PORT TOWNSEND — Tony Furtado, a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the Palindrome at Eaglemount Cidery, 1893 S. Jacob Miller Road in Port Townsend.
Tickets are $25 online at www.ticketstorm.com/c/17038/rainshadow recording or $30 at the door.
Furtado, who plays banjo, cello-banjo, slide guitar and baritone ukulele, will be joined by Simon Chrisman on hammered dulcimer and bass and Tristan Claridge on assorted strings.
A native of Pleasanton, Calif., now living in Portland, Ore., Furtado took up the banjo when he was 12, inspired by a sixth-grade music report and the Beverly Hillbillies. He won the National Bluegrass Banjo Championship in Winfield, Kan., in 1987 and again in 1991.
Furtado recorded six albums with Rounder Records, collaborating with such artists as Alison Krauss, Jerry Douglas, Tim O’Brien, Stuart Duncan, Kelly Joe Phelps and Mike Marshall. He also performed and recorded with the band SugarBeat and the Rounder Banjo Extravaganza with Tony Trischka and Tom Adams.
The influence of Ry Cooder, David Lindley and Taj Mahal led Furtado to add slide guitar, singing and songwriting to his musical toolbox.
Furtado has performed at such festivals as the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, the High Sierra Music Festival, Jazz Aspen, the Kerrville Folk Festival, the Strawberry Music Festival, the Winnipeg Folk Festival, Sisters Folk Festival and the San Jose Jazz Festival.
“I love playing live,” Furtado said. “All my energy is focused on the love of playing music and rolling with the moment. It’s a give and take from the audience to the stage and back. And the music that is created is something that otherwise might not occur without that flow.”
