Bryan Bowers Autoharp Concert

Legendary autoharp player and storyteller Bryan Bowers will teach an autoharp workshop and play a solo concert Sunday, Dec. 16 at the Olalla Community Hall. The events are sponsored by the Olalla Community Club and the Olalla Bluegrass & Beyond Festival.

Bowers, 72, is one of only four members of the Autoharp Hall of Fame. He’s also in Frets Magazine’s Gallery of Greats with the likes of such musical virtuosos as Chet Atkins, Itzhak Perlman, Tony Rice and Mark O’Connell. Bowers grew up listening to the call-and-response songs of the field workers and gandy dancers of rural Virginia. “I just thought that music was something that everybody did,” he said. “It wasn’t ‘til years later that I realized what I’d been raised around.”

Bowers has lived in Seattle since 1971, and performs all over the world. He has redefined the autoharp and is well known for his storytelling prowess and his uncanny ability to enchant an audience. He received two standing ovations for his performance at this summer’s Olalla Bluegrass & Beyond Festival.

For information on the Dec. 16 autoharp workshop and also the concert on the same date, email bands@olallabluegrass.com or phone (253) 857-5604. The Olalla Community Hall is located at 12970 Olalla Valley Road, Olalla.