PORT ANGELES — “A Salute to Our Veterans” by Northwest folk singer Hank Cramer and his band is tonight.
It is the first of two patriotic concerts co-sponsored this month by the Peninsula Daily News.
Cramer’s concert tonight begins in the Peninsula College Little Theater, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd., at 6:30 p.m. Doors open at 5:45 p.m.
A longtime favorite at the annual Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts in Port Angeles, Cramer is known for his booming bass voice, smooth picking on a vintage flat-top guitar and a wry sense of humor.
His father, Army Capt. Harry G. Cramer, was killed in Vietnam in 1957, the first American soldier lost in that conflict.
He followed in his father’s footsteps to become an Army officer, paratrooper and Green Beret, retiring from the Army as a lieutenant colonel with 28 years of service.
He served in Germany, Central America, Korea, Okinawa, the Philippines and Afghanistan.
He now lives in east-central Washington and has recorded 18 CDs, four music videos and three movie soundtracks.
“The first thing you notice when you hear Hank Cramer is that deep, smooth-as-glass, pure-as-honey bass voice — resonating full voice that adds class to everything it sings,” said music critic James Rodgers.
“It’s old-fashioned and wholesome and demands attention. Great tunes have never sounded better.”
Tickets are $15, $12 for veterans and military, and $7 for youth 14 and younger.
Tickets can be bought at Port Book and News, 104 E. First St., in downtown Port Angeles, and at Pacific Mist Books, 121 W. Washington St., in downtown Sequim.
They are also available at the door tonight.
Cramer’s performance is part of the Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts fall concert series.
Joining the PDN as a sponsor is the Peninsula College Veterans.
AIR FORCE BAND
The second concert this month features the Falconaires, the premier jazz band of the Air Force.
It will perform in the Port Angeles High School auditorium at 6:30 p.m. this coming Monday, Nov. 15.
Admission is free.
The band will play new and sophisticated jazz, classic big-band sounds of Glenn Miller and patriotic salutes to veterans and America.
The local Stardust Big Band will warm up the audience before the Falconaires.
The band is based at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.
“I rate the Falconaires as one of the best today,” said Doc Severinson, former “Tonight Show” band leader and trumpeter.
“A killer band! I would be proud to play with this group anywhere, anytime,” said Shelly Berg, pianist, composer, arranger and Jazz Studies chair of the University of Southern California School of Music.
Co-sponsoring next Monday’s concert with the PDN is Port Angeles High School.
