BE MERRY

The local music scene is bustling as venues put together the final summer shows and set up the fall schedule. While it may be stressful for organizers, music lovers everywhere can rejoice in the double dose of local artists hitting the stages.

*The Walla Faces begins its Fall Music festival this Friday. During the next two months, Walla Faces will be presenting a number of out-of-town performers celebrating their music and the faces' grape harvest. The festival will kick off with Ian McFeron from Seattle.

Walla Faces said Ian is a songwriter and singer whose lyrical prose has been compared to Bob Dylan and Ryan Adams, weav- ing together a variety of Roots Americana traditions to create his own unique form of music. Accompanying Ian is Alisa Milner who plays cello, fiddle, and provides vocal harmonies. Ian and Alisa will play at the Walla Faces tasting room Friday, Sept. 7, from 7-9 p.m. There is no cover charge.

*For music lovers in search of the right night for bluegrass jams, look no further than Friday night. Bluegrass jams are the feature presentation from 6 p.m. to closing on the first Friday of every month at Jacobi's Café in Walla Walla.

From 6:30 to 10 p.m. on the second Friday of every month, the jams will hit the stage at Skye Book and Brew in Dayton. From 6:30 to 10 p.m. on the third Friday of every month, the jams will close out at Coppei Coffee Co. in Waitsburg.

*Sometimes all of that music can be irresistible, but even with the beat, moving your feet can be difficult. For music lovers who want to know how to keep time in their toes, the Touchet Valley Two-Step dance classes are the feature on the second and fourth Fridays at Coppei Coffee Co. in Waitsburg.

*For those ready to relinquish the summer heat and embrace the changing of the leaves with music and food, the city of Waits- burg will host a fall festival on Sunday, Sept. 16. Local vendors will have specialty food items and the Bruce Mansion on Main Street will be open for tours to demonstrate how pioneers lived - a surefire way to rekindle any lost love between you and your smart phone.

*In Dayton, the Grainhouse Grill is kicking off the fall with two new holidays that will come every week, Tuesday rib night and Wednesday ladies' nights. Rib night starts Tuesdays at 5 p.m. featuring the Grain House Rib Special for $19.95. Wednesday night ladies' nights feature 25 percent off the complete list of drinks and desserts.

*Dayton's own Mace Mead Works will be changing the art exhibition inside the wine bar and holding a reception for the new artist. The Stray and Rummage exhibit by Donald Johnson will be featured in the reception at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 21 at Mace Mead Works.