“String Wizard” Tony Furtado returns to play palindromes for the third time

By Kirk Boxleitner

Rainshadow Recording welcomes singer-songwriter and “string wizard” Tony Furtado for a third concert at the Palindrome as the multi-instrumental musician experiments with another newly formed stage partnership.

Furtado last performed at the Eaglemount Cidery venue in late March, accompanied by his frequent musical partner and five-time Grand National Fiddle Champion Luke Price, as well as dulcimer and bassist Simon Chrisman, who performed alongside Furtado for the first time during this concert tour.

On Saturday, October 19, Furtado will once again cause a stir as Price’s place in the trio will instead be taken by Tristan Claridge on various string instruments. It starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Palindrome at Eaglemount Cidery, 1893 S. Jacob Miller Road. in Port Townsend.

When asked how this revised musical order would work, Furtado said, “To be honest, I’ll figure out what this trio will sound like on tour, but I can only imagine it’ll be a blast if you ever do.” “If you’ve heard the Bee Eaters, you know how great Tristan and Simon can be together.”

The Bee Eaters formed in 2008 and their lineup includes not only Chrisman and Claridge, but also Claridge’s sister Tashina, both of whom play violin and grew up in the diverse musical traditions of bluegrass, Celtic folk and old-time jazz.

“Tristan also plays cello but is truly phenomenal at everything he learns,” Furtado said. “And Simon is a genius on the dulcimer. I plan to record with both of them in early December and even release new music with them in 2025.”

When asked how this trio’s “sound experience” for the audience might differ from their March concert with Rainshadow Recording, Furtado said it would be “exciting and unpredictable from my perspective,” so it must be the same for someone in the audience .

At the same time, Furtado noted that his spring concert at the Palindrome was “packed and super fun” and he’s confident it can be repeated this fall.

“I feel like the crowd really impressed us,” Furtado said. “I think the addition of Simon to the mix was great and rhythmic. It was like recruiting a bassist, a drummer and a pianist all in one fell swoop.”

Furtado is no slouch himself with his skills on the slide guitar, baritone ukulele and banjo, the latter of which he began playing at the age of 12, after which he won the National Bluegrass Banjo Championship in Winfield, Kansas in 1987 and 1991, and signed a record deal with Rounder Records in 1990.

Furtado’s six albums with the label saw him collaborate with well-known musicians such as Alison Krauss, while he also performed and recorded with the bands SugarBeat and The Rounder Banjo Extravaganza, and his touring schedule since then has even seen him perform on stage with famous musicians Names like Gregg Allman.

“I love the different grooves you can get from playing with other musicians,” Furtado said. “It leads to different sounds, arrangements and energy levels.”

Although Furtado has performed at prestigious music events and venues around the world, including Telluride Bluegrass, Aspen and San Jose Jazz, as well as the Kerrville and Winnipeg folk festivals, he enjoys returning to the palindrome, which he praised as emblematic of the reasons he loves it to play live.

“All my energy is focused on the love of music and going with the moment,” Furtado said. “It’s a give and take from the audience to the stage and back. The music that emerges is something that might not otherwise come about without this flow. And when you have a place like the Palindrome, where you know that Everett Moran is going to make sure the sound is so good, then it makes it a lot easier to play.”

Rainshadow Recording’s Matt Miner echoed the oft-repeated assessment of Furtado’s talent that “true talent doesn’t need categories.”