22 | SUMMER 2026 EDIBLE CENTRAL OREGON Having grown up in Sisters, Nagel’s roots are deep.... “I moved back to my hometown in large part because the community here is so strong and supportive.” Some passions are soft-spoken, almost inaudible, while others knock you over with desire and demand attention. It’s an age-old mystery what exact combination of talent, luck, inspiration, and discipline determines who will pursue their passions and who will let them molder in the dark cellar of their soul. Benji Nagel is one of those rare humans who has cultivated not one, but two passions into successful livelihoods: farming and music. Nagel founded and co-owns Mahonia Gardens with his partner, Carys Wilkins, operating on a one-acre plot outside of Sisters. He is also a lifelong musician who began playing guitar at age 12, heading to college in Portland to study music before transferring to Southern Oregon University (SOU) to focus on environmental studies. Around 2010, he also began playing dobro—technically “resophonic guitar,” a stringed lap instrument most commonly played in blues and bluegrass. His is a square-neck model custom-built for him out of Oregon myrtle wood by Kentucky-based luthier Stephen Griffis, whom Benji met at dobro camp in Nashville. The physical beauty and impeccable craftsmanship of the instrument can’t be ignored, and then wait ’til you hear Nagel play it. It adds a richness ranging from plaintive to staccato that can shine in solos or provide a rhythmic counterpoint in compositions. While guitar will always be his first love, he describes dobro as his “main musical love” these days. Nagel maintains an active gigging schedule locally with Sisters-based bluegrass band Skillethead and throughout the West Coast with The Jenner Fox Band (formerly of the Sisters area and now out of Bellingham, WA). Until the birth of his first child, he was also a member of Bend band Watkins Glen, a perennial favorite in the local jam band scene. He and Wilkins have two children together: son Junius (Juni), 8, and daughter Lupine, 4. Their arrival in both cases warranted recalibration as the couple adjusted to their new responsibilities. “When Juni came, I definitely took a big step back from music,” Nagel says. “It helped me rein in the amount I was doing with music and it helped me learn to say no. After Lupine came, during those chaotic infant moments, I thought ‘My music career is over.’ But after we got in the flow, I realized I could do it all.” Wilkins says “part of the challenge is maintaining our own personal goals and hobbies,” which they manage by sharing the jobs of raising kids, working on the farm, and pursuing their passions. “We take turns each morning, one of us arriving to the farm on time while the other helps get the kids ready for the day and spends time with them.” Wilkins understands the pull to create as well. In the winter months when farm duties are less, she gets up extra early to write. “I find it helpful to process my life and be creative simultaneously,” she says. According to Nagel, “Carys is a take-action person,” exemplified perhaps most succinctly by the sprawling play structure she built in the family’s backyard. As the kids get older, balancing it all feels even more feasible with Skillethead performing at local shows and festivals, usually in the summer, that are family friendly. “There’s camping, everybody’s jamming, so it works out really well,” says Nagel.
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