The Stillwater Express

Bike Paths, Jelly Jars & Live Music

By Tony Dugger

My affinity for jelly jars can be traced back to around 1980. In the basement of my grandmother’s Indiana home was a closet, its door of warm pine paneling, its shelves stocked with jars of home-preserved goods—my favorite: the big jelly jars full of sweet cinnamon applesauce. While staring at those jars, little did I know that some 28 years latter a tsunami of nostalgia would crash into me at Stillwater Bar, Restaurant & Venue in Ashland, Oregon.

While sloshing down a few pints of PBR out of said jelly jars at Stillwater, I allowed my mind ample time to wander down memory lane before readjusting my focus on the evening’s musical event: Hot Buttered Rum, a high altitude bluegrass jam band from California. Hot Butter Rum had an infectious exuberance that old man William Blake would have been proud of.

Within the rowdy confines of Stillwater there was absolutely nothing still about the performance. They brought to the stage professionalism, wit and two sets of serious bluegrass music expanded with flute solos, roaring harmonies and string jams that weaved profusely through the rafters. The dance floor was in constant flux, as was the line for drinks.

Earlier in the evening while deciding on a mode of transportation to the venue, I realized that the Central Bike Path, which is but a block from my back door in the Railroad District, would take me directly to the show. Caught up in the moment, I scribbled madly in my notebook: NOTE—remember to contact City about changing name of bike path to the “Stillwater Express.”

Turns out a host of other music lovers felt the same way, as bicycle parking was at a premium.

Overall, the evening represented for me the start of a new chapter of enjoying live music in Ashland. I look forward to my next chance to catch a show at Stillwater. And perhaps more aptly, I can’t wait for that next jelly jar of PBR.

For more information visit stillwaterashland.com or call 482-6113.