Группа Horse Feathers празднует 20-летие дебютного альбома и возвращается на сцену в Бэнде

At Bend’s Silver Moon Horse Feathers celebrate 20 years of ‘Words are Dead’ Published 1:00 pm Tuesday, August 25, 2026 If seeing Horse Feathers live is something you’ve been meaning to do, don’t wait. Singer-songwriter Justin Ringle and his bandmates in the acclaimed chamber-folk band will be in Bend this weekend, touring to celebrate the 20th anniversary — and reissue Friday — of “Words are Dead,” the Portland group’s stunning 2006 debut album. The tour brings them to Silver Moon Brewing Sunday evening, and for fans, it’s the chance to catch a seasoned band with multiple albums under its belt, offering a range of evolving sounds. Other than some shows for a different album’s reissue in 2022, the Portland quartet has been on a lengthy hiatus that began with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Since COVID, we kind of dialed it back to just regional stuff and a lot of real-life stuff going on,” Ringle said. “I got married (to fellow musician Halli Anderson of River Whyless), had a son, sold a house, bought a house, worked on a house. That kind of stuff.” Horse Feathers did a little bit of touring in 2022, when the group’s second album, “House with No Name,” was reissued. With “Words are Dead” now getting the reissue treatment, he said, “we’ve kind of taken the opportunity to get back out there.” When Ringle spoke to The Bulletin, he and the band had just wrapped up the first leg of their West Coast tour, which brings them to Bend Sunday. Ringle said it’s been fun. “This particular tour is pretty unique, and we’ve been enjoying it so far,” he said. “We basically, we have kind of a more focused part of the set that we play a bunch of the numbers from that first record that’s more of a chamber-focused thing. And then the second half of the set — it’s almost like two parts — we play selections from most of the other records. That’s a little bit more lively. So there’s kind of a more of listening focus part and then it kind of ramps up in intensity a little bit and it’s been very fun to play so far.” It’s also been a bit odd to be in his mid-40s revisiting stuff he wrote in his early 20s, Ringle said. Originally from Idaho, where he attended University of Idaho, he began writing some of the songs that ended up on “Words are Dead” when he was still living in Moscow. “It’s kind of weird. You know, it’s like, some of those songs I wrote, when I was like, let’s see, even 23 years old, so, it’s like walking around in your own shoes, but they clearly feel different, you know? It’s like all this stuff has been interesting to try to re-create with the band because the style of the music is a lot more economical. It’s kind of doing more with less, and a lot of it requires much more of a specific energy and intent than some of the things that I’ve kind of graduated to.” He can see the difference in his original songwriting versus the songwriter he evolved into across six Horse Feathers records. “It’s more like playing the s–t out of two chords, and really trying to just be very present in the songs,” Ringle continued. “I’m kind of impressed with, ‘Wow, I would never, ever do this now, but this works.'” Given how things are clicking, and fun, does this mean Horse Feathers might be reactivated and working on new music? Ringle said he would “love to,” then added that touring is a big endeavor for a band at the level of Horse Feathers. His wife, Halli Anderson of River Whyless, is also a professional musician, and with a son in the mix now, they must figure out logistics. “Some of it is coming down to like pure X’s and O’s of scheduling, like when we can, you know, like really move forward creative projects, because honestly, the business and just getting out there to play right now, has been pretty all encompassing,” Ringle said. “And managing all that with a toddler’s been fascinating.” If You Go What: Horse Feathers with Annika Hankshaw When: 6 p.m. Sunday   Where: Silver Moon Brewing, 24 NW Greenwood Ave., Bend Cost: $22 plus fees Contact: silvermoonbrewing.com