As part of their annual fundraising drive, the hosts of Music From the True Vine on KBOO 90.7 FM in Portland, OR, organize a non-stop, eight-hour bluegrass marathon of local bands, each performing a half-hour set, in what has become a cherished Portland tradition.
Music From The True Vine is KBOO’s long-running bluegrass show, launched 45 years ago by Jim Seafeldt, guitarist and vocalist with Dr. Corn’s Bluegrass Remedy, a group popular throughout the Pacific Northwest. It airs every Saturday morning from 9:00 a.m. to noon with a rotating cast of hosts, and has the distinction of being the oldest bluegrass radio program west of the Mississippi.
The 2025 Bluegrass Marathon featured 14 live bands in the studio, and True Vine host Melissa Tanguay shared a list and description of this year’s roster.
- Sunny South Bluegrass Band – Have been around for 30 years; includes two founding members Dave Elliott on mandolin and Mike Stahlman on banjo
- Ash Creek
- Fog Holler – nationally touring Portland band, will be playing at MerleFest this Summer
- Sawtooth & Sons – Features two of the original Sawtooth Mountain Boys (Rollie Champe and Hal Spence), along with their sons Brette Champe and Andrew Spence
- Stumptown Stringband – features Annie Staninec on fiddle, who tours with the Kathy Kallick band
- Way Far Yonder – new band out of Eugene Oregon featuring 15-year old banjo phenom Henry Stridd with Doug Fleenor on fiddle. They were joined in the studio by Kaden Hurst and Joe Suskind from Oregon’s Never Come Down for the live set.
- Tuesday String BandJosh Cole Music
- Woodlawn String Band
- Thunder RidgeLost Creek Bluegrass Band
- Jam Busters
- Jackstraw – A very iconic Portland bluegrass band with a long standing residency at the Laurelthirst Public House
- Slipshod Music
She further described the annual event as a sort of loosely-controlled chaos.
“Energy and excitement are always high on this day as bands are quickly shuffled in and out of the studio for their 30-minute sets. In addition to being a great fundraiser for KBOO, this event really demonstrates what community radio is all about. All musicians donated their time for the event, and all hosting and engineering was done by KBOO volunteers. KBOO listeners are invited to come down to the studio to visit and listen to music. It is a day that Portland’s bluegrass community rallies around a great cause.”
True Vine hosts Justin Auld, Chip Russell, Donna Dunaif, Melissa Tanguay, Dave Elliott, and Chuck Holloway were on hand for the marathon. Gareth Jenkins and Josh Cole are also recurring hosts for the program.
The full audio, all eight hours of Portland’s local bluegrass, can be heard online.
