North Bend’s streets and sidewalks will fill with visitors this weekend as the fourth annual Blues Walk returns to downtown. It will be a blues-lovers bonanza with live blues performances staged in 21 venues, large and small, throughout the evening, and admission to all via one ticket.
The Blues Walk is hosted by Jazz Clubs NW, formerly the Boxley’s Music Fund. Yes, as in the former Boxley’s Place, and while the namesake restaurant that inspired live music events in downtown North Bend is now home to Brickyard Brewing, the beat goes on throughout the city.
In the grand venue of the North Bend Theater, you’ll find Washington Blues Society-favorite Mark DuFresne Band performing at 6 p.m. and the rockin’ Red House, playing blues, R&B, soul and funk at 9 p.m., but you’ll also find intimate solo shows in cozy venues such as Birches Habitat (Annie O’Neill, 7 p.m.) and the newly opened Wildflower Wine Shop (HeatherBBlues, also 7 p.m.).
“The great thing is people will also see the current performance space that Jazz Clubs NW is using to provide live jazz,” said Jazz Clubs NW Executive Director, Gregory Malcolm.
Piccola Cellars, opened in 2014 in the old North Bend Fire Hall, has at least four nights of live jazz each week — Fridays are scheduled in-house — via Jazz Clubs NW. Because the old fire hall engine doors are still in place, the tasting room makes for an especially appealing venue, when the weather is good.
“They can roll open those big doors for indoor-outdoor music,” said Malcolm.
The emphasis on blues music makes this event unique for Jazz Clubs NW; the organization generally focuses on jazz events such as a Jazz Walk launched in Tacoma in March, and one in Olympia in August, said Malcolm.
However, he added, “It’s not just the growth of the festivals. Those will allow us to continue to support our other goals,” including music education. “We also want to get embedded in the communities that we’re serving, to give students the access to jazz and scholarships.”
The details
The North Bend Jazz Walk runs from 6 p.m. to midnight on Saturday, Sept. 24. Advance tickets are $25, available at http://northbendblueswalk.com. Pick up tickets, advance or day-of for $30, and other Blues Walk merchandise starting at 4 p.m. at Cook Real Estate, 102 W. North Bend Way.
Venues include Pour House Bar & Grill (only 21 and older admitted), Snoqualmie Valley Moose Lodge, Wildflower Wine Shop, Pioneer Coffee, Birches Habitat, North Bend Theatre, Umpqua Bank, Piccola Cellars, Compass Outdoor Adventures, Twede’s Cafe, Euro Lounge Cafe, Georgia’s Bakery, Valley Center Stage, Pro Ski & Mountain Service, Brickyard Brewing, Chang Thai & Pho, Chaplin’s, Scott’s Dairy Freeze, Mountain Valley Montessori, Mount Si Senior Center, and The Swirl.
