SEQUIM — The Whisky Minstrels are about to break the Oasis Bar & Grill’s live-musical silence.
The venue, in Creamery Square at 301 E. Washington St., had become known for hosting acts, from the Olympic Express Big Band to the Old Sidekicks — but that came to a halt Dec. 31.
Oasis owner Dale Dunning said he had to quit booking bands due to the licensing fees from BMI, Broadcast Music Inc., and ASCAP, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
The fees are levied when musicians come in and play cover songs that are copyrighted to other artists.
The Whisky Minstrels, in contrast, have a broad catalog of original music, which is what they will dish out from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. this Saturday.
“Spring is a new start, and this is a new start for the Oasis,” said Nolan Murray, half of the Whisky duo.
“We’re very proud to be there,” he added.
“There is no cover charge, no ticket to come see us perform. We’re there for Dale,” who Murray calls a longtime supporter of live music.
The Whisky Minstrels are Murray, a champion fiddler player and mandolinist, and Bruce Coughlan, a singer and multi-instrumentalist.
Together they blend songs about life and love — with a smoky flavor and a smooth finish of Scottish whisky, they like to say.
Between them, they have released some 19 albums, so the pair has plenty of original music from which to choose.
Murray, who lives in Birch Bay in Whatcom County, and Coughlan, who comes from Maple Ridge, B.C., are also part of Tiller’s Folly, a folk-Celtic trio well-known for gigs at Port Angeles’ Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts and the Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle.
Coughlan and Murray have appeared at the Oasis, too, and Dunning is hopeful about their return.
“This is a trial run. We’ll see how it’s received,” he said, adding that Saturday’s concert is open to all ages.
Dunning said he’ll book more bands — “maybe once every month” — provided they play their own original music.
