COYLE — Angie Tabor adores soca music, the soul of calypso born in Trinidad and Tobago.
“It’s fun and bright,” she said of the sound, which will pour out of her steelpans during the next Concert in the Woods — the outdoor version — Saturday evening.
Tabor’s band Caribe, featuring bassist John Sanders and drummer Tor Brandes, will mix the rhythms of soca, samba, reggae and pop with the forest setting because that is their specialty.
“It’s a lovely scene, tucked into this wooded area,” Tabor said of the venue: the Laurel B. Johnson Community Center, on the Toandos Peninsula at 923 Hazel Point Road. Show time is 7:30 p.m. and admission, as is traditional, is free with donations accepted.
“This is an outdoor concert on the grass, so pack a snack and enjoy the sounds of the Caribbean. Bring your own lawn chairs or picnic blanket to sit on the grass, or dance on the grass if you like,” reads the invitation from Joe McKinstry, the new Concerts in the Woods host.
The two-hour concert has a break in the middle for socializing, when Tabor could be talked into sharing some history of her primary instrument, the steelpans.
These are “fantastic in their ability to be very versatile. I do like to honor the tradition of the instrument,” she said, by playing Trinidadian tunes along with Caribe’s repertoire of Bob Marley, The Beatles, Harry Belafonte, Stevie Wonder and other masters. The trio’s song list ranges from steelpan-infused covers of “Here Comes the Sun” and “One Love” to “Jump in the Line” and “Bahia Girl.”
“We may try some experimental songs … and we like to get the audience involved in a couple of things,” Tabor added.
To find out more about the group and its music, see www.caribesteelband.com, and for details about the Concerts in the Woods series, see coyleconcerts.com, phone 360-765-3449 or email info@coyleconcerts.com.
Next month will bring two more Saturday shows to the community center: a Seattle band, the Great American Train Wreck, will do an outdoor concert at 3 p.m. Aug. 7, and Port Townsend bluesman John Maxwell will appear at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 21.
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Jefferson County senior reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsuladaily news.com