This post refers to the 2012 Voice Works gathering.
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Centrum opens its summer concert season at Fort Worden State Park with four events comprising Voice Works, a celebration of singing, which is highlighted by the Saturday, June 30, 7:30 PM performance of “Country Roots & Bluegrass” at McCurdy Pavilion featuring Grammy winner Tim O’Brien.
7:30PM, THURSDAY, JUNE 28 – TWO BY TWO
Tickets for “Two by Two” are $15, and are available online until 11:59 PM , Wednesday, June 27. A very limited amount of tickets will be ONLY be available in person at the Wheeler Theater box office, one-hour prior to performance beginning at 6:30 PM.
“Two by Two: An Intimate Evening of Duet Singing,” opens with Left Over Dreams which features Tony Marcus, an acclaimed swing guitarist who has performed with Cats & Jammers and Geoff Muldaur, and Canadian-born vocalist Patrice Haan who, together, will sing duets from the Great American Songbook in addition to their humorous originals. The duo was recently featured on NPR’s All Songs Considered, where their rendition of “Teach Me Tonight” won the weekly listeners poll.
On the second half of the program, Pharis and Jason Romero, who reside in Horsefly, British Columbia perform both original and vintage country songs. Formerly two-thirds of the acclaimed old-time folk trio The Haints, Pharis and Jason Romero’s first album as a duo, A Passing Glimpse, reached number one on the North American Folk DJ playlist in 2011.
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12PM, FRIDAY, JUNE 29 – FREE FRIDAYS AT THE FORT
The Port Angeles-based Abby Mae and the Homeschool Boys will open Free Fridays at the Fort – the weekly summer concert series that is presented free of charge, for six consecutive weeks on the grounds of the newly-renamed Nora Porter Commons. The group, which performs old-time and gospel tunes, consists of vocalist Mae, and David Rivers on guitar and banjo, Hayden Pomeroy, bass, and fiddler Joey Gish. Abby Mae and the Homeschool Boys have performed at Folklife, the Juan de Fuca Festival and locally at the Upstage in Port Townsend. Food from Bon Appetit is available for purchase.
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7:30PM, FRIDAY, JUNE 29 – HONKY TONK DANCE
Tickets to the dance will be $10 and are available at the door only.
Voice Works continues on Friday evening in the USO building of Fort Worden with a Honky Tonk Dance featuring sets from Caleb Klauder, known for his work with the Portland-based Foghorn Stringband, Cajun–country vocalist/fiddler and Balfa family member Courtney Granger, and former Commander Cody lead guitarist Bill Kirchen, who has performed with Emmylou Harris and Elvis Costello. The performers will be joined by additional Voice Works faculty artists.
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7:30PM, SATURDAY, JUNE 30 – COUNTRY ROOTS & BLUEGRASS
Tickets for Country Roots and Bluegrass on Saturday, June 30, 7:30 PM are available online until 11:59 PM , Friday, June 29. Tickets will be ONLY be available in person at the McCurdy Pavilion box office, one-hour prior to performance beginning at 6:30 PM.
The culminating concert of the week–long workshop, “Country Roots & Bluegrass”, opens with Irish and American folk songs from Aoife O’Donovan, who recently completed a tour with Nashville’s Punch Brothers and was the featured vocalist for Yo-Yo Ma’s Goat Rodeo sessions. O’Donovan established herself over the last ten years with Crooked Still, the high-energy alternative bluegrass band from Boston that has made seven recordings. Mollie O’Brien, sister of Tim O’Brien and the Grammy-winning vocalist for True Life Blues: the Songs of Bill Monroe, performs a wide range of material including Americana, folk, and roots. She is accompanied by her husband, guitarist Rich Moore, who frequently performs with folk legend Tom Paxton.
The second half of “Country Roots & Bluegrass” continues with Linda and David Lay performing classic country songs accompanied by Linda’s string bass and David’s guitar. The Lays comprise half of the Springfield Exit, the Virginia-based quartet that performs a mix of traditional country, swing, folk and blues which recently appeared at the Kennedy Center.
The evening concludes with Grammy-award winner and multi-instrumentalist (guitar, mandolin, banjo and fiddle) Tim O’Brien, who has just released his 13th album Chicken & Egg. O’Brien, who won a Grammy for Fiddler’s Green (Best Traditional Folk Album) was named “male vocalist of the year” by the International Bluegrass Music Association in 1993 and 2006. The O’Brien clan, under the title “O’Brien Party of Seven” which includes Tim and Mollie and their children, along with Rich Moore, has just released Reincarnation: The Songs of Roger Miller. It is expected that some family members will join Mollie and Tim O’Brien for their sets during “Country Roots & Bluegrass.”
Local baristas, Java Gypsy, will be set up on Littlefield Green providing hot and cold espresso drinks for purchase during Country Roots & Bluegrass. In addition, the Centrum Beer Garden will be available for patrons 21 and over. The gates for Littlefield Green open for picnicking one hour prior to performance time. Tickets for the concert range from $16 to $33. Children under 18 admitted free.
Voice Works is made possible by major support from Sage Arts. Additional support is provided by the Western Arts Federation (WESTAF), the Washington State Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Columbia Bank.
Tim O’Brien’s appearance at Voice Works is made possible by the Anne and Dick Schneider Director’s Creative Fund. Free Fridays at the Fort is sponsored by First Federal with additional support from the Peninsula Daily News and Enclume.