THE YEAR IS only a month old and we’re already into annual festivals, one in Port Angeles and one in Port Townsend.
But that’s not all, there are benefits, too!
The live music wave rocks across all of the Peninsula into music venues both large and small.
Port Angeles
• Get your old-timey and bluegrass music fix this Saturday at the eighth annual Snowgrass in support of First Step Family Support Center at 7 p.m. at the Port Angeles High School auditorium.
Donating their time and immeasurable talent will be Deadwood Revival, Crescent Blue and The Finleys and Marilyn K. and Company. Emceed by Denny Secord Sr., the program promises to be a rousing night of fun and frivolity, as well as darn good music.
Tickets are $10 adults, $6 for seniors, and free for youth 10 and younger.
They can be purchased at KONP, Strait Music, Odyssey Books, Port Book and News, and Necessities & Temptations, as well as at the First Step Family Support Center.
Tickets in Sequim are available at Pacific Mist Books, and in Forks at Forks Outfitters.
• On Saturday at the Mount Pleasant Grange, 2432 Mount Pleasant Road, there is a benefit spaghetti dinner, raffle and music show in support of Bill and Danielle Vernon, who lost their home to a fire just before Thanksgiving.
If that wasn’t enough, Bill suffered a seizure due to a large cyst on the brain.
Super Happy Story Time Land and Friends will be providing the music following dinner and raffle, at 7 p.m. Cover.
For more information, phone Bridget Edgington at 360-457-1314.
• On Friday, the Jimmy Hoffman Band plays his Southern country rock at Castaways Restaurant and Night Club, 1213 Marine Drive. Stop in and boogie with Jimmy and the boys from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. $3 cover.
On Saturday, from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., Chantilly Lace is back with classic rock and little bit of country thrown in,
• On Friday, wear your dancing shoes out to The Junction Roadhouse, junction of U.S. Highway 101 and state Highway 112 five miles west of Port Angeles, for some good ol’ rock ‘n’ roll with SuperTrees from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Their high-energy, danceable tunes, covers and originals, will get you partyin’ like it’s a new decade.
On Sunday, Barry Burnett invites you to come out early and dance to a variety of music during the open mic jam from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
On Wednesday, The Good Medicine Band with Jason, Ches and Justin play from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
• Local blues maestro Thom Davis returns to Wine on the Waterfront, 115 Railroad Ave., Friday from 7 p.m. $2 cover.
On Saturday, Barry and Bill and special guests play from 7:30 p.m. Get there early as the place fills up fast. $3 cover.
• Charlie Ferris will be upstairs at Kokopelli Restaurant, 203 E. Front St., Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. with his Melodies and Memories Show, where you get a bit of background to the pop and rock standards he performs from the ’50s through the ’80s.
• On Friday night, the Veela Café, 133 E. First St., has Jim Lind providing both rock and country, fast and slow, from his impressive repertoire, from 7:30 p.m.
• Chuck Grall will be hosting the acoustic jam at the Fairmount Restaurant, on Highway 101 west of Port Angeles, Tuesday, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., while Dave and Rosalie Secord of Luck of the Draw Band are on the road with their music.
Sequim and Blyn
• Sweet Music will be performing Saturday night in a fundraiser for the Sequim Boys & Girls Club from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the clubhouse, 400 N. Fir St. Tickets will be available at the door.
• At the Oasis Sports Bar and Grill, 301 E. Washington St., Saturday night, the Jimmy Hoffman Band rocks on, country style, from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. $3 cover.
Next Wednesday, the Blue Hole Quintet plays hits from every era with a twist of jazz, 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
• At The Buzz, 128 N. Sequim Ave., Kelly Thomas hosts the open mic Wednesday from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
• On Friday, Denny Secord Jr. goes solo at Stymie’s Bar and Grill at Cedars at Dungeness, Woodcock Road, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• Tonight, dance to the blues of the Soulshakers at the Club Seven Lounge at 7 Cedars Casino, Blyn, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
On Friday and Saturday, dance to the Motown, rhythm and blues, and top 40 big-band sound of Freddy Pink from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
On Sunday, the Stardust Big Band closes out January with standards from the golden age of the big bands, from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
On Monday, Savoy Nights kicks off February with a Monday Jazz Night Party from 5:30 to 9 p.m.
Port Hadlock
• On Saturday, Skip Morris (guitar and vocals) and Dirk Anderson (string bass) play jazz at Ferino’s Pizzaria, 846 Nesses Corner Road, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Port Townsend
• Water Street Brewing, 639 Water St., will turn Port Townsend on its proverbial ear with its Sixth Annual Strange Brewfest Saturday from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Over 30 Northwest breweries are represented, as well as the musical talents of Lucky Brown and the Funk Revolution, Eldridge Gravy and the Court Supreme and more. Come as your own wild thing.
Tickets are $25 for the two-day event. Call 360-379-6438 for more info. They say this is where the wild brews are!
• Sirens, 823 Water St, hosts a Haiti fundraiser with music by local musicians, Friday at 9 p.m. $10.
• Tonight, at the Upstage, 923 Washington St., Ray Manzarek of the Doors (keyboards) and Roy Rogers (slide-guitar virtuoso) play from 8 p.m. $35 cover. This show will repeat Saturday at 6 p.m.
Saturday, Tim Halpin and Betterhalf play good-time rock ‘n’ roll favorites from 8 p.m. Cover.
Sunday, get your Dixieland fix with the No Inhibitions Band from noon on. No cover.
Call 360-385-2216 for reservations.
• At Undertown, 211 Taylor St., you can enjoy the guitar stylings of singer/songwriter Ahmad Baabahar on Friday from 7 p.m.
• And a new entry, Better Living Through Coffee, 100 Tyler St., hosts Eldon Sleight and Bill Shepherd with their hard-edged vocals on Friday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
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John Nelson is a self-styled music lover and compulsive night owl who believes in SDLqKLMA — Keep Live Music Alive” on the North Olympic Peninsula. His column, Live Music, appears every Thursday.
Are you performing in or promoting a live music gig? Contact John by phoning 360-565-1139 or e-mailing news@ peninsuladailynews.com (subject line: John Nelson).
Also, check out “Nightlife,” a listing of entertainment at nightspots across the Peninsula, in Friday’s Peninsula Spotlight magazine.
