PORT TOWNSEND — David Jacobs-Strain, blues singer-guitarist, newlywed husband and new father, will give a concert outside the Rainshadow Recording studio at Fort Worden State Park today.
Longtime collaborator Bob Beach will join him, harmonica in hand, for the 6:30 p.m. show beside the fort’s Building 315 — where there’s plenty of room, Rainshadow’s Everett Moran promised.
Tickets are $20 here, and also will be available to those who walk up this evening, he said.
If people want to come hear the concert from outside the seating area, Moran added he has no problem with that. He wants Jacobs-Strain and Beach’s brand of fresh country blues to be available to as many people as possible.
Jacobs-Strain and Beach have traveled around the country to concerts and festivals — and in the past year or so, they’ve branched out into livestreamed performances from their homes in Oregon and Philadelphia, respectively.
On Thursday, “Bob and I will be playing stuff from both of our live records together,” plus new material, Jacobs-Strain said.
“I’ve been writing this past year that I’ve been home,” with his wife and their infant son.
The artist, known for a voice that blends Delta blues with Jackson Browne, lives in Eugene, Ore.
He’s doing a short Pacific Northwest tour of outdoor concerts.
Moran discovered Jacobs-Strain back in 2001 when he was concert director at Swallow Hill Music Association in Denver. Looking for a young up-and-comer to open the Coors Roots of the Blues Festival, Moran sought recommendations from his friend, guitarist Mary Flower.
She suggested the 16-year-old from Eugene.
Moran soon found out: “He most certainly had the chops to hang and an old soul to boot.”
Now, he said, Jacobs-Strain is 20 years older and more well-rounded.
The singer-songwriter, for his part, said Beach is a harmonica player unlike many in his genre.
“He’s just a really good improviser. He plays the best when he’s just in the moment,” Jacobs-Strain said, adding his instrument’s sound moves into the bass or even cello register.
“We both like to experiment,” he said. “We don’t really have to look at each other” before taking the song elastic.
While preparing to travel north, Jacobs-Strain urged fans to be mindful of the current public health crisis, even as they attend an outdoor show.
“I’m requesting people take lots of precautions,” he said, “and be extra careful. That way, it’s reasonable to have small musical gatherings outdoors.”
“Let’s look out for each other and make space.”
________
Jefferson County senior reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsuladailynews.com.
