Historic Everett Theatre manager Curt Shriner has rustled up one heckuva blues show for Friday night.
Remember the Coen brothers’ 2000 movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” with George Clooney? Well, folk blues guitarist Chris Thomas King won high praise for his role in that film as the itinerant bluesman Tommy Johnson.
Hear him sing a song from the movie at www.youtube.com.
King, now 54, has been called the successor to Muddy Waters. He’s set to perform Aug. 11 at the Historic Everett Theatre, along with regional favorite blueswomen Mary McPage of Mountlake Terrace and Stacy Jones of Edmonds.
It’s a concert you won’t want to miss.
King’s father, Tabby Thomas, owned the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, club called Tabby’s Blues Box, where King met the likes of Buddy Guy and B.B. King, with whom he toured in his teens.
King’s music also is influenced by early hip-hop and country music. Among those who count him as an influence are the bands Mumford & Sons and the Lumineers.
He owns his own record company in New Orleans and has acted in other movies, including as band leader Lowell Fulson in “Ray,” the Ray Charles biopic.
King is a student of American music and has written definitions of blues, folk blues and Delta blues, which are posted at www.christhomasking.com/what-is-blues.
He contends that the blues first emerged in the early 1900s African American community in New Orleans and that subsequent derivatives of the genre include jazz, swing, dixieland, bebop, rhythm and blues, and rock ‘n’ roll.
Supporting shows at the Historic Everett Theatre, such as King’s, is vital to the future of the nonprofit venue, said Shriner.
The Historic Everett Theatre Preservation Society is asking concert-goers to vote on what they would like to see at the theater in the coming year. Shriner has had to cancel shows this year and doesn’t want to do it again. To share your opinion, go to historiceveretttheatre.com/event-calendar/2017-events-and-concert-schedule/vote-for-2018-concert-schedule.
To contribute to the capital campaign for the 1901 theater, go to historiceveretttheatre.com/non-profit/donate-today.
“Without community support, we can’t keep our theater vibrant and affordable to anyone who wants to come to a show or rent the space for an event,” Shriner said. “We need people to attend our concerts, but even if every show sold out, we still couldn’t take care of this old grande dame. We need people who know and love this space to step up and contribute so quality acts can keep coming to the heart of Snohomish County.”
The preservation society hopes to raise $20,000 as soon as possible to repair the theater’s ceiling, improve the fire escape, carpet the floors and paint the interior, and, most importantly, upgrade the sound system, Shriner said.
Chris Thomas King, Mary McPage, Stacy Jones
7 p.m. (doors open 6 p.m.) Aug. 11, Historic Everett Theatre, 2911 Colby Ave. Tickets are $20 to $35. Call the box office at 425-258-6766.
Correction: An earlier version incorrectly identified where Stacy Jones resided.
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