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Home , Bad Livers, Danny Barnes (musician), Frank Hutchison, Guy Davis (musician), Henry Gray (musician), Mark Rubin (musician)

Summer FeStival Schedule CENTRUM creativity in community Fort Worden State Park, Port Townsend

July 31–auguSt 7 Acoustic FestivAl Port townsend Jerron Paxton, Artistic Director

Corey Ledet

Supplement to the July 22, 2015 Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader summer at centrum Hello friends! It is a great pleasure to welcome you all to this Welcome to Centrum’s year’s acoustic blues festival! I have been fortunate to have rd spent the last eight of my 27 years teaching at Centrum. 43 Summer Season! Growing with and learning from this festival has been one of the biggest pleasures of my life. Being made artistic director In partnership with Fort is a great honor. Worden State Park, Centrum serves as a We have plenty of friends and faculty eager to help this year gathering place for creative and it is a safe bet that it’s going to be a hoot. We’re glad you are here to join us! artists and learners of all Blues and the culture surrounding it has been a part of my life since the ages seeking extraordinary beginning. My forebears came from the plantations of and Arkansas cultural enrichment. bringing their culture and music with them and instilling it in me. The both OUR MISSION is to foster creative experiences lively and lowdown music that was the soundtrack of their lives should not be that change lives. From exploring the roots of preserved as an old relic, but be kept as alive and vibrant as it was when it was in the blues or , to the traditions of American its heyday. music or our award-winning writers’ Life seems to have given me the task and responsibility to be a steward of the workshops—Centrum’s summer festivals music and culture of my progenitor as they pass into the new bright world. With transform the majestic, inspired setting of Fort cultural liveliness as part of my goals and being a reasonable hand at the strings Worden State Park into a unique arts destination. as my credentials, I look forward to doing and learning as much as possible to add a bit of my flavor to the festival. JOIN US and discover a full array of mainstage performances, nightclub events, vital literary Peace, Love & Blessings readings, lectures, dances and more. Jerron Paxton OUR PROGRAMS welcome participants from ARTISTIC DIRECTOR across the globe. Last year alone we served individuals from 17 countries, 46 out of 50 states, and 77% of the counties in Washington. 27% of those we serve are age 18 or younger and our participants were aged 4 to 97! Welcome to the Centrum Port Townsend Acoustic Blues We present our programs with support from Festival. This weekend we celebrate the culmination of a week the Washington State Arts Commission, State of learning in community with passionate tradition bearers in Parks Commission, the State Superintendent of acoustic blues. Public Instruction, National Endowment for the Arts and the Fort Worden Public Development Artistic Director, Jerron Paxton has gathered this community of Authority. We thank the many donors and musicians who were either born into blues traditions or became generous sponsors who support Centrum and bearers of these traditions out of direct exposure and passion. our unique role in our Puget Sound community, We use the word acoustic to distinguish an earlier era before music ‘plugged in’. Focus and I hope you will too! of this program is to honor the traditions upon which American pre-war blues music were founded. This meeting of African and European musical cultures had a major Please join us for cultural experiences you simply effect on the development of modern music. It gave rise to black church songs or cannot find anywhere else on earth. See you this ‘spirituals’, old-time, country blues, gospel, jazz, Rhythm & Blues, rock & roll and soul. summer at Centrum! Early American blues music reflects a people holding up their humanity and hope under sometimes harsh conditions of oppression. The word blues makes one think of sadness but inside this music you will find hope, love and courage. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR I for one am most grateful for this music, its rhythms and melodies resonate with my soul and carry my spirit to a place where it unites with all humanity. We are honored to share with you, performances by these artists who have shared their knowledge with eager participants this week. Mary Hilts (800) 746-1982 • Centrum.org PROGRAM MANAGER, CENTRUM PORT TOWNSEND ACOUSTIC BLUES FESTIVAL

2 The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader • 2016 ACOUSTIC BLUES FESTIVAL blues in the clubs Friday & Saturday, August 5 & 6 $25 with wristband* Friday, August 5 Saturday, August 6 1st set: AMERICAN LEGION HALL AMERICAN LEGION HALL 8-9 p.m. (all ages) (all ages) 1. Scottie Parker & Aaron Gunn 1. Clay Swafford 2nd set: 2. Corey Ledet, Kirk Harwood 2. / Kirk Harwood / Mark Rubin / Orville / Orville Johnson / Mark 9:15-10:15 p.m. Johnson / Rich DelGrosso Graham 3. Wendy DeWitt / Kirk 3. Wendy DeWitt / Kirk Harwood / Dean Mueller / Harwood / Dean Mueller / 3rd set: Orville Johnson / Johnny Orville Johnson 10:30 p.m. – Ward THE BOILER ROOM THE BOILER ROOM 12 a.m. (all ages)

HUDSON ST (all ages) HUDSON PT 1. Lightnin’ Wells 1. Ari Eisinger 2. Ernie Vega THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS Marine View Beverage, City of Port Townsend, Subway. 2. Chris Berry 3. Scottie Parker JEFFERSON ST 3. Elijah Wald KEY CITY PUBLIC THEATER FRANKLIN ST JACKSON ST KEY CITY PUBLIC THEATER (all ages) (all ages) 1. Jimmy ‘Duck’ Holmes 1. Lauren Sheehan 2. Steve James American Legion MONROE ST 2. Pat Donohue & Mark Graham QUINCY ST 3. Guy Davis JEFFERSON ST MADISON ST Key City Public Theater 3. Jerron Paxton & Phil Wiggins TYLER ST THE WHISKEY MILL

ADAMS ST THE WHISKEY MILL 1. Andy Cohen

TAYLOR ST 1. Tim Williams Boiler Room 2. Jerron Paxton 2. Terry Waldo WASHINGTON ST 3. Terry Waldo 3. Clay Swafford WATER ST Cotton Building THE COTTON BUILDING Cellar Door THE COTTON BUILDING (all ages) (all ages) The Whiskey Mill 1. Tim Williams 1. Steve James 2. Corey Ledet & Chaz Leary 2. Jimmy ‘Duck’ Holmes DOWNTOWN PORT TOWNSEND 3. Pat Donohue & Rich 3. Guy Davis & Chaz Leary DelGrosso THE CELLAR DOOR *IMPORTANT NOTE THE CELLAR DOOR 1. Ernie Vega & Valerie and 1. Elijah Wald Blues in the Clubs is a moveable feast of great music in various downtown venues, with each venue Ben Turner operating on a first-come first-served basis. Your wrist band is an all-night access pass, and we encourage 2. Chris Berry & Aaron Gunn you to move around throughout the evening to gain the full benefit of the clubs experience. Venue hosts 2. Lightnin’ Wells 3. Ari Eisinger will help direct you to available seating or standing room options. Please read our wristband policy online. 3. Andy Cohen *Programs and artists subject to change.

Centrum offers profound thanks to the foundation and government entities that support our Centrum’s corporate sponsors include regional, national, and international corporations that distinctive mission. Their grants help fuel our programming, and their imprimatur assists Centrum’s understand the value of supporting the arts. Their contributions foster the creativity and sense efforts to broaden support for its services throughout the state and nation. of kinship that has thousands of workshop participants and audience members converging for Centrum’s 2015 Port Townsend’s Acoustic Blues Festival.

2016 ACOUSTIC BLUES FESTIVAL • The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader 3 Concert Schedule Featured Performers Join us for the largest country blues gathering in the nation! ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, JERRON PAXTON Concerts feature players and music from regions where , , , , ETC. • Jerron Paxton has earned a reputation pre-war country blues were formed — Piedmont, the Delta, for transporting audiences back to the 1920’s and making them wish they could Mississippi Hill Country, New Orleans, Texas and more. stay there for good. Paxton sings and plays banjo, guitar, piano, fiddle, , Immerse yourself in the African – American history and Cajun , and the bones (percussion). He has an eerie ability to transform traditions from which blues has grown. traditional jazz, blues, folk, and country into the here and now, and make it real. In Mainstage shows at McCurdy Pavilion cap off a week-long addition, he mesmerizes audiences with his humor and storytelling. Paxton’s sound is influenced by the workshop for nearly 250 passionate acoustic blues students likes of and “Blind” Lemon Jefferson. Jerron’s family, originally from Louisiana, moved to LA taught by artists from across the country. Club shows and in the 50′s where he grew up before moving to city in 2007, where he currently resides. a massive Saturday mainstage performances transform Port Townsend into the summer blues getaway. Wednesday, August 3, 7:30 p.m. JIMMY ‘DUCK’ HOLMES Old-Fashioned Blues Dance GUITAR • Jimmy ‘Duck’ Holmes is a deep-roots folk blues musician who plays in Fort Worden USO Hall • Tickets $20 the blues tradition described as American-primitivism, a repetitive and monotone style that is ethereal, gritty and rough. There are many sophisticated pickers but the General Admission (limited to 150) primitive school had always been at the core of blues, conveying the most important Featuring Jerron Paxton, Frankie Basile, Chris Berry, Andy element – the feeling. Holmes was influenced by Jack Owens and Skip James who Cohen, Ari Eisinger, Aaron Gunn, Mark Rubin, Ernie Vega were part of the Bentonia School of blues musicians, influenced by Henry Stuckey. Jimmy is one of the and Terry Waldo oldest active purveyors of the Bentonia country blues tradition.

Friday, August 5, 8 p.m. - Midnight Blues in the Clubs FAIRFIELD FOUR Downtown Port Townsend Venues SINGING • The Fairfield Four sing in the traditional African American a cappella Admission $25 with wristband (seating limited) gospel style they have been known for since the group’s inception almost 100 years ago. John Fogerty loved Fairfield’s rootsy sound so much he decided he had Saturday August 6, 11 a.m. to feature them on his second , Blue Moon Swamp on the track “A Hundred Gospel Choir and Ten in the Shade.” Founded in 1921 in Nashville, TN the Fairfield Four have maintained their authenticity by carrying on traditional stylings exemplified by the Bessemer Sunset “Make a Joyful Noise” with Dr. Raymond Wise Four, the Birmingham Jubilee Singers, and the Famous Blue Jay Singers with Silas Steele. They are the Fort Worden Chapel • Free Admission recipients of multiple honors including Grammy Awards for Best Traditional Gospel Recording, “I Can’t Hear Nobody Pray,” and Album of the Year for the O Brother Where Art Thou Soundtrack Recording, Saturday August 6, 1:30pm and two Lifetime Achievement Awards. They were inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1999. Acoustic Blues Showcase McCurdy Pavilion, Fort Worden Reserved Seating Tickets: $45, $35, $25 COREY LEDET Featuring Jerron Paxton, The Fairfield Four, Guy Davis, Jimmy ACCORDION • Corey Ledet was born and raised in Texas but spent his summers with ‘Duck’ Holmes, Pat Donohue, Orville Johnson, Tim Williams, family in Louisiana. The Creole culture has its roots in Louisiana, but spread across the Mark Graham, Clay Swafford and Phil Wiggins country, including neighboring Texas. His love for Creole/Zydeco music was instant. He studied the originators of the music such as Clifton Chenier, John Delafose, and Saturday August 6, 8 p.m. - Midnight Boozoo Chavis. He branched out to include studying any (and all) artists of Zydeco. At Blues in the Clubs the early age of 10, he picked up shows playing drums for Houston-based band Wilbert Thibodeaux and the Zydeco Rascals and slowly learned the main instrument of the music – the accordion. Corey eventually Downtown Port Townsend Venues moved to Louisiana in order to be surrounded by this beautiful culture at all times. Admission $25 with wristband (seating limited) Blues Festival Packages Seating is reserved at the McCurdy Pavilion performances GUY DAVIS includes Acoustic Blues Showcase and Blues in the Clubs. GUITAR • Guy Davis’ much-praised 1995 debut, Stomp Down the Rider on Red Pricing based on McCurdy Pavilion Seating House Records, marked the arrival of a major talent, earning acclaim for his deft Section A: $85 acoustic playing, his well-traveled voice and his literate, yet accessible songwriting. He’s taken his music to television (the Conan O’Brien and David Letterman shows) Section B: $75 and radio (, Mountain Stage, World Cafe, E-Town ), Section C: $65 as well as performed at theaters and festivals across the four corners of the world. His parallel careers– as a musician, an author, a music teacher and a film, television and Broadway actor—mark Davis as a Renaissance man, yet the blues remain his first and greatest love. Growing up in a family of artists (his Purchase tickets online at Centrum.org parents were and ) he fell under the spell of Blind Willie McTell and Fats Waller or call (800) 746-1982. at an early age.

4 The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader • 2016 ACOUSTIC BLUES FESTIVAL ARI EISINGER GUITAR • Ari Eisinger is one of the most impressive country blues and The Small Town Wine Shop guitarists playing today. In his performances of the music of Blind Blake and you hear things no guitar player has pulled off since Blake himself in the early 1930s. with the Big City Selection Able to shift effortlessly from complex East Coast ragtime to the propulsive rhythm of the guitar evangelists, to down-home Texas country blues, Ari is one of the most authentic musicians you’ll ever encounter. His interpretations of the songs of masters like , Memphis Minnie and Reverend Gary Davis have been called “downright spooky” for the way the styles of these pioneering guitar heroes are brought vibrantly back to life. Whether he is taking on the crystal tone and virtuosity of Lonnie Johnson or the liquid bends of Josh White played on a low-tuned Stella guitar, Ari recalls the great music of the past while bringing his own brilliant musical personality to bear. 7 days a week: Extended Summer Hours Wine • Champagne • Beer • Ale • Cheese Chocolate • Cigars 1010 Water St Port Townsend• PTwineSeller.com • 360-385-7673 PAT DONOHUE GUITAR • Pat’s musical tastes are eclectic. Though he considers himself foremost a folk guitarist, Pat’s influences are rooted in bluesmen Blind Blake, , Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, and Miles Davis. He blends jazz and blues with folk, and the mix is seamless. Over the years he has captivated audiences with his unique original compositions, dazzling instrumentals and humorous song parodies. His original tunes have been recorded by , and Kenny Rogers. Pat has also been a featured performer at major music festivals including the Newport, Telluride and Philadelphia Folk Festivals. After wrapping up almost twenty successful years as the guitarist and songwriter on “A Prairie Home Companion” on NPR, Pat now turns to full time concert touring, presenting master guitar workshops and attending music camps. Café & Bistro Sweet Laurette Brunch Wed.-Sat. 8-2:30pm, Sun. 8-2pm STEVE JAMES Bistro Dinner Wed.-Sun. 5-9pm; Happy Hour 4-6pm GUITAR, • Steve James is a Centrum Blues recidivist who first taught 1029 Lawrence St. • 385-4886 • www.sweetlaurette.com and performed here over 20 years ago and has done so regularly since then. An autodidact who sees roots music history as a circle rather than a line he has toured extensively and internationally, including work as an arts envoy for U.S. embassies Sublime in Bulgaria, Guatemala and Finland. His original style on guitar, slide guitar, mandolin and vocals is informed by influences that include blues cornerstone Furry Lewis, rock’n’roll Comfort inventor , and Centrum Blues godfather Howard Armstrong (with all of whom he has played). in Port Townsend Steve has supplemented his activities as a performing and recording artist by creating numerous The Ravenscroft Inn instructional books, DVDs and on-line lessons and participating in over a hundred music camps and Bed & Breakfast is workshop programs. ideally located for exploring historic Port Townsend. Tucked into a quiet neighborhood in Uptown, you can walk to local restaurants, VALERIE TURNER bakeries, theaters and GUITAR • Valerie Turner is a native New Yorker with southern roots and is the the farmer’s market. co-founder of the “Piedmont Bluz Acoustic Duo.” She plays finger style Country Call to make your reservation! Blues guitar and her eclectic repertoire has been greatly influenced by her studies 855.290.8840 or 360.205.2149 with both John Cephas and Woody Mann. Valerie’s earliest influences were www.ravenscroftinn.com and Elizabeth Cotten, and her specialty is the Piedmont style of fingerpicking.

ORVILLE JOHNSON BOTTLENECK SLIDE AND DOBRO GUITAR • Orville Johnson was born and raised Authentic Asian Art in the southern Illinois heartland right down the road from St Louis, Missouri. He acquired his love of singing as a youth in the Pentecostal church and, when he later Artifacts, Furniture began playing guitar and dobro, responded to the roots music that surrounded him by learning to play blues, bluegrass, rockabilly, and that are all part Textiles & Jewelry of the mosaic that characterizes his own mongrel music. He is a singer, instrumentalist, , songwriter, session player, teacher, the top dobro player on the West Coast of America and, above all, an instinctive and sensitive musician. 821 Water Street, Port Townsend www.maestraleimports.com 360. 385. 5565

2016 ACOUSTIC BLUES FESTIVAL • The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader 5 RICH DELGROSSO MANDOLIN • Rich DelGrosso is widely regarded as the leading exponent of mandolin blues. For over thirty years DelGrosso has written articles for Blues Revue, New Summer Living Blues, Mandolin Magazine, Frets, and Sing Out! and has published mandolin and guitar instruction books on for Hal Leonard Pub. He has presented workshops across the Americas and Europe, earning him a Keeping the Blues Alive Award from Happy Hours! the Blues Foundation in Memphis.

3-5 & 9-11 PM daily ERNIE VEGA MANDOLIN • String master Ernie Vega performs stark versions of Country Blues, We have specials on scrumptious Gospel-blues, Old-Time, & Jazz classics stripped down to their barest elements. Sounding like ghosts from a by-gone era, he illustrates the simple elegant power drinks and appetizers! of these great songs. Ernie performs and teaches his broad repertoire of songs at the fabulous Jalopy Theater, a venue fast becoming Brooklyn’s center of Folk, Roots A few of your favorites: and the Art of the Jug. Ernie transports you to a time when the Village was still bohemian and old-time music was all that existed. E P S   Two sliders served El Portal style stu ed with bacon and pepper jack cheese, and topped with smoked CHRIS BERRY habenero bleu cheese dressing and fried onions. GUITAR/BANJO • Chris Berry has been playing country blues and old-time country music on guitar and banjo for over 25 years. Since 2008 he’s played guitar and A P  sung as part of Sausage Grinder, the Los Angeles area’s premier jug band. Along Ahi tuna mixed with bell peppers, scallions,garlic and with blues greats like Mance Lipscomb, Sleepy John Estes, Bo Carter and many jalapeño marinated in a sesame soy sauce. others, Chris especially loves those rarely documented areas where blues and old- time overlap, like Lusk, Gribble and York, the Baxters, Luke Jordan, Dock Boggs and Frank Hutchison. He learned many tunes and a lot about music from the late legendary Illinois/Southern California fiddler Mel S H  Durham and plays banjo on his CD “Skillet Fork.” Served with warm pita bread. MARK RUBIN STRING BASS • Mark Rubin is a musician living and working in New Orleans. You can find him around town playing with local guitar hero Chip Wilson. Or maybe even playing string bass or with the New Orleans Rag Weeds. Or tenor banjo or whatever with just about anyone. Some of you will remember him as partner to in the pioneering Weirdo-Americana act , or maybe as Santiago Jimenez, Jr.’s bassist and producer. And there’s probably quite a few who searched for the guy who teaches and performs klezmer music around the world, or toured with Boban Markovic Orkestar and L : Frank London’s Klezmer Brass All Stars, and the Other Europeans Project. Get your discount card! Good through August 2015 DR. RAYMOND WISE Open 11 to 11 daily GOSPEL • As a singer, pianist, composer, director, conductor, lecturer, and teacher, Deck dining available, limited during Happy Hour Dr. Wise regularly serves orchestras, opera companies, and choral festivals Reservations Recommended throughout the nation and abroad. Dr. Wise has served as a church musician for more than 30 years and has appeared on radio and television, recorded 22 , performed with opera singers, orchestras, dance companies, professional recording groups, and has toured extensively throughout the USA, Canada, Europe, and Asia, as a singer, dancer, pianist, composer, choral director, lecturer, and teacher. He has penned more than 600 compositions. His Anthology of 21 Spirituals for the 21st Century has received national and international acclaim.

ELIJAH WALD GUITAR/HISTORY • Elijah Wald has been a musician since age seven and a writer since the early 1980s. He has published more than a thousand articles, mostly about folk, roots and international music for various magazines and newspapers, including over ten years as “world music” writer for the Globe. In the current millenium, he has been devoting most of his time to book projects, including volumes 141 Hudson Street, Port Townsend on such disparate subjects as Delta blues ( Escaping the Delta), Mexican drug ballads (Narcocorrido), (360) 344-3627 • docsgrill.com hitchhiking (Riding with Strangers), and a broad social history of American popular music ( How the Beatles Destroyed Rock ‘n’ Roll).

6 The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader • 2016 ACOUSTIC BLUES FESTIVAL TIM WILLIAMS GUITAR • Tim Williams’ career began in the coffee houses of Southern California Eat in in the mid-1960s and continues today around the world from his home base on Dining Room the Canadian Prairies. His guitar skills are frequently compared to Ry Cooder or Courtyard and David Lindley (and like them, Tim plays a wealth of string instruments), and his songwriting has won praise from the likes of Tom Russel and Willie Nelson. A string of Maple Blues Award nominations (Toronto Blues Society), three JUNO award nominations Take Out (Canada’s Grammy equivalent), five Betty Mitchell Awards for composition/musical-direction in theatre, Pack A Picnic and roughly a dozen awards from Real Blues magazine (as artist, guitarist, producer), attest to the high Grab-n-Go Case caliber of his work. Tim’s recent win at the International Blues Challenge as Best Solo or Duo, and Best Wine & Beer Selection Guitarist (solo or duo), are just the latest accolades in a career entering its fifth decade.

SCOTTIE PARKER GUITAR • Folks frequently recognize Scottie outside of New Orleans, recalling their days spent on Royal Street, where he has been a linchpin of the busking community THE FOOD for a number of years. They may also recognize him from his role as Scottie the CO-OP “Shanghai Rooster” in the television series Treme. Well-traveled and seldom in one Farm Fresh place for long, Scottie has played the street corners, bars and stages of countless Local Foods towns in the States and abroad. Scottie’s resume isn’t exactly typical: Appeared at Brooklyn’s notorious Jalopy Theater; Flanked by burlesque beauties in Nashville; Shared the stage with T Model Ford in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Scottie’s brand of blues is a blend of Country, Delta and Piedmont stylings, reflective of his roots in Louisiana, Mississippi and North Carolina. He plays a cross section of the best of American vernacular music, from delta blues to Appalachian stomps to early jazz and popular songs. REFINE YOUR TASTE www.foodcoop.coop FOR THE BLUES! Corner of Kearney & Sims Open for Tastings Wed–Sun Port Townsend 360-379-0895 OPEN 8am-9pm EVERY DAY mttownsendcreamery.com ANDY COHEN 360-385-2883 20% OFF WITH THIS AD You don’t need to be GUITAR • Andy Cohen plays Blues and country ragtime on a guitar, with fingerpicks, Good through 9/1/2016 Cannot be combined with other offers a member to shop! hard enough to be heard in a noisy juke, without a mic. He lives in Memphis when he’s not living in his car, which is most of the time. Although not strictly speaking a bluesman, he has eked out a living playing for more than fifty years playing all over the country, and been an advocate, lead boy, agent and friend to a solid gang of ‘source’ bluesmen and gospel musicians in those years. He feels he hasn’t wasted his time. POSTERS • BROCHURES LOGOS/LETTERHEAD DESIGN & PRINTING • WEB MARK GRAHAM HARMONICA • Born in Renton, Washington, Mark Graham’s early musical experience was confined to school band playing and listening to Homer and Jethro records. Upon discovering the harmonica and southern old-time music, Mark began a musical career that included his early years as a street musician in Seattle and stints with such stellar old-time string bands as The Hurricane Ridgerunners Frame your and The Chicken Chokers. Graham has recorded or performed with Orville Johnson as The Kings of Concert Posters Mongrel Folk, Tom and Patrick Sauber, Tim O’Brien, , Danny Barnes, Pete Sutherland, The and Horseflies, and Benny Thomasson and has played and recorded with Irish fiddler, Kevin Burke, in the everything else. band Open House. Creative Custom Framing & Ready-Made Frames PHIL WIGGINS HARMONICA • Phil Wiggins is arguably America’s foremost blues harmonica virtuoso. While rooted in the melodic Piedmont blues of the Chesapeake region, his mastery of the instrument now transcends stylistic boundaries. During the FREE CONSULTATION. early years of his development as a musician, Phil was constantly playing with and learning from some of the most notable acoustic blues musicians that made GREAT DESIGN. their homes in the Washington area of his youth: Flora Molten, Mother Ester Mae Scott, Wilber “Chief” AFFORDABLE RATES. Ellis, John Jackson, Archie Edwards, John Cephas, and others. He was mentored as well by many other musicians who frequented the D.C. area: , Sam Chapman, Sunnyland Slim, Henry Townsend, Robert Lockwood, John Dee Holeman, Algia Mae Hinton, Howard Armstrong, Ted Bogan, (360) 385-2900 Etta Baker, and others. In the late 1970s, Phil and John Cephas formed the duo Cephas and Wiggins and [email protected] performed together for over 30 years.

2016 ACOUSTIC BLUES FESTIVAL • The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader 7 TERRY WALDO LIGHTNIN’ WELLS PIANO • Terry Waldo, the UKE • Mike “Lightnin’” Wells Mad Hatter & Co. protégé of the legendary Eubie breathes new life into the Blake, is a virtuoso ragtime, vintage tunes of the 1920s 926 Water Street stride, and blues pianist. He and depression era America - Downtown - is also a vocalist, composer employing various appropriate of show tunes, film and TV scores, and has led stringed instruments in a dynamic style which he has Port Townsend, WA many highly regarded musical groups. His book developed in over thirty years of performing. Raised in “This is Ragtime” was just republished with a new eastern North Carolina, Wells learned to play harmonica 360-379-1859 introduction by for Jazz at Lincoln as a young child and taught himself to play the guitar Center Library Editions. His 26-part radio series of as he developed a strong interest in traditional blues the same title was produced for NPR and fueled the and . He has presented his brand of acoustic 1970’s ragtime revival. Recently he has been teaching blues throughout North Carolina, the

Mad Hatter & Co. has an eclectic collection of quality felt hats, handmade hats, courses on early jazz and ragtime piano styles for Jazz and Europe. Lightnin’ remains an insatiable student and handmade jewelry & accessories and a selection of music & vintage treasures. at Lincoln Center. Terry has several new recording researcher, studying the various forms of American projects and is working on a PBS music documentary roots music from bygone eras. His musical style is on ragtime. He regularly performs in New York at personal and energetic yet remains true to the original several prestigious venues including The Rum House, root form. His goal is to entertain and educate using a The Dead Rabbit, and Chez Josephine. variety of sources, influences and techniques to express his dedication, respect and pleasure in presenting this unique American art form. Find your way to local attractions and events WENDY DEWITT without the parking challenges PIANO • Wendy DeWitt plays CHAZ LEARY Adults ride boogie-woogie and blues piano WASHBOARD • Though all day for at a high pitch. Intense, personal comfortable in all forms of our Try Transit $1.50 and delivered with a contagious diverse American musical smile, her work is inspired by heritage, Washboard Chaz Leary Your connection to Fort Worden, Downtown, Otis Spann, Memphis Slim, Sunnyland Slim and Pete has achieved dominance and Uptown, the Port Townsend Ferry & more Johnson, and seasoned by international touring and international recognition in acoustic country blues. He For schedules or information call or go to our website. work with Delmark recording artist Steve Fruend and has played with an impressive array of world-class 360-385-4777 ● www.jeffersontransit.com ● 800-371-0497 R&B legend Hank Ballard. Wendy also organizes the musicians, both on the stage and in the recording studio. Annual Queens of Boogie Woogie at Yoshi’s Oakland, He has played with a wide variety of bands including the the SRO International Boogie-Woogie Festival at Make New Memories Here! legendary Ophelia Swing Band, Prosperity Jazz Band, SFJAZZ and the Blues Piano Orgy Series. Along with BBQ Bob & Washboard Chaz, Judy Roderick and the duo partner Kirk Harwood (Norton Buffalo), Wendy is Forebears, and Bleecker St. Upon arrival in New Orleans, Artisan an International Blues Challenge Finalist. Chaz established himself as a seasoned musician, forming his Washboard Chaz Blues Trio. Shortly afterward, he Ice Cream joined the Tin Men, one of New Orleans’ most unique And Chocolates Made Here and recognized bands. Since then, Chaz has also played by our Elevated Candy Co. CLAY SWAFFORD with the cream of New Orleans musicians, including the PIANO • Firmly rooted in the New Orleans Nightcrawlers, The Iguanas, Tuba Fats, blues tradition, Clay Swafford Royal Fingerbowl, The Jazz Vipers, The Palmetto Bug was raised in the small rural Stompers and Washboard Rodeo. community of Providence, Handcrafted • Fresh • Healthy • Delicious! Open at 10 am - see our website at Alabama. Born into a musical www.elevatedicecream.com family; he was immersed in the sounds of Baptist AARON GUNN 627 & 631 Water Street, Port Townsend Hymnals, Country and Bluegrass. He took interest in 360-385-1156 the piano at an early age and, after hearing the music VIOLIN • Aaron “Mr.” Gunn is a of B.B King and Bobby Blue Bland at age 15, Clay was veteran of the new generation of hooked on the blues. At 16, he attended the Pinetop blues and string band musicians Great Sushi Homecoming Celebration and promptly found himself that have cut their teeth on the Voted Best Soups and Salad Bar on stage with many of his idols. In 2005 (age 20), the streets of the U.S. and abroad. Large Selection of Wines, Beer and Spirits hard work paid off: Clay was asked to be a part of Growing up in Florida, music was his avenue to other the boogie-woogie piano documentary “Falsifyin” cultures and his teachers were the great recordings of alongside , , Marcia earlier generations. He started playing as a young teen Ball, and Henry Gray. Clay has played with Willie “Big in the old time and Irish communities, but didn’t begin Summer Hours: busking in earnest until moving to Asheville, NC, where 7 am - 10 pm Eyes” Smith and numerous other blues legends. he discovered that he could make an honest living 360- via bucket and case. In New Orleans, Gunn found a 385-0500 broader community with the same mindset and moved Maxwellbean Purchase tickets online at there shortly after. He has grown into a formidable Hours: aldrichs.com multi-instrumentalist with a solid grounding in jazz & M-F 10-4, Centrum.org or call Sat 10-2:30 vernacular music from America and beyond, but it is the (800) 746-1982. role, voice and proper use of the violin that remains his principal obsession.

8 The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader • 2016 ACOUSTIC BLUES FESTIVAL