ARTS AROUND TOWN
The FieldHands
The longtime rock band, The FieldHands, will play original music at the Red Bike at 8:30 p.m. Friday.
The band, which includes Jon Whalen, Dorsey Davis, Richard Lipke and Emory Medima-Boyajian, plays music that blends rock, alternative country and Americana. Show organizer Pete Welch says the band incorporates local flavor and imagery into its lyrics.
“They write songs about love, friendship, journeys, the road beneath their feet and the water that surrounds us,” he said.
The show is for all ages until 11 p.m., then only 21 and older.
Tales of Peter Rabbit
Vashon Center for the Arts’ Family Series will present “The Tale of Peter Rabbit and The Tale of Benjamin Bunny,” performed by Thistle Theater at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Katherine L White Hall.
Beatrix Potter’s world of animals has delighted children for generations. Seattle’s Thistle Theater will bring the tales to life in the form of Bunraku puppetry, a tabletop show in which the puppeteers are dressed in black while manipulating rod puppets — in this show, those of Peter Rabbit and his pals.
Tickets are available at Heron’s Nest Gallery, Vashon Center for the Arts and at vashoncenterforthearts.com.
Woody Guthrie and the Columbia
Vashon Center for the Arts’ Arts and Humanities Series will present an evening featuring the iconic work of folk musician Woody Guthrie at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Katherine L White Hall.
In 1941, Guthrie was commissioned by the federal government to promote the benefits of hydroelectric power, irrigation and Washington’s Grand Coulee Dam. He wrote classics such as “Roll On Columbia” and “Pastures of Plenty” and 26 other songs during this tenure that endure in the American imagination.
KEXP deejay Greg Vandy has compiled the stories behind Guthrie’s time on the Columbia River in a book called “26 Songs in 30 Days.” Vandy will talk about the unusual partnership between one of America’s great folk artists and the federal government and how the American folk revival was a response to hard times.
Tickets are available at Heron’s Nest Gallery, Vashon Center for the Arts and at vashoncenterforthearts.com.
Gram Parsons Hootenanny
In a special fundraising benefit for Voice of Vashon, Debra Heech will present “A Song For You: Gram Parsons Hootenanny” from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday at the Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie. Ian Moore, Star Anna, Dave Harmonson, JD Hobson, Jon Whalen, Gregg Curry, Michael Whitmore and Rebeka Kuzma will perform in the tribute to Parsons.
Parsons was 21, Southern-raised and Harvard-educated, when he moved to Los Angeles in 1967, taking with him a passion for both rock and roll and country music.
Through his work with The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, his solo albums and his collaboration with Emmy Lou Harris, he created an influential body of work that helped transform California rock into a new genre. He has a rightful claim to being a “founding father” of what became country rock and alt country. His work has influenced performers in rock and country ranging from Keith Richards to Ryan Adams to Lucinda Williams and many others.
Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the Vashon Bookshop or online at brownpapertickets.com.`
