PORT TOWNSEND — Music: live, free, outdoors, with an eagle painting in the background: That’s the Buskers on the Block series, which gets rolling this Thursday in downtown Port Townsend.
Tyler Street Plaza, the bay-view spot at Water and Tyler streets, is the setting for the weekly offering from the Port Townsend Main Street Program, which inaugurated it last year. The backdrop for the musicians is that mural of eagle wings, created in 2019 by local artist Nora Kingsley.
These eight one-hour performances, by players from all over the genre spectrum, will start at 2 p.m. every Thursday through May.
Coming to hear the music is “a great way to support local performing artists in the heart of our downtown Creative District,” Main Street Executive Director Mari Mullen said, adding that the Lighthouse Cafe, which reopened its doors adjacent the Tyler Street Plaza last September, is the 2022 sponsor of Buskers on the Block.
Corinne Elysse Adams, who’s set for an April 21 session, is a typical busker in her versatility: “I’m a traditional singer, fiddler and shamisen player. I sing a wide range of songs, including Appalachian, Irish and Balkan, play Irish fiddle, and sing and perform traditional Japanese folk music,” she said.
Adams’ husband Jonathan Doyle is also on the docket this spring with an April 14 gig on Tyler Street Plaza.
The busking is subject to schedule changes and weather conditions, Mullen noted.
The lineup as of today is:
• Thursday: Multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and teacher Jack Dwyer plays originals plus classic and traditional American repertoire;
• April 14: Saxophonist, clarinetist, jug blower, composer and arranger Jonathan Doyle performs;
• April 21: Folk musician Corinne Elysse Adams arrives with her Celtic fiddle tunes;
• April 28: Classically trained vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Phina Pipia, who has released an album and songbook titled “Outside of the Movies,” arrives on the plaza;
• May 5: Old-time country performer Jere Canote brings his lively fiddle tunes and songs downtown;
• May 12: Scott Braman mixes his eclectic guitar sounds with classic rock, folk, light jazz and originals;
• May 19: Singer-songwriter-guitarist Kristin Myers, known for her gigs around Port Townsend and Chimacum, plays whimsical folk;
• May 26: The featured busker is to be announced.
For information about other Main Street Program activities, including the Earth Day Spring Cleanup on April 16, visit ptmainstreet.org.
________
Jefferson County Senior Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsuladailynews.com.
