Last week we shared one of our favorite outdoor concert venues with Portland friends Mike and Jan. I’ve written in the past about the cozy, welcoming, laid-back and easy-going amphitheater of the Britt Festival in Jacksonville, Ore. With some reserved fixed seating and a lot more lawn space, the Britt hosts 2,200 music lovers per concert in its grassy bowl. Most events allow patrons to bring in their own food and drink, excluding only hard liquor, and the summer weather here in Southern Oregon almost guarantees a warm, pleasant evening where shorts, shirt sleeves and sandals (or bare feet) are the order of the day.

Per our usual custom, the gents dropped we ladies off with our blankets and lawn chairs well before the gates opened so that we could stake our claim to a good viewing spot on the lawn. They returned about half an hour before the concert began with our home-cooked gourmet feast, complete with stemware and four bottles of wine — which we then leisurely consumed (sharing a glass or two with some new-found friends on the next blanket over) throughout the evening.

The entertainment? The Dukes of September Rhythm Revue, with lead vocalists Donald Fagen (of Steely Dan), Michael McDonald (the Doobie Brothers) and Boz Scaggs backed by an outstanding band and two superb backup singers, Carolyne Leonhart and Catherine Russell. The group played for a solid hour and 40 minutes (no intermission) and then tacked on a five-number encore, with the tunes a satisfying mix of numbers from the Doobies’, Steely Dan’s and Scaggs’ hits in addition to classic songs from the likes of James Brown, Marvin Gaye and the Isley Brothers.

The concensus in our group was that Fagen and Scaggs still have strong, solid voices, while McDonald seems to have lost a bit in his range and vocal strength (‘though he seemed to gain in power through the evening . . . or maybe that was just my wine-altered perception). No matter, as the music was really first-rate, with John Herington masterful on guitar and Michael Leonhart (trumpet) and Walt Weiskopf (saxophone) skillfully laying down some great sounds.

We could not have asked for a better evening: the setting, the weather (with a huge full moon rising as we made our way home), the music, the company, the food and the wine combined to create another stellar Britt Festival memory.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor