Good weather. Fine music. Combine those and you've got Anacortes this weekend. Highs Saturday and Sunday will be in the mid-70's and music varies from jazz to Americana, to top 40's.
The weekend starts, of course, on Friday night at Seafarers Park stage with Sway. And, that's just what you'll want to do as they bring a powerhouse mix of Top 40 hits, pop, rock, funk, and R&B to the stage. Great night for a picnic at Seafarers. Music starts at 6:00.
Also on Friday, the Guemes Island General Store is featuring Handsome and Gretyl, a duo from Vancouver, BC. Handsome and Gretyl have created an earthy folk feel crossed with an imaginative jaunt of pop, a sweet and tangy piece of wild berry pie. This duo draws from real life, delivering optimistic though realistic lyrics, seasoned with the chill of snow, the sea breeze, and the hope of tomorrow’s sunrise. 6:00 pm.
Saturday night is also busy, musically, with a local group, Friends for the Ghost, an unlikely assembly of Skagit and Whatcom greats that subverts expectations. It’s sweetheart Americana from some of the most rock-and-roll names that ring out in the deep northwest. At 6:00 pm at Heart of Anacortes.
Also Saturday night, down at Deception Pass State Park, you'll find SheDaa, with traditional West African rhythms and dance songs. The group uses authentic traditional instruments such as Kpanlogo hand drums, talking drum, brevet, shakers, cowbell, large dun duns, small kagons, sticks, African xylophone, and voice to produce high energy rhythms. 7:00 at the North Beach Amphitheater at Deception Pass Park.
Meanwhile, Rockfish is featuring Pacific Twang at 7:30. Their members hail from other highly popular local bands (The Walrus, The Atlantics, Fantasy, Free Harmony, Stirred Not Shaken, Stilly River Band) and the combined experience of this group makes for something really special.
And to top off a great weekend, jazz at the Heart of Anacortes Sunday afternoon at 2:00. Michael Brockman & Dan Marcus, members of the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra will perform jazz standards and several original works.