. They are so good and always but on a quality show.


Want to send a big thank-you to Larry Barkemeyer and his band for allowing us to join in the fun and entertainment!

Bluegrass State of Mind

We have finished the recording of our new CD and now have copies available to purchase. Here is a video of the title song for everyone to watch from the new album "Bluegrass State of Mind". The trip Annie took back to North Carolina last month was a fantastic adventure and she visited with many friends and family and also made a stop at the radio station WKRK in Murphy that plays her music. Hope you enjoy this slideshow video we put together of some of our recent activities the last year. If you like our music and want to buy a CD you can visit DFJams Store online.

Woodshed Recording

For the last two weeks the band has been busy recording Annie's songs for her next album. With playing music at different functions and recording this summer has been quite busy for us. Annie is very hopeful to have the recording finished by September so check back from time to time see get an update of when the C.D. will be ready to release.
Last night was our gig at the Como Cafe and we played to a full house. Everyone had fun and the Cosmo Cafe had their prime & wine night so there was plenty great food and drink.

The Band at Saginaw Vineyard

July 3rd was our band's big show at the Saginaw Vineyard. We started playing at 6:00pm and kept it going till 9:00pm. We had a great time and everything went quite well for us. The Saginaw Vineyard is a great place to sit and relax and every friday this summer they will be having live music for free for the public to enjoy. Our band is looking forward to going back to the vineyard on August 21st and play again. They were a great host and we really felt welcome and relaxed in their country setting. Any time you are out and about and want to sample some Oregon wine stop in a visit Saginaw Vineyard just north of Cottage Grove.
Just a little note for reminder, we will be doing recording work at Woodshed Recording Studio
here in Cottage Grove to try to have Annie's C.D. ready by September. All the songs we are recording will be originals wrote by Annie Mae and we are excited to finally be in the recording stage the next few weeks while Larry fine tunes the details at his Studio.
Here we see Annie just before our performance Friday night, probably thinking of memories from back home in North Carolina.

Habitat for Humanity Fundraiser

Come see Annie Rhodes Band at the fund raising event to be held
at the Big K Ranch on August 1. The money raised will be donated
to the Habitat for Humanity and there will be a dinner with music
and then followed with an auction. Annie has wrote a new song
that we will perform at the dinner and is dedicated to the
fund raising event. The Big K Ranch is hosting the event and also
has weekend packages to further help raise money.

Here is an brief summary from the Big K Ranch website;

The Bite – Pit BBQ Dinner and Auction
$35/person

• Enjoy a delicious Pit BBQ Dinner and participate in the fun and exciting auction sponsored by US Bank of Drain.

For reservations or more information call or email Cottage Grove Area Habitat for Humanity. All reservations are handled by Habitat for Humanity and not the Big K Guest Ranch.
541.767.0358 - info@habitatcg.org – www.habitatcg.org

We look forward to being a part of this big event and hope to see you there. It should be a great time and well worth it to raise money for such a good cause.