Turns out, harpist Bronn Journey is a pretty funny guy. So funny that his jokes might be upstaging his string skills.
After one performance, a fan wrote to Journey saying, “Hey next time Bronn, why don’t you leave your harp at home and just do a stand-up routine?”
Journey took the wisecrack as a compliment.
“I like to talk to the audience,” Journey said over the phone last week. “And for those who can’t really relate to the harp, I do chat a little bit because everyone can get a joke.”
Whether you are ready for some unassuming humor, some beautiful Christmas music or familiar tunes from the ’70s, you won’t be disappointed during an upcoming series of Bronn Journey concerts.
Journey is playing tonight at Everett Performing Arts Center, but that show is sold out. You can also hear him Dec. 22 in Shoreline and Dec. 23 in Mount Vernon.
This is his 26th year of doing Christmas concerts in the area and the 10th year for concerts in Everett. Journey joked that his longevity and his sold-out Everett show must mean he’s become “the nutcracker of the harp.”
Seriously though, Journey says people want traditional things around Christmas. And the harp and Christmas music go together like cocoa and marshmallows.
“I try to make it so you feel like you are coming over to our house to listen to music and appreciate the whole meaning of Christmas,” Journey said.
Journey said the harp is unique enough that it’s kept him playing gigs since high school, when he worked to buy his own harp for $9,000 so his parents didn’t have to.
“All my friends had cars and I had a harp so it was hard to get a date for the prom,” said Journey, now 46. “I was a favorite with all the girls’ mothers.”
Christmas music will fill the second half of Bronn Journey’s concert. The first half will be selections from his new CD, “You’ve Got a Friend,” with familiar songs from such artists as Gordon Lightfoot and James Taylor.
Journey admitted wryly that he feared the audience will be listening to the first half of his concert “wondering where’s the elevator at,” but promised to bring melodious string playing that will do justice to the Christmas spirit.
“For a melody, there’s no section in the orchestra that’s more melodic than string sections,” he said. “Each different string on the instruments has their own characteristic.”
A team of musicians who call themselves “The Sultans of String” will perform with Journey. Journey’s wife, Katherine, sings. Molly Wilson plays violin and mandolin. Her husband, Peter Wilson, plays keyboard. Matt Haverly will play the guitar, Irish whistles and recorder. Ben Ruud is the percussionist. Susan Burke is on violin, Dianne Tremayne is on cello and Robert Puff is on woodwinds.
Besides the Everett show, Journey said he’s also looking forward to his Dec. 23 concert at the new McIntyre Hall in Mount Vernon, which he called a beautiful venue complete with gorgeous acoustics and hardwood walls.
“I like to play in a place that looks nice because it takes the pressure off me,” Journey joked.
Reporter Theresa Goffredo: 425-339-3424 or goffredo@heraldnet.com.
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