In every season, Vashon is a tuneful place, with an abundance of concerts suited to every taste filling Island stages year-round.
But July and August always bring an embarassment of musical riches to our shores, and this year is no exception.
Try to find time to check out some of the following shows in the next two weekends. Many of the concerts take place outdoors, providing a chance to combine two fair-weather pleasures — soaking up the sunshine and enjoying a multitude of melodious sounds.
Celtic sounds will fill Ober Park
Contemporary Celtic music will be on tap at Ober Park at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 29, when the band Craicmore takes the stage at the latest free outdoor concert at Ober Park, sponsored by Vashon Allied Arts, Vashon Park District and Giraffe.
A loose Irish translation of the band’s name is “great fun,” and concert organizers are promising just that when the group arrives complete with kilts, pipes, bodhran, guitars, didgeridoo, flute, whistles and vocals.
The group has performed at street fairs, festivals and cultural events in the United States and abroad for almost 20 years and has released three albums. For more information about the band, visit craicmore.com.
Vashon Music Festival boasts 21 acts
Local music promoter and sound man Ruben Arnot has announcd the lineup for his third annual Vashon Music Festival, which will take place July 30 through Aug. 1 at Paradise Ridge Equestrian Park.
Arnot — who said his festival is being put on “in the spirit of great outdoors concerts like Woodstock and Lollapalooza — has booked mostly bands that have local connections.
The players will provide music that runs the gamut from rock to blues to metal to soulful solo singers.
The festival will kick off at 5 p.m. Friday, July 30, when some of the bands show up for a sound check. Admission will be free that evening.
On Saturday, July 31, music will commence at 11 a.m. and continue until dusk. The acts that will hit the stage that day include Velocitized, Cargo Jam, Murgatroyd, Steelscape, Adolf Ketamine, Yoko Knievel, Eugene Wendell and the Demon Rind, Manalive, DIJ and En-sphere.
On Sunday, Aug. 1, the music will start again at 11 a.m. and continue until dusk.
The lineup that day includes Drummers in a Jam, Kelsey Alina, Allison Shirk, Glen Rukwid, John Browne, Stony Beach, Shark Bisciut, Scattergun, Radio Daddyo, Subconscious Population and Trolls Cottage.
Admission on Saturday and Sunday is $15, or $10 with a donation to the Vashon Maury Community Food Bank.
Camping out at the festival is also an option this year. For more information, visit rez1productions.com.
The Bike offers free shows
This weekend, there will be two free concerts at Red Bicycle Bistro & Sushi.
Cody Beebe & The Crooks, a seven-person band that blends rock, Americana and blues music, will take the stage at 9:30 p.m. Friday, July 30.
House Engine, a Vashon band, will take the Bike’s stage at 9 p.m. Saturday, July 31.
“House Engine wants you to get up and dance,” said concert organizer Pete Welch.
Both shows on Friday and Saturday are for all ages until 11 p.m. and 21 and older after that.
Arlette Moody stars in a house concert
Arlette Moody, a well-known Island performer and singer, will take center stage at an outdoor house concert scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday, July 30, at 6415 S.W. Point Robinson Rd. The concert, with a suggested donation of $10, will move inside in the case of rain.
Moody will cover the music of Kate Bush, an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer who has released nine chart-topping albums.
“She is the first female singer-songwriter I ever fell in love with,” said Moody, who added that she would also be singing a few of her own “quirky tunes” and be accompanied by Maggie Laird and Todd Zimberg.
Steffon Moody, Arlette’s husband and another well-known Island performer, will open the show.
Concert-goers should bring their own blankets and beverages. Some light refreshments will be provided.
Café Luna brims with music
Herky Cutler, a songwriter from Alberta, Canada, will have a free concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 30, at Café Luna.
Culter is known for blending rock, folk, blues and country, and for handing out percussion instruments to audience members who come to his shows.
Cedron and N’Shama Sterling, a duo dubbed Triúir (a Scottish word that sounds like “true ear“), will appear in a free concert from 7:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday, July 31, at Café Luna.
The pair’s music is an eclectic blend of folk fused with traditional Elizabethan ballads, Celtic music and original songs. Their instrumentation includes guitars, bouzouki, Celtic harp, Irish flute, whistle, recorder and piano, along with Middle Eastern percussion instruments.
Vanessa Boyd appears in Burton
Vanessa Boyd, a New York City-based performer and recording artist who dubs her act “Agnostic Electric Gospel,” will perform at 6 p.m. Saturday, July 31, at Quartermaster Inn & Restaurant.
Boyd’s music blends solo electric guitar and vocals with rhythms based on world spirituals and psychedelic trance music.
For more information about Boyd, who is also a spoken word performer and visual artist, visit vanessaboyd.com.
World music festival will rock Camp Burton
Vashon Allied Arts will present its annual World Music and Dance Festival, held in Camp Burton’s rustic outdoor amphitheater, from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7. This year’s lineup includes Brazilian music and dance from Samba Assim; the Afro/Peruvian sounds of DE CajóN Project; and joyful drum and dance rhythms from Message from Guinea.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages will be available, and attendees can also stop by henna body art and face-painting booths.
Samba Assim, an all-percussion band, will open the festival with an upbeat selection of traditional Brazilian folkloric songs based on a call-and-response tradition.
Message from Guinea, a group of Seattle-based West African artists, will perform powerful rhythms, high-energy dances and melodic songs derived from West African culture.
Each member of the group has danced competitively since childhood, and they have also toured with Les Ballets Africans, Guinea’s national company.
DE CajóN Project, an ensemble led by Peruvian national dance champion Monica Rojas, is a group devoted to celebrating the cajón — a box drum that is a symbol of Peru’s African-descended people.
Tickets, $10 to $15, are on sale at the Blue Heron, Books by the Way, Heron’s Nest, brownpapertickets.com or by calling 463-5131.
