NOTE: “Today” and “tonight” refer to Friday, July 1.
PORT TOWNSEND — Fort Worden State Park, 200 Battery Way, will echo with live music this holiday weekend with a free performance this afternoon and paid concerts Monday.
Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms kick off the Free Fridays at the Fort summer series at noon today on the lawn of the Nora Porter Commons.
Organizers encourage the public to bring a picnic blanket, low-back chairs and sunscreen.
Then on Monday, expert musicians will explore the melting pot that is America with an eclectic variety of music as part of the “Fourth at the Fort” performances at McCurdy Pavilion.
The first performance, Fiddles on the Fourth, will begin at 1:30 p.m.
The second performance, Fiddles and Fireworks, is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
Reserved seating tickets for Fiddles on the Fourth and Fiddles and Fireworks are $29, $23 and $16. Separate tickets must be purchased to attend both events.
Tickets are available online at http://tinyurl.com/PDN-Fourth-at-the-Fort.
For more information, call 360-385-3102.
40th annual festival
The featured musicians — participating in the 40th annual Festival of American Fiddle Tunes taking place this week — will perform blues, old time, roots, Mexican, Irish and bluegrass tunes during two separate performances celebrating Independence Day.
Since its inception in 1977, the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes has been one of the largest celebrations of traditional music west of the Mississippi.
“Fiddle Tunes is different than any other gathering in the world,” said Suzy Thompson, festival artistic director.
“Fiddle Tunes is a cultural download. You get a feeling of where our traditions come from and a context for the history of the instrument.”
The key to the success of the festival is in Centrum’s dedication to present the “tradition bearers” of fiddle styles from across the globe, Thompson said.
“Some of our faculty members have never ventured outside of their local community before,” said Thompson.
“Centrum inspires them to board a plane for the first time in their life, to share their life experience and to pass tradition from one generation to the next.”
■ Fiddles on the Fourth: Musicians participating in Fiddles on the Fourth are Frank Ferrel and Doug Protzik, Judy Raber and Jim McKinney, Suzy Thompson, Joe Newberry and Rafe Stefanini, Ed Littlefield and Grupo de Cuerdas Mirando el Lago.
■ Ferrel and Protzik: Ferrel will perform fiddle while accompanied by Protzik, a pianist.
Ferrel, of Maine, is considered one of the seminal traditional New England and maritime fiddlers. His album, “Yankee Dreams,” was selected by the Library of Congress to be included in their “Select list of 25 examples of American folk music on record,” event organizers said.
In his spare time, Protzik directs the Maine Fiddle Camp.
■ Raber and McKinney: Raber is a fifth-generation fiddler, carrying the tradition of her father Les Raber, who came to Fiddle Tunes in 1998.
She now plays her dad’s fiddle, and said she considers it her destiny to carry on his music — a huge body of tunes and repertoire regionally specific to Michigan.
McKinney, also of Michigan, has been inducted into the Michigan Fiddlers Hall of Fame.
■ Thompson: Thompson is considered a blues violin master and a powerful blues singer, organizers said. She has served as the artistic director of the Fiddle Tunes festival for the past six years.
■ Newberry and Stefanini: Newberry is a Missouri native who has played music most of his life.
Internationally known for his powerful banjo work, he is a prize-winning guitarist, fiddler and singer as well.
Stefanini is an old-time banjo player, fiddler, guitarist, singer and teacher, and he’s been at the forefront of the revival of traditional music from the rural south for more than 30 years, organizers said.
■ Littlefield: Littlefield has released two solo albums, “Going to the West” and “My Western Home.”
A multi-instrumentalist, he plays piano, guitar, harp guitar, fiddle, mandolin, bass, dobro, pedal steel and bagpipes.
■ Grupo de Cuerdas Mirando el Lago: Grupo de Cuerdas Mirando el Lago, of Michoacan, Mexico, is lead by Don Pedro Dimas, who has played traditional indigenous music with his family string band for almost 50 years.
■ Fiddles and Fireworks: Fiddles and Fireworks includes performances by Tony DeMarco, Frank Maloy and Mick Kinney, Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum, Bertram Levy, and Alicia Svigals and Patrick Farrell.
■ DeMarco: DeMarco, an Italian-American and native of Brooklyn, performs in the Irish Sligo fiddle style.
■ Maloy and Kinney: Maloy was born in Georgia in 1927 into a family in which everyone played string instruments, and has played fiddle ever since the 1940s.
He will be accompanied by Kinney, who’s been “Deep South” playing for 35 years.
■ Lewis and Rozum: Songwriter, fiddler, vocalist, teacher and producer Lewis is among the most admired bluegrass musicians in the world, organizers said.
Two-time International Bluegrass Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year, she also plays guitar, sings and is a band leader.
Since joining forces with Lewis in 1986, Rozum has played primarily mandolin, and his rhythmic approach especially punctuates their repertoire, adding a verve and excitement that has become a distinctive feature of their performances.
■ Levy: Levy is the founder of the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, and has extensive experience as a performing musician.
■ Svigals and Farrell: Svigals is a founder of the Grammy-winning Klezmatics, has played with and composed for Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin fame, and appeared on David Letterman, MTV and Prairie Home Companion.
Farrell is an accordionist, composer and band leader based in Brooklyn.
