Before their Dec. 12 holiday concert at the Old Liberty Theater, the members of Misty River sat back stage reminiscing with theater owner, Don Griswald, about the group’s first concert at the Ridgefield venue. It was the first big show for the all-female quartet. It was also the first sell-out show at the then-young concert hall.

The Misty River story has been well chronicled over the years. It began with an impromptu parking lot harmony of “Somewhere over the Rainbow” by band manager and promoter, Carol Harley, and her daughter Laura Quigley. It was Quigley’s 21st birthday and the two enjoyed a night out in a Portland Irish club. The club owner, Kurt Selvig, overheard the two singing, and invited them to perform at an open mic. They invited Dana Able, a former guitar student of Harley’s from her days in Eugene, and Chris Kokesh, a local singer and fiddler with the band Finvarra.

Selvig would later write in the liner notes to Misty River’s first CD, Rising, about that night: “From the first note to the last, the audience and I knew we were experiencing something more than special, and we were right.”

Now, after a decade of delighting folk music fans from its Pacific Northwest base to those around the world, Misty River is a celebration with each performance of everything from its members — to its audience — to its influences.

Harley plays guitar, banjo, mandolin and anything else she can get her hands on; Kokesh plays fiddle and guitar; Able plays accordion and piano (and as of this year ukulele); Quigley plays upright bass like she’s been doing it her whole life, when in fact she learned after the band got together for their first show.

There were no borders between performers and listeners at the Dec. 12 winter concert. Having played so many times on that stage, the theater might as well have been called the Old Liberty Living Room, or the House That Misty River Built. The audience laughed, sung and at times teared up with the band. The absence of a yule log was noticed, as the warming holiday set list called for one. and the mood was nothing short of a family gathering. Many selections were played from the band’s 2004 holiday album, Midwinter – songs of Christmas. “Silent Night” was my favorite of the bunch. Hearing the four harmonize on the classic reminds me why songs like that were written in the first place.

Outside of the wintery tunes, Misty River skipped around their plentiful catalog. From the 2004 album Willow, “Homegrown Tomatoes,” a fan favorite arrangement of the Guy Clark tune, and “Cuckoo,” a modern drive by Harley to the old-time traditional, embodied the classic “Misty River sound,” a unique blend of hearty folk songwriting and bluegrass and Celtic instrumental arrangements. Best described by the band as Acoustic Americana, its sound is a rich tapestry of timeless folk disciplines and rollicking jam-sesh vibes.

The band also took turns showing off what they’d been doing in 2009. The group took a year hiatus from each other to work on side projects. Harley released an album and toured with a Misty River spin off, the Misty Mamas. Quigley toured the U.S. and the U.K. Kokesh offered “I Hear The Trains,” a track from her 2009 solo debut, October Valentine, to the audience. Able showed off her new ukelele skills with a delightful ditty.

Misty River as a whole has an uncanny ability to get to you with its music. When you’re there, you know you are hearing and seeing something special. But don’t take my word for it, go see them yourself. The band will play its Salmon Creek Kiwanis 6th Annual Fundraiser at Skyview High School on Feb. 14 at 3 p.m. For more information, visit www.mistyriverband.com.