THIS IS MY final column . . . of my 11th year.
Next week, I embark on my 12th year of bringing you live-music news.
Little did I know a conversation with Dave Schaumburg Sr., Chuck Darland and the late Terry Mays, all of Chantilly Lace, would start me on the path to a writing career late in life.
Chantilly Lace played its final gig last week at a private party, but the Keep Live Music Alive movement the band started is still alive in this column.
Thank you, readers, venues and Chantilly Lace, and all the musicians for your support in Keeping Live Music Alive.
Port Angeles
■ Today at the Junction Roadhouse, 242701 U.S. Highway 101, Chesnut Junction with Ches Ferguson, guitar; Kevin Briggs, guitar; Ron Daylo, flute; Paul Eyestone, bass; and percussionist Zubrie Kamau will have you grooving from 8 p.m. to midnight. Come and wish Eyestone a happy birthday.
On Friday, Scratch Daddy Blues Band from Skagit Valley plays funky bluegrass, blues, Americana and maybe a country tune or two complete with a Hammond B-3 organ. Catch ’em from 8 p.m. to midnight. $5 cover.
All Points Charters & Tours can get you there and back free of charge. Phone 360-775-9128 for a ride.
■ On Sunday at Next Door Gastropub, 113 W. First St., Luke Meeker performs at 4 p.m.
■ Today at Castaways Restaurant and Night Club, 1213 Marine Drive, Jerry Robison hosts the event with special guests Terry Roszatycki and Jim Lind set to have you moving to a country groove from 5 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.
On Saturday, the Jimmy Hoffman Band (classic country/rock) plays from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
On Friday at the Fairmount Restaurant, 1127 W. U.S. Highway 101, the Olde Tyme Country Band plays classic country from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
On Sunday, join the country jam from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
■ On Saturday, Serendipity will play country and more at the Dry Creek Grange, 3130 W. Edgewood Drive, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
■ On Tuesday at the Port Angeles Senior Center, 328 E. Seventh St., the Port Angeles Senior Swingers present Wally’s Boys playing ballroom dance favorites from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. $5 cover; first-timers free.
Sequim and Blyn
■ On Friday at The Oasis Bar and Grill, 301 E. Washington St., Gil Yslas performs from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
On Saturday, Scratch Daddy Blues Band continues its visit to the Peninsula with blues and classic rock from 8 p.m. to midnight.
On Wednesday, Buck Ellard performs from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
■ Today at Wind Rose Cellars, 143 W. Washington St., Cort Armstrong performs from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
On Friday, Taylor Ackley performs solo jazz from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
On Saturday, RowanTree plays Celtic from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
■ On Saturday, RowanTree will play at the LARC Gallery grand reopening, 425 E. Washington St., Suite 1, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
■ On Friday at Nourish Restaurant, 1345 S. Sequim Ave., Gerald Braude plays guitar starting at 6 p.m.
On Sunday, Al Harris provides jazz for brunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
On Wednesday, Victor Reventlow hosts an open mic from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., with sign-ups at 6 p.m.
On Friday at Stymie’s Bar & Grill at Cedars at Dungeness, 1965 Woodcock Road, Trevor and Sam the Pirates play Irish pub music and folk songs at 6 p.m.
■ On Friday in Club Seven lounge at 7 Cedars Casino, Blyn, boogie to the music of the ’80s with Radio 80, marking its first time at Seven, from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
On Saturday, dance to locals the Turner Brothers Band’s classic rock from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
On Friday in the Rainforest Bar, Rachael and Barry perform classic rock, Motown and folk from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
On Saturday, blues guitarist Thom Davis and Mr. “C” on harp perform from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Port Hadlock
■ Today at the Ajax Cafe, 21 N. Water St., Trevor Hanson plays classical guitar from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Port Ludlow
■ On Wednesday at the Port Ludlow Bay Club, 120 Spinnaker Place, jazz pianist Ted Brancato & Friends Quintet performs from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
■ On Saturday at the Resort at Port Ludlow, 1 Heron Road, Trevor Hanson plays from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Port Townsend
■ On Friday at Port Townsend Brewing Co., 330 10th St., the Chuck Easton Sextet brings jazz to the beer garden from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
On Sunday, Gerald Braude plays solo acoustic guitar from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
On Wednesday, the Alternators play Cajun and zydeco tunes from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
■ On Saturday at the Pourhouse, 2231 Washington St., direct from Port Angeles to Port Townsend, Joy in Mudville brings its unique mix of old-time/jam-band/rock/Celtic/funk-influenced music to the Pourhouse’s outdoor “Impound Lot” Beer Garden from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
■ On Friday at the Uptown Pub, 1016 Lawrence St., Willard McLeod and the Mountaineers (old-time fiddle music) perform from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. No cover.
Later Friday, George Rezendes and the Toolshed Trio plays originals and covers from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. No cover.
■ Today, Steve Grandinetti plays guitar at the Owl Sprit Cafe, 218 Polk St., from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
■ Every Monday, Trevor Hanson plays guitar at Alchemy, 842 Washington St., from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
High notes
■ On Monday at the Bushwhacker Restaurant, 1527 E. First St., the irrepressible Charlie Ferris, fresh from an East Coast tour, celebrates his 300th show featuring the pop/rock/country hits of the Golden Age (1950s-’70s)from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The show also features a special guest appearance by his 4-year-old grandson, Phoenix Price, singing “Blueberry Hill.”
■ On Saturday, clear your calendar so you can make Everything Fitz at the Port Angeles High School Performing Arts Center, 304 E. Park Ave., at 7:30 p.m.
The family band features high-energy fiddling and percussive step dancing, and will feature an appearance by Port Angeles High School fiddlers.
This is a Juan de Fuca Foundation for the Arts event sponsored by the Peninsula Daily News, and tickets are $15 and $20 at Port Book and News in Port Angeles, Pacific Mist Books in Sequim and via www.jffa.org.
On Sunday, the Dallas Brass arrives at Port Angeles High’s Performing Arts Center, 304 E. Park Ave., for a concert of American music — jazz, patriotic, movie classics — at 4 p.m. Tickets are $10 to $15 at the door, and proceeds will help the Port Angeles High bands travel to Washington, D.C., for a concert in April.
Finally, your support of this column has been a real “High Note” of my life. Thank you.
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John Nelson is a self-styled music lover and compulsive night owl who believes in “KLMA — 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 emailing news@peninsuladailynews.com, with John Nelson in the subject line. And note: Nelson’s deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. preceding Thursday’s column.
Also, check out “Nightlife,” a listing of entertainment at nightspots across the Peninsula, in Friday’s Peninsula Spotlight magazine.