Blues at Centrum

Mercurial Son: The Chicago Blues Stylings of Lurrie Bell

The son of blue harmonicist Carey Bell, Lurrie picked up his father's guitar at the age of eight and taught himself how to play. Gifted from an early age, he grew up with many of the Chicago blues legends that were around him, including Eddie Taylor, Big Walter Horton, Lovie Lee, Muddy Waters, and his cousin Eddie Clearwater. They were all frequent visitors to his house and helped to shape and school him in the blues. 

By the age of seventeen, Lurrie was playing onstage with Willie Dixon. His knowledge of different blues styles, his soulfulness, and his musical maturity brought write-ups in Rolling Stone and the New York Times.

Lurrie has performed all over the world, and has toured with Koko Taylor. For Lurrie, it has never been about how many notes he could play or how fast he could play them. It's always been about the music. It's always been about the blues.

Lightnin' Wells will give a mainstage performance at the Port Townsend Country  Blues Festival on Saturday, August 4, at 1:30 pm. On both August 3 and August 4, he will perform in the intimate club venues of downtown Port Townsend. For tickets, call Centrum at 360.385.3102, x117 or follow this link to our secure online Acteva site.

Instrument Rentals for Music Workshops

Centrum is pleased to announce that Port Townsend’s independent music store, Crossroads Music, is providing rental instruments for use at selected Centrum music workshops. Rentals are perfect for those who are traveling by plane and don’t wish to risk damaging their own instruments, or for those who just want to try something new. Visit Centrum's Information Center for more information.

Lightnin' Wells

Mike "Lightnin'" Wells breathes new life into the vintage tunes of the 1920s and Depression-era America.

Raised in eastern North Carolina, Wells learned to play harmonica as a young child and taught himself to the guitar. During the following decades he performed the acoustic blues throughout North Carolina, United States, and Europe.

Lightnin' also worked a producer, producing the first commercial recordings of blues veterans Big Boy Henry, Algia Mae Hinton (pictured), and George Higgs. He traveled and performed extensively with those musicians and documented their backgrounds and musical histories for future generations.

He is also a life-long student and devotee of the pioneering performers in the Piedmont blues tradition, including such artists as Blind Boy Fuller, the Reverend Gary Davis, and Elizabeth Cotton.

Wells's first solo recording, Bull Frog Blues, established his blues credentials. His second release, Ragtime Millionaire, strengthened his association with the Carolina Piedmont styles. His most recent release, Ragged But Right, explores old-time, country, jazz, ragtime, and early popular music, as well as Piedmont-style blues selections.

With his experience, knowledge and well-honed performance skills, Lightnin' has established himself at the forefront of the traditional blues revival. As a recent review noted, "Whether you look to performers for inspiration, education, or sheer entertainment, Lightnin' Wells delivers all the above, every single time."

Lightnin' Wells will give a mainstage performance at the Port Townsend Country Blues Festival on Saturday, August 4, at 1:30 pm. On both August 3 and August 4, he will perform in the intimate club venues of downtown Port Townsend. For tickets, call Centrum at 360.385.3102, x117 or follow this link to our secure online Acteva site.

Free Fridays at the Fort Concerts

This post refers to an event that occurred in the past. For current event/workshop information, visit www.centrum.org/blues, and follow the workshop or performance links at the top right,

Centum invites you to come to Fort Worden each Friday at noon for our free concert series "Free Fridays at the Fort." From June 29 through August 10 on the lawn at the Fort Worden Commons, audiences sample music from Centrum's summer festivals, as well as outstanding local and regional musicians.

Free Fridays at the Fort
12n-1pm
Fort Worden Commons

June 29: Voiceworks/Port Townsend Slide and Steel Festival
July 6: The Festival of American Fiddle Tunes
July 13: Rhythm Planet
July 20: Navy Band Northwest: Five Star Brass
July 27: Jazz Port Townsend
August 3: Port Townsend Country Blues Festival
August 10: Dwyer Family Band

Robert "Wolfman" Belfour

Robert Belfour got his nickname, “Wolfman,” from the deep, husky tones of his vocals. Born and raised in a plank house in the hill country of northern Mississippi, Belfour grew up playing the blues, learning from his father, who was also a blues musician and who taught him how to play.

The region Belfour grew up in has a distinctly different culture than the more famous Mississippi Delta; the blues from northern Mississippi is strong and unique. When free from chores, he learned from such greats as Otha Turner, R.L. Burnside, and Junior Kimbrough. Kimbrough, in particular, had a profound influence on him.

When Belfour was thirteen, his father died, and music was relegated to what little free time he had. His energy went to helping his mother provide for the family. In 1959, he married Noreen Norman and moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where he would work in construction for the next thirty-five years.

In the nineteen-eighties, Belfour began playing on Beale Street and in 1994 he had eight songs featured on the compilation CD The Spirit Lives On. This led to his first album, What’s Wrong With You, released in 2000. In 2003, he released Pushin' My Luck. 

Belfour’s guitar playing is mature and highly accomplished; his voice clear and powerful; and the sound pure country blues. Robert Belfour left the hills of northern Mississippi forty years ago—he currently resides in Memphis, Tennessee—but his music never did.

On Saturday, August 4, at 1:30 pm, Robert “Wolfman” Belfour will perform an extended set as part of the Port Townsend Country Blues Festival. Listen to a YouTube clip of Belfour playing “I Done Got Old” here.

Choro Workshop and Performance

This post refers to an event that occurred in the past. For current event/workshop information, visit www.centrum.org/blues, and follow the workshop or performance links at the top right,

CHORO: THE SWEET LAMENT OF BRAZILIAN MUSIC
Workshop: November 8-11, 2007 (full)
Concert: November 10, 2007, 7:30 pm

Join Mike Marshall (mandolin), Carlos Oliveira (six- and seven-string cavanquinho guitar), Andy Connell (clarinet and saxophone), and Brian Rice (pandeiro and other Brazilian percussion instruments) in this new Centrum fall offering. 

The thirty-person workshop is open to all instruments. “There will be people of different backgrounds and abilities and we’ll be sure to match you up!” Marshall says.

Evening jam sessions, combined with relaxing Brazilian film and audio sessions, round out the workshop. Participants will receive free admission to the November 10 performance in the Joseph F. Wheeler Theater. On Sunday morning, November 11, participants are invited to join the faculty for an authentic Brazilian brunch, prepared by chefs who have relocated to the United States.

For Concert Tickets, visit our online ticket order page, or call our ticket office at 360.385.3102 x117. The music will start at 7:30pm on Saturday, November 10 at the Joseph F. Wheeler Theater. Tickets are $16.

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Mike Marshall is one of the world’s most accomplished and versatile acoustic musicians—a master of mandolin, guitar, and violin whose playing is as imaginative and adventurous as it is technically thrilling. Able to swing from jazz to classical to bluegrass to Latin styles, he puts his stamp on everything he plays with an inspirational blend of intellect and emotion.

Carlos Oliveira hails from Recife, in northeastern Brazil. This area is especially rich in African influences, and its regional music has greatly influenced Brazilian music. Deeply affected by his exposure to American jazz, Oliveira moved to the US to expand his contact with the music. Oliveira has performed and/or recorded with Claudia Villela, Claudia Gomez, Celia Malheiros, Eddie Duran, and Ricardo Peixoto.

Andy Connell has played in ensembles ranging from jazz to classical to Brazilian music. In addition to his work as a performer, Connell is an ethnomusicologist whose primary research focuses on issues of musical identity and globalization in Brazilian popular instrumental music. He is currently an assistant professor of music at James Madison University in Virginia, working on a book about Brazilian jazz.

Brian Rice is a much sought-after percussionist for his wealth of experience and skill in a multitude of styles. He is the founder of Samba Seattle, a ninety-member escola de samba, and has played everything from Brazilian, Cuban and Middle Eastern music, to jazz, klezmer, and Celtic. In 2003, Rice traveled to Brazil to study with renowned pandeiro player Marcos Susano.

This post refers to an event that occurred in the past. For current event/workshop information, visit www.centrum.org/blues, and follow the workshop or performance links at the top right,

CHORO: THE SWEET LAMENT OF BRAZILIAN MUSIC
Workshop: November 8-11, 2007 (full)
Concert: November 10, 2007, 7:30 pm

Join Mike Marshall (mandolin), Carlos Oliveira (six- and seven-string cavanquinho guitar), Andy Connell (clarinet and saxophone), and Brian Rice (pandeiro and other Brazilian percussion instruments) in this new Centrum fall offering. 

The thirty-person workshop is open to all instruments. “There will be people of different backgrounds and abilities and we’ll be sure to match you up!” Marshall says.

Evening jam sessions, combined with relaxing Brazilian film and audio sessions, round out the workshop. Participants will receive free admission to the November 10 performance in the Joseph F. Wheeler Theater. On Sunday morning, November 11, participants are invited to join the faculty for an authentic Brazilian brunch, prepared by chefs who have relocated to the United States.

For Concert Tickets, visit our online ticket order page, or call our ticket office at 360.385.3102 x117. The music will start at 7:30pm on Saturday, November 10 at the Joseph F. Wheeler Theater. Tickets are $16.

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Mike Marshall is one of the world’s most accomplished and versatile acoustic musicians—a master of mandolin, guitar, and violin whose playing is as imaginative and adventurous as it is technically thrilling. Able to swing from jazz to classical to bluegrass to Latin styles, he puts his stamp on everything he plays with an inspirational blend of intellect and emotion.

Carlos Oliveira hails from Recife, in northeastern Brazil. This area is especially rich in African influences, and its regional music has greatly influenced Brazilian music. Deeply affected by his exposure to American jazz, Oliveira moved to the US to expand his contact with the music. Oliveira has performed and/or recorded with Claudia Villela, Claudia Gomez, Celia Malheiros, Eddie Duran, and Ricardo Peixoto.

Andy Connell has played in ensembles ranging from jazz to classical to Brazilian music. In addition to his work as a performer, Connell is an ethnomusicologist whose primary research focuses on issues of musical identity and globalization in Brazilian popular instrumental music. He is currently an assistant professor of music at James Madison University in Virginia, working on a book about Brazilian jazz.

Brian Rice is a much sought-after percussionist for his wealth of experience and skill in a multitude of styles. He is the founder of Samba Seattle, a ninety-member escola de samba, and has played everything from Brazilian, Cuban and Middle Eastern music, to jazz, klezmer, and Celtic. In 2003, Rice traveled to Brazil to study with renowned pandeiro player Marcos Susano.

Fundraiser for Country Blues Festival

This post refers to an event that occurred in the past. For current event/workshop information, visit www.centrum.org/blues, and follow the workshop or performance links at the top right,

Barbara Hammerman and Raymond Lavine are inviting the Centrum community to their home in Gig Harbor to hear some fine music, have some great fun, and raise money for the Port Townsend Country Blues Festival's scholarship program.

The private concert will be held inside the beautiful Mighty Wurlitzer music room in Barbara and Raymond's home, and is produced by Amanda Gresham's Delta Music Experience.

The fundraiser will take place on Sunday, June 17, from 2-6 pm and will feature three musicians: Alice Stuart, Lloyd Jones, and Eric Taylor.

Barbara, Raymond, and Amanda will underwrite all costs so that every contributed dime supports the Country Blues Festival's workshop. a $20 donation is requested, as is a dish to share. For further information, reservations, address, and directions, please contact Barbara at 253.858.4435.