SEQUIM — The 16-piece band A Family of Friends will bring country and western plus helpings of folk, rock and gospel — given country flavor, of course — to the Olympic Theatre Arts stage this Saturday.
The 2 p.m. show is a kind of encore for the ensemble, which gave a concert at Olympic Theatre Arts back in October 2013.
Pat Roberts, the ensemble’s leader, was a touring musician for about a decade, traveling with the likes of Merle Haggard, Charley Pride and Johnny Cash. Then he became a concert promoter, working shows all over the United States and Canada.
Now he’s both. It’s like he’s living a good flashback, playing Haggard’s “Mama Tried,” Roy Orbison’s “Oh, Pretty Woman” and the folk song “Jamaica Farewell.” The players also like to bring in some Everly Brothers and a yodeling song such as “I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart.”
Roberts, 66, created the band with his cousins Jerry, Joey and Matt; his daughter Jerri and an assortment of friends and former bandmates including Bill Wolfe, Melanie Leigh, Gary Edward, Aaron Linburg, Kathi Jenness, Dave Darragh, Mike Byrd and Jesse McLean.
Also appearing is Bill Walters, a musician Roberts has known since high school in Seattle’s Rainier Beach.
And for Saturday’s show, Roberts is adding one more musician from Port Townsend: fiddler Jon Parry.
“He’s just an incredible player,” Roberts said.
Tickets to the main-stage concert are $20 with proceeds to benefit OTA. To make reservations, phone the box office at 360-683-7326 or stop by the theater, 414 N. Sequim Ave., between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. today.
Information about this and other OTA activities also awaits at www.OlympicTheatreArts.org.
While most of the band members live in the Puget Sound metropolitan area, several have Peninsula ties. Wolfe is pastor at the New Life Church in Port Townsend; Jerry, Joey and Matt Roberts graduated from Port Angeles High School.
