Duo offers taste of the Piedmont blues

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, August 3, 2006

Guitarist-baritone John Cephas and harmonicist-vocalist Phil Wiggins could create great music in their sleep. They’ll interpret the Piedmont tradition of country blues with originals and classics Tuesday and Wednesday in Seattle.

The rural Piedmont blues is more animated than the Delta blues; guitarists use an alternating thumb- and finger-picking style, and you can hear overtones of more syncopated rhythms.

Their latest stellar recording is “Shoulder to Shoulder.”

The Greencards: One of the hottest bluegrass bands in the nation sold 10,000 CDs out of the back of their van before a Nashville label signed them. The Greencards, two Australians and a Brit, perform Thursday in Seattle. They were nominated for the Best New Emerging Talent at the 2004 American Music Awards, and “Movin’ On” made it to the fifth spot on the Americana charts.

Bruce Cockburn, Sarah Harmer: Fingerstyle guitarist Sarah Harmer will open for Cockburn Thursday in Seattle. She’ll play music from her new “I’m a Mountain,” a collection of folk, country and bluegrass. Cockburn delivers socially conscious lyrics and folk-rock melodies from his new recording, “Life Short Call.” Both Canadians will be backed by full bands.