Barnstormers Set Sights on Sasayama in 2017

WAITSBURG - From "kind of" teaching herself guitar as a child to organiz- ing and directing the Touchet Valley Acoustic Music Proj- ect, Kate Hockersmith is one of those people who sets out to meet a need when she sees it.

Hockersmith had set her childhood guitar aside until about five years ago, when she picked it up again to support her son's musi- cal interests by providing him guitar backup at area Bluegrass Jams. But Hock- ersmith hasn't limited her support to her own children; she is currently directing The Barnstormers - a group of young musicians with big goals for the future.

Hockersmith became involved in Bluegrass when her son, John, joined The Troublemakers - a par- ent-led group that played throughout the area and toured Japan in 2007. When those musicians graduated and moved away, Kate was approached by another set of youngsters - known as The Rezonators - who asked Kate to help them form a band.

Most recently, Hocker- smith formed the Touchet Valley Acoustic Music Proj- ect, under the umbrella of the nonprofit Rural Youth Enrichment Services. As project director, she mentors the latest crop of Bluegrass musicians. Known as The Barnstormers, the group is made up of Emma Phil- brook on mandolin, Chris Philbrook on banjo and guitar, Sam McGowen on fiddle and Robert Walsh on standup bass.

The band members are all self-starters, themselves. "I'm not necessarily a 'band leader,'" said Hockersmith. "I'm really just a facilitator and make sure they don't get in over their heads. The kids bring in music they want to learn, and a lot of times they've already pretty much figured it out on their own. They also arrange a lot of their own stuff."

The group's most im- mediate goal is to attend the four-day Wintergrass Band Festival in Bellevue, Wash. at the end of February. "It's a fabulous, fabulous experi- ence," said Hockersmith. "The kids attend workshops by some of the best Bluegrass musicians in the world during the day and listen to concerts at night. The kids can talk with and take classes from professional level musicians. We don't get exposed to much of that around here."

A longer-term goal of the Barnstormers is to be the Walla Walla sister-city exchange band to Sasayama, Japan in 2017. Every five years, the two cities do some type of cultural exchange and The Barnstormers are hoping to fill the next open- ing.

While the band has participated in several fundraisers, an upcoming concert at the Plaza Theater will be their first attempt to raise money for themselves. At 3 p.m. on Sunday afternoon The Barnstormers will be joined by Kate and the Bluegrass Gentlemen (a group Kate formed for the event) in a benefit concert to raise funds for the trip to Wintergrass. Tickets to Sunday's concert are available at Coppei Cof- fee, Waitsburg Hardware or by calling Kate Hockersmith at 337-8789.