From left, Chris Kokesh, Dana Abel, Carol Harley and Laura Quigley perform acoustic Americana music as Misty River. The band's coastal tour starts in Astoria Friday, Oct. 6. Photo by Owen Carey.

Northwest acoustic favorite Misty River performs the first concert of their tour, “Misty River on the Coast,” at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, at Astoria’s First Presbyterian Church, 1103 Grand Ave. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m., with tickets $15 in advance or $18 at the door.

Tickets are available from the church office, (503) 325-1702, or Bach ‘N’ Rock, (503) 338-6376.

“When ‘Oregon Art Beat’ broadcast a segment on Misty River, the response was amazing,” reported Jeff Douglas, the show’s executive producer. “When these four women weave their lovely harmonies, it is spine-tingling. Our phones and Web site were jammed with requests to know where they were playing and how to buy their CDs.”

Since emerging on the Portland acoustic music scene in 1997, the four-woman band Misty River has earned an enviable reputation as one of the finest, most entertaining bands in the Pacific Northwest. Misty River blends folk, bluegrass, country, Celtic and original music into a seamless and highly distinctive Americana sound that has entranced thousands of fans. Whether performing at a large concert hall or an intimate house concert, Misty Rier makes an emotional connection with its audiences, captivating listeners with beautiful and moving music and a natural, friendly presentation.

The members of Misty River are Carol Harley (guitar, banjo, ukulele and mandolin), Chris Kokesh (fiddle, guitar), Laura Quigley (acoustic bass) and Dana Abel (accordion, guitar). All four women are lead and harmony vocalists, giving the band a vocal depth few groups can match, as well as tremendous flexibility when it comes to arrangements. Victory Review hails the band for “lush, pitch-perfect harmonies, gentle tasteful arrangements (and) fresh interpretation of songs.” Bluegrass Unlimited agrees, describing Misty River as “excellent singers (whose) voices blend like milk and honey.”

Though flattered by critics’ frequent comparisons with the neo-bluegrass approach of Alison Krauss and Emmylou Harris, the members of Misty River are intent on creating their own signature sound. Strong original material is at the heart of that sound. The band members’ original songs are augmented by fresh arrangements of traditional material and well-chosen covers from contemporary artists.

In addition to winning over countless fans, radio DJs and critics, Misty River and its members have received several prestigious individual and band honors. Kokesh has won several awards for her songwriting, from the Portland Songwriters Association, the Columbia Gorge Bluegrass Festival and the Maryhill Winery Amphitheater. Quigley, who has toured Europe with Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum as well as Ireland with the “Oh Sister, Where Art Thou?” tour, won the Best Bass Player award at the Washington State Bluegrass Championships in 2001. The Source Weekly in Bend named Misty River’s show the Best Old Style Concert in 2003.

A road-tested, professional touring band that has played more than 100 engagements each year, Misty River has delighted audiences throughout North America and beyond, most recently representing the United States at the Shanghai International Music Festival in China.

Misty River has recorded four CDs: “Rising,” released in 2000, “Live at the Backgate Stage,” released in 2002, “Willow,” released in June 2004 and “Midwinter – Songs of Christmas,” released in November 2004. The Misty River CDs have received extensive radio airplay in the U.S. and Canada, as well as in such countries as Australia, New Zealand, China, Spain, England, Italy, Germany, France, Ireland and Belgium. Total Misty River CD sales have exceeded 50,000 and are regular top five sellers in the Oregonian’s Best of the NW List.