The
heart of Centrum’s Country Blues Workshop is its faculty. Each year,
led by Artistic Director Phil Wiggins, we scour the continent to bring
you the best teachers and players–masters who are steeped in the
traditions of acoustic blues. Their knowledge, stories, musicianship
and commitment to the community are part of what makes this week such a
special celebration of the blues.
Blues Singing
Gaye Adegbalola more info
Fiddle/Mandolin
Andra Faye more info
Gospel Choir
Shirley Smith More info on Gospel choir page.
Guitar
Robert Belfour more info
Lurrie Bell more info
John Cephas more info
Eleanor Ellis more info
Eric Freeman
Cheick Hamala Diabate more info
Steve James more info
John Miller more info
Del Rey more info
Paul Rishell more info
Lauren Sheehan more info
Elijah Wald more info
Mike “Lightnin’” Wells more info
Harmonica
Terry “Harmonica” Bean more info
Allen Holmes (overblow technique) more info
Annie Raines more info
Phil Wiggins more info
Piano
Henry Gray more info
Erwin Helfer more info
Judy Laprade more info
Annieville Wooden more info
Keyboard Accordion
Jude Taylor
Blues Step Dance Tradition (Buck dance, Buck Jump)
Rush McAllister
more info
The Blues Muse
In
addition to the above performers, poet Kim Addonizio, a student of the
Mississippi saxophone (a.k.a. the “harmonica”), will be hanging out at
the Port Townsend Country Blues Festival. She will give a special
presentation of poetry suffused with the blues. The time and date of
this performance will be announced later—she’ll decide at the Festival
exactly what she wants to do! Addonizio is one of the United
States’s most highly regarded poets. The author of four books of
poetry: The Philosopher’s Club, Jimmy & Rita, Tell Me, and What Is
This Thing Called Love, she is also the author of a book of stories and
a novel, Little Beauties. She also released has a word/music CD with
poet Susan Browne: Swearing, Smoking, Drinking, & Kissing. Her new
novel, My Dreams Out in the Street, will be released in July.