The last chance for Eugeneans to hear Patchy Sanders live in all its folksy glory will be this Saturday, Dec. 19. The popular and critically acclaimed indie troupe with Eugene roots is calling it quits after three years.
“Eugene is actually our second to last show ever,” says Sara Wilbur, violinist. The band’s final show will be Dec. 20 in Ashland. “The band has been trekking along pretty seriously for three years now,” Wilbur continues, adding, “We were just feeling ready to move on to new chapters.”
Several in the band have young families to raise or other music projects, like the duo Hollis Peach that band members Jacqui Aubert and Dan Sherrill have already started.
Wilbur will be heading north. “I’m going home to Fairbanks, Alaska,” Wilbur says. “I’ll be going to grad school for biology.”
Wilbur, originally a classically trained musician, calls the change bittersweet. Playing with Patchy Sanders was her first time branching out into folk and bluegrass.
“Driving across the country,” Wilbur says, “it’s been a huge eye-opening experience on so many levels. I’ll never forget it.”
Despite their break up, there are some new recordings coming from the band. “We never officially recorded with our newer songs,” Wilbur says. The DIY album will be available on the Patchy Sanders website in early 2016.
Eugene is one of the band’s final stops, Wilbur says, because founding member and mandolin player Ian Van Ornum loves his old community. Van Ornum is a former UO student but is perhaps most known for being Tased at a non-violent anti-pesticide protest in 2008. Eugene is also where he and Sherrill met.
“We’ve been playing so many shows lately that we’re playing really tight right now,” Wilbur says. “Everyone is feeling that extra tension because we know we’re getting so close to the end. We’re really giving it our all.”
Wilbur adds that the band is excited to play with friends — San Francisco’s “super awesome” Americana outfit Steep Ravine.
Steep Ravine joins Patchy Sanders 8 pm Saturday, Dec. 19, at WOW Hall; $10 adv., $12 door. All ages.