It’s a busy summer for Vancouver musician Carol Harley.
Harley, 60, leads acoustic folk quartet Misty River and the bluegrass gospel group Misty Mamas. Both groups have performed mostly in outdoor venues such as parks and wineries throughout Clark County and the Pacific Northwest this summer.
Performing outdoors isn’t without its perks, Harley said.
“Our outdoor concerts so far have had marvelous weather,” she said. “The people seem so relaxed.”
Misty River has been performing new songs from vocalist and fiddle player Chris Kokesh, as well as new music from vocalist, accordionist and guitarist Dana Abel.
The new songs have fans excited, Harley said.
“The crowds are clamoring for a new CD from Misty River,” she said. “We’re having to think about that.”
She added that Misty River isn’t planning to record in the near future.
Harley will pull double duty with both bands over Labor Day weekend, as well.
Misty River will perform on Sept. 3 at Skamania Lodge in Stevenson. The next night, Harley will continue on to Richland for a headlining performance with the Misty Mamas at the Tumbleweed Music Festival.
Harley said she doesn’t see it as extra work, though, due to the assistance she receives from her bandmates setting up equipment and preparing for each show.
“My bandmates help me do everything,” she said. “When we go to the gigs, they do all the labor for me, so I get to be on stage and enjoy the wonderful, wonderful people. In a way, it’s not like work. It’s so fulfilling to me.”
Camas singer returns to fair with bigger show
For the second year, Camas teen Katelynne Cox will perform at the Clark County Fair. This time, however, she has backup.
Instead of singing with prerecorded background music, Cox, 16, will have a live drummer, guitarist and bass player, as well as three backup dancers when she performs on The Columbian Family Fun Stage at 3:30 p.m. today.
Cox, a Mountain View High School student doing Clark College’s Running Start program, will sing songs off her first full-length album, “One Girl.” Pre-release copies will be available at the fair. The album is expected to be released late this summer.
Cox also will perform some of her older material at the fair. She’ll sing “Got a Feeling,” the single off her 2008 EP, “Unbelievable,” which was released on her independent label, KC Records. She plans to do a Blondie cover, as well.
Cox is looking forward to trying out her “One Girl” material at the fair and seeing the crowd’s reaction to her revamped show.
“It’s going to be a lot bigger of a show,” she said. “I think it’s going to have a better energy and make things more exciting for the crowd. I’m super excited about it.”
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