Blues at Centrum

See you at Saturday's Concert...

Here's Bill Cardine, David Kramer, and Hannes Coetzee from last night's spectacular Wheeler Theater show. Hope to see you on Saturday at McCurdy Pavilion...

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.

Saturday, June 30: The Mainstage Extravaganza

On Saturday, June 30, at Fort Worden State Park's McCurdy Pavilion, two separate shows (one in the afternoon and one in the evening) bring together some of the finest singers and slide guitar players in the country.

The afternoon show features a condensed history of the evolution of sliding instruments, from bottleneck to dobro to lap steel and, finally, pedal steel, with Marley’s Ghost showcasing all of the instruments at the show’s close.

The evening show features tight bluegrass duets with Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum, the legendary stylings of South African spoon guitarist Hannes Coetzee, songs of the Carter family by Linda and David Lay, and the brilliant four-part gospel harmony singing from Alabama by the Birmingham Sunlights, whose performance at the 2005 Voiceworks Festival absolutely ignited the audience. 

Schedule and bios are below. For tickets, call Centrum at 360.385.3102, x117, or purchase tickets online using our secure Acteva site.

Saturday, June 30
Panoply of Slide Guitar, 1:30 pm
McCurdy Pavilion
Reserved seats: $20
• Terry Robb—bottleneck guitar
• Stacy Phillips—dobro
• Bobby Black—lap slide
• Joe Wright—pedal steel
• Marley’s Ghost

Guitarist Terry Robb is one of the most-heralded players of the Pacific Northwest’s blues scene, an eighteen-time winner of the Cascade Blues Association’s Muddy Award. Resting Place, Robb’s debut album with Yellow Dog Records, features cover songs that compliment Robb’s originals, echoing a broad swath of roots legends.

Stacy Philips is a dynamic mainstage headline performer. An internationally acclaimed resonator guitarist, Phillips’s shows are popular throughout the world. Phillips is also the author of more than twenty-five teaching and repertoire books and DVDs for lap style slide and fiddle, and he has worked effectively to educate novice players of this instrument, playing a central role in its resurgence in popularity.

Bobby Black is a master of the steel guitar whose resume looks as if someone could have made it up.  He has played and performed for over fifty years with such artists as New Riders of the Purple Sage, Dolly Parton, the Eagles, John Lennon, Elton John, Barbara Mandrell, the Moonlighters, the Beach Boys, and the Grateful Dead.

Joe Wright’s electric slide technique ignites audiences. He is famous for his use of fuzz tone. His speed metal phrasing of “guitaristic” riffs have drawn rave reviews and his album Powerslide is one of the seminal works of the rock steel genre. His comedy stints are also a well-received feature of his Steel Jam appearances. 

Marley’s Ghost
Jerry Fletcher sings and plays drums, percussion, and keyboards. He’s been in the music business for over thirty years performing, touring, and recording. He has worked with John Denver, Steve Martin, and Jimmy Rodgers, to name a few. His solo CD is entitled We’re Here To Love.

Ed Littlefield, Jr., a product of the northern California folk scene, relocated to Washington state in the early nineteen-seventies. He played with western swing band Lance Romance before founding Sage Arts, one of the Pacific Northwest’s premier recording studios. With his band, Marley’s Ghost, Littlefield, Jr. has released eight albums. 

Mike Phelan of Marley’s Ghost plays in many styles, including bluegrass, rock, folk, and blues. A fine singer and soulful lead instrumentalist, Phelan has released a solo CD, Donora Street. Phelan cites guitarists Steve Cropper, Eldon Shamblin, Doc Watson, and BB King as major influences.

Dan Wheetman came to Marley’s Ghost after the John Denver Band. Wheetman has been Hank Williams, Jr.’s fiddler and had one of his songs recorded by Kermit the Frog. His showmanship and unique sense of humor, combined with an uncommonly powerful and resonant baritone, provide the focal point for the group’s sterling performances.

Jon Wilcox is a member of Marley’s Ghost. He has also released several solo recordings on the Folk-Legacy, Sierra-Briar, and Sage Arts labels, and has toured internationally as a singer-songwriter and interpreter of traditional American and British Isles music. He is a dynamic performer, heavily influenced by the tenor vocal styles of Sam Cooke and the songwriting of Van Morrison. 

Saturday, June 30, 7:30 pm
Saturday Night Extravaganza
McCurdy Pavilion
Reserved seats: $20
• Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum
• Hannes Coetzee
• Linda and David Lay
• The Birmingham Sunlights

Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum. Laurie Lewis’s stage shows are renowned for their musical virtuosity and front-porch friendliness. She has released over a dozen CDs, won a Grammy Award, and twice been named Female Vocalist of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association. Vocalist and instrumentalist Tom Rozum mixes traditional bluegrass and old-time music with Western swing.

Hannes Coetzee was born on a farm in the Western Cape region of South Africa and taught himself to play guitar on a three-stringed homemade guitar built from an oil can with cat-gut strings. Since meeting South African songwriter David Kramer, who will join him at the Festival, he has performed to sold-out crowds in every major South African city. This marks his first trip outside the borders of South Africa. Coetzee’s teaspoon guitar technique have made him a YouTube sensation. A single video of him playing has garnered nearly one million hits.

Linda and David Lay. Linda began singing in church and on stages when she was six years old. She sings bluegrass and learned many of her songs directly from the Carter family. She sang lead and played bass with Appalachian Trail, one of the most respected bluegrass bands to come out of the bluegrass heartland. David Lay plays guitar and sings low harmony; he has a keen ear for the traditional music of the Virginia region.

The Birmingham Sunlights grew up in the heartland of African-American a cappella gospel quartet singing in Alabama. With deep respect for their musical heritage, the Sunlights sought out and received priceless musical instruction from older local quartet masters. They have developed a repertoire of impressive original gospel compositions to complement their traditional songs. Their music inspires audiences and brings listeners to their feet.

Old-Style Cajun Honky-Tonk Dance!

Friday, June 29
Old Style Cajun Dance, 8 pm
Building 204 Dance Floor
General Admission: $10/children 18 and under free
• Christine Balfa Powell and Richard Comeaux

Dance to the classic sixties’ Cajun roadhouse dance hall sounds, or just come and listen to the hot Cajun sounds of pedal steel, lap slide, twin fiddles, and rhythm section!

Christine Balfa Powell grew up playing triangle with her father, Dewey Balfa, and absorbed music and language from the thriving culture around Basile, Louisiana. She plays guitar and is the primary vocalist of the Balfa Toujours, a brilliant young band from Louisiana making a name for itself in traditional music. She is also the founder and director of Louisiana Folk Roots, a non-profit organization that supports Louisiana traditions.

Richard Comeaux, perhaps the best pedal-steel player in Louisiana, is currently signed to Capitol Records with his band River Road. Comeaux also plays pedal steel for Lil’ Band O’ Gold. As the Austin American Statesman notes, “Comeaux’s playing straddles melodies like a graceful tightrope walker.” 

For tickets, call Centrum at 360.385.3102, x117 or visit our secure online Acteva site.

Free Fridays at the Fort Concerts

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

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

Slide Styles from Around the World

Thursday, June 28
International Slide Styles, 8 pm
Joseph F. Wheeler Theater
General Admission: $10
• Mary Lucey with Billy Cardine
• Hannes Coetzee

The sweet sounds of east Indian-infused North Carolina bluegrass, followed by the sensational South African optel-en-knyp guitarist who plays with a teaspoon held in his mouth.

Mary Lucey is a singer, guitarist, and bass player for the bluegrass band The Biscuit Burners. She has also sung harmony with several bands throughout the United States. "I love traditional bluegrass," she says, "but I'm hungry to push the envelope." As writer Jonas Beals notes, the Biscuit Burners' star "is just starting to rise over the foothills of the west, and could streak across the heavens at any moment."

Billy Cardine's tone, timing, and technique have helped him emerge as one of the most cutting-edge dobro players today. Cardine released a solo CD, Organically Grown, in 2001, and in 2003 joined the popular bluegrass band the Biscuit Burners, with whom he has recorded two albums: their first, self-titled album, and 2005’s A Mountain Apart. Cardine has studied under east Indian guitar master Debashish Bhattacharya, and brings a strong Indian flavor to his dobro stylings.

Hannes Coetzee was born on a farm in the Western Cape region of South Africa and taught himself to play guitar on a three-stringed homemade guitar built from an oil can with cat-gut strings. Since meeting South African songwriter David Kramer, who will join him at the Festival, he has performed to sold-out crowds in every major South African city. This marks his first trip outside the borders of South Africa. Coetzee’s teaspoon guitar technique have made him a YouTube sensation. A single video of him playing has garnered nearly one million hits.

Tickets are available here or by calling Centrum at 360.385.3102, x117. 

June 27 Country Dance at the Fort

Wednesday, June 27
Country and Honky Tonk Dance, 8 pm
Building 204 Dance Floor
General Admission: $10/children 18 and under free

Dance to sizzling country tunes by Yahoo! yodeler Wylie Gustafson, pedal steel Hall of Famer Bobby Black, and the All-Star Faculty Band—a star-studded lineup comprised of Mike Phelan, Jerry Fletcher, Richard Comeaux, Grammy-winning fiddler Laurie Lewis, and many, many more.   

Wylie Gustafson’s blend of western swing, classic country, cowboy, and folk music is infused with integrity. Despite his successful career as one of the America’s most popular traditional entertainers, he still gets up every day to tend to his livestock. He's appeared on the Grand Ole Opry more than fifty times and recorded twelve albums with his band “Wylie & the Wild West.” And it’s his signature yodel you’re hearing in Yahoo! advertisements.

Wylie moves easily from quiet love ballads to romping "bring down the house" swing. In his elegant, danceable style, you can hear traditional western forms, as well as cutting-edge sounds. He's been described as having "one foot in the stirrup of tradition and the other in the stirrup of respectful innovation, spurring country and western music toward its future."

Bobby Black is a master of the steel guitar whose resume looks as if someone could have made it up.  He has played and performed for over fifty years with such artists as New Riders of the Purple Sage, Dolly Parton, the Eagles, John Lennon, Elton John, Barbara Mandrell, the Moonlighters, the Beach Boys, and the Grateful Dead.

He continues to cultivate an interest in Hawaiian music as well. Legendary Hawaiian guitarist Jerry Byrd is not only an idol of his, but a friend as well, and the lilting harmonies and gentle, swaying lyrics of Bobby's recent albums show off the influence of Byrd. Bobby's career as a steel guitarist has combined many music genres, and the result is the rich hybrid of Bobby's style. He writes: "It looks like I'll just keep steelin' right on into the sunset."