UNIONTOWN — When Claude Bourbon kicks off the third annual Summer Concert Series Saturday night at Artisans at the Dahmen Barn in Uniontown, he’ll join a long list of musicians bringing the sounds of the world to a rural eastern Washington dairy barn.
This summer’s concerts are dedicated to Leslee and Dale Miller, avid music fans who started the series in 2015. Dale helped transform the barn into a regional arts center after joining the Uniontown Community Development Association in 2001. Leslee has managed the barn since 2006 and is retiring this year.French-born and classically trained in Switzerland, Bourbon is renowned for his distinctive sound that blends influences from around the globe while bending an ear to popular taste. Here are three reasons to see him play.
1. Fingers like lightning
Bourbon’s speed and precision is said to be so fast his fingers melt into a blur.
2. Not the same old song
His distinctive style blends elements of folk, western, jazz, Russian, blues, Spanish guitar and traditional English Dance. His latest album includes a version of the Rolling Stones’ “Angie.”
3. Mastery
According to one reviewer: “Claude’s roots were in blues, that is like saying Leonardo da Vinci was a painter.”
If You Go
Who: Claude Bourbon
When: 7-9 p.m. Saturday, June 17
Where: Artisans at the Dahmen Barn, Uniontown
Cost: $15
Of Note: Doors open at 6:15 p.m. with wine, beer and snacks for sale.