SEQUIM — Your Community Variety Show, a monthly event launched in September, has been living up to its promise.
“Variety is the key word here,” said executive producer and host Michael Bunnell.
The next show will be Dec. 19. The two-hour show is presented on the third Tuesday of every month from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the historic Dungeness Schoolhouse, 2741 Towne Road, near Sequim.
There is no admission charge for the show, which is presented by Skookum Bay Productions and Joyful Noise Music Center with support from local business sponsors.
Every show has nine or 10 performances which may include stand-up comedy, poetry readings and dance performances as well as music.
Leading off the Dec. 19 program will be Buttercup Lane, a quartet that covers songs from early rock ’n’ roll and rockabilly to country and pop with some jazz and swing-era favorites. Operatic soprano Hannah Jensen and comedian Devin Loving are among the eight other acts on the program.
Buttercup Lane is a quartet that credits its distinctive sound and wide audience appeal to the varied backgrounds of its members.
Diane Johnson sang with the nationally-known Doodletown Pipers in the 1960s and appeared on several network television shows. She also has performed in musical theatre and an award-winning barbershop chorus.
Mike Johnson, who sings and plays the acoustic/electric baritone ukulele, has gained local attention through two organizations: Ukuleles Unite in Port Townsend and the Olympic Peninsula Strummers with groups in Sequim and Port Angeles.
Rodger Bigelow, lead guitarist for the popular dance band Round Trip, also plays guitar and does vocals with Buttercup Lane.
Dave Keyte, who played his first musical instrument at the age of 5, contributes a wide variety of sounds to the mix with his electronic wind instrument (EWI).
“It’s a free gift to the community,” Bunnell said, explaining that by community he means the entire North Olympic Peninsula.
He estimates that about 50 percent of the performers are from the Sequim area, 40 percent from Port Angeles, and 10 percent from as far away as Port Townsend, Quilcene, and Joyce.
“As nearly as we can tell,” he adds, “our audience reflects pretty much those same percentages.”
