Perhaps more than any event in southern Oregon, “diversity” at Oregon Fringe Festival is walking the talk. From participants to performances, the annual OFF is a deliciously shuffled deck of performers and performances—where the most conventional performance may be poetry readings or a short film about tasting water from the

A balm for the past two years, Jonathan Foster is a singer-songwriter in the John Denver or John Prine vein. He performs on Wednesday, April 27 in Medford at Johnny B’s. He recently caught up with the Messenger for a quick Q&A. RVM: Who are some of your musical heroes?

There was a genre in the early 90s that never quite breached into mainstream; it was there with bands like Minneapolis’ Gear Daddies and Texas-based James McMurtry. Basic upbeat guitar chords harmonized with checky lyrics fantasizing about quirky, better lives. At his most mainstream, Bryan Bielanski taps into this tone

Apparently I am the only person who shelved Lisa Loeb to the 90s. Shame on me! In the process, I’ve missed out on a quarter-century of talent. Loeb first jumped into the fray as a breakout star from the seminal 90s film “Reality Bites.” At the time, in a twist

At first blush, it may seem like a goofball joke, the Steve Martin Banjo Award. But for those who haven’t updated their Steve Martin knowledge since his wild-and-crazy days, you may still vaguely remember that the comedian often stood on stage with a banjo. Since then, though, Martin has amassed

The Hearth’s full program begins with a three-and-a-half-day online intensive April 19-22, 2022 and closes with another three-and-a-half-day intensive September 20-23, 2022. The intensives will involve lecture, small group sharing, and group discussion. Online sessions will be three hours, held twice each day, with breaks in between. Rogue Valley Messenger: Storytelling is

It does not get much more “civilized” (read:  built, non-nature, etc.) than I-5, but that is where partners Luke Ruediger and Suzie Savoie started their journey into the deep wilderness; near the Siskiyou Summit on the western edge of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument above Ashland, Oregon, where the Pacific Crest Trail

For the four years leading up to the pandemic and general shutdown of public events, the Messenger hosted an annual, in-person Giving Tuesday meet-and-greet. . the largest of its kind of southern Oregon! It was an opportunity to mix-and-mingle with representatives from nonprofit agencies—the very people who are working to

Shelter Friends is an all volunteer group dedicated to partnering with the Josephine County Animal Shelter to help provide for the welfare, rehabilitation and rehoming of the displaced animals in our county. With community support we are able to provide for the medical needs of adoptable animals and facilitate a

Support R.O.O.T.S. Rogue Opt Outside Together School this November through the Give Guide – and stop by Weekend Brewery to buy a raffle ticket and support the organization.  R.O.O.T.S. Outdoor School, PMB #555 560 NE F St.,Ste. A Grants Pass, OR 97526 Checks made payable to The Do Good Foundation with