PORT ANGELES — A string of free waterfront concerts is stretching out before us, beckoning with bluegrass, jazz, Appalachian folk and big-band swing.
The annual Concerts on the Pier series, on City Pier at the north end of Lincoln Street and co-sponsored and co-hosted by the Peninsula Daily News, starts Wednesday night.
Up first: Deadwood Revival, the foursome that drew an enthused crowd at May’s Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts. The band — clawhammer banjo man Jason Mogi, guitarist Kim Trenerry, fiddler Julie Campbell, Ches Ferguson on the ukulele bass — will step up at 6 p.m. and play till 8 p.m.
There’s no charge to come listen — and dance to take the evening chill off — to Deadwood’s bluegrass and other old-time folk music. This will be one of the group’s last local gigs before going on the road in July, said manager Carol Pope.
The quartet’s CDs, “Deadwood Revival” and “Sat. 7:30,” will be on sale on the pier, she added.
In the event of heavy winds or other bad weather, the concerts may move off City Pier and under the Gateway Pavilion at Front and Lincoln streets, according to the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce website, www.PortAngeles.org.
The rest of the lineup of concerts, each of which runs from 6 p.m. till 8 p.m.:
■ June 29: ska, pop and swing with Locust Street Taxi
■ July 6: Bluegrass with the Blackberry Bushes Stringband of Seattle
■ July 13: Jazz classics with vocalist Sarah Shea and Chez Jazz
■ July 20: Americana and folk with the Starlings
■ July 27: Appalachian folk with Abby Mae & the Homeschool Boys
■ Aug. 3: Rock ’n’ roll with Bound to Happen
■ Aug. 10: Blues with the Cody Rentas Band
■ Aug. 17: Big-band swing with Olympic Express
■ Aug. 24: Marimba with Sequimarimba
■ Aug. 31: Rock’n’roll with SuperTrees
■ Sept. 7: Gypsy jazz with Ranger & the Re-Arrangers
“A key element that makes this event so much fun is the very low-key atmosphere at the City Pier,” said Lindsey Veenema, the Port Angeles chamber’s visitor center director.
As in the past, food vendors will be available on the pier, she added, or concert-goers can bring a picnic or pick up takeout at a nearby restaurant. Chairs and blankets are also advised, while smoking and alcohol are not permitted on the pier.
Also crucial to the concert series’ arrival this year, Veenema noted, are the season sponsors: KeyBank, Peninsula Daily News and the Elwha River Casino. Sunset Do-It Best Hardware is also a sponsor for the first half of the series.
