It was nearly fifty years ago that my parents presented me with my first guitar, a six-string Rickenbacker," Bobby Black says.

In the years since, Bobby, one of the true legends of the slide guitar, has played with such groups as the Eagles, the Grateful Dead, the Beach Boys, and such performers as Elton John, Dolly Parton, Stevie Wonder, and John Lennon. In 1970, Black joined Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen and toured every state in the union.

In 2006, Bobby Black helped inaugurate the first annual Port Townsend Slide and Steel Festival. Again in 2007, Bobby will be part of the Festival faculty, passing on the stories, skills, and techniques learned from a half-century on the road in small, intimate workshops for those who want a one-on-one experience with one of the rare masters of the slide guitar.

On Wednesday, June 27, at 8 pm Bobby leads a country dance together with Wylie Gustafson, the Yahoo! yodeler. On Saturday, June 30, at 1:30 pm, Bobby will give a massive mainstage performance at Fort Worden's McCurdy Pavilion.  

"I've hung up my traveling shoes but never stopped playing," Bobby says.