‘Zen Jam’ will boast a cross-generational lineup of talent

All the performers are well-known and revered in the Vashon music scene and beyond.

By Elizabeth Shepherd • June 28, 2023 1:30 am
Eva Cain, the youngest performer who will perform at Zen Jam, learned her craft from islanders Kat Eggleston and Daryl Redeker, who will also perform at the benefit (Courtesy Photo).
Eva Cain, the youngest performer who will perform at Zen Jam, learned her craft from islanders Kat Eggleston and Daryl Redeker, who will also perform at the benefit (Courtesy Photo).

A night of music will benefit Puget Sound Zen Center, from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, July 8, at the Puget Sound Zen Center, at 18005 Vashon Hwy SW.

The music lineup will include Kat Eggleston, Daryl Redeker, Gus Reeves and Eva Cain.

All the performers are well-known and revered in the Vashon music scene and beyond. Reeves, whose gritty, down-home vocals won a recent singing contest produced by Voice of Vashon and Open Space for Arts & Community, is a singer and songwriter who has performed in bands and across the country for more than two decades.

Eggleston is a singer, guitarist, songwriter and theater artist who has performed and taught internationally for more than 30 years, and created many solo and collaborative recordings of original and traditional music, distributed worldwide.

Redeker, a virtuoso guitarist and songwriter, is perhaps Vashon’s best-known guitar teacher and has a slew of performance and recording credits dating back to the 1970s when he opened for acts that included Jose Feliciano, Phoebe Snow, Kenny Rankin and John Denver. More recently, Daryl has performed on the island and beyond, both by himself and with a host of musical friends including the Van Redeker Band and Sarah Perlman.

Cain, 18, is much newer on the scene, and represents Vashon’s next generation of musical talent.

She just graduated from Vashon High School — and wowed with her rendition of the National Anthem both at the graduation and at Vashon’s annual Memorial Day event at Vashon Cemetery. This summer, she’ll leave Vashon to attend a nine-month music program in Norway that will encompass traveling Europe, including a visit to Abbey Road Studios in London. After that, she’ll attend St. Olaf College, in Minnesota, on a music scholarship.

Cain has meaningful connections with Eggelston and Redeker — who have both been her music teachers on Vashon and will now share the stage with her at the Zen Jam — one of her last appearances on Vashon, before she’s off to see the world.

“She’s a stylist,” said Redeker. “I see this concert as a send-off for Eva. She already has recorded two albums. She’s on her way.”

Get tickets for the Zen Jam, priced on a sliding scale, at pszc.org, or at the door if available. The Zen Center is located at 18005 Vashon Highway SW.