The last time Grammy award-winning pianist George Winston performed in Poulsbo, the impact was felt in the community long after the lights dimmed.
Winston’s sold-out Sept. 8, 2012 concert raised $12,000 for Gateway Fellowship’s complimentary lunches and dinners, and for a generator for Hostmark Village Cove Apartments.
Winston returns to Gateway Fellowship on Sept. 13, 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 for general admission, $20 for Golden Circle and on day of show. Gateway is located at 18901 8th Ave NE, Poulsbo. Go to www.gatewayfellowship.com/events.
Poulsbo Mayor Becky Erickson said she became a Winston fan after the 2012 concert. She said people from Port Angeles to Port Orchard were at the show.
“The music is fabulous — absolutely moving — and he’s a great performer,” she said.
Since 1972, Winston has released 13 solo piano albums, including his beloved seasonal releases “December,” “Autumn,” “Winter Into Spring,” and “Summer,” as well as “Forest,” “Plains,” “Linus and Lucy — The Music of Vince Guaraldi,” and “Love Will Come — The Music of Vince Guaraldi Vol. 2,” and “Night Divides The Day — The Music of The Doors.”
Winston’s latest release is “Gulf Coast Blues & Impressions 2 — A Louisiana Wetlands Benefit.” This album, along with 2006’s “Gulf Coast Blues & Impressions — A Hurricane Relief Benefit,” raise funds for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and for The Voice of the Wetlands.
The Voice of the Wetlands is a non-profit organization raising awareness and developing educational programs about the loss of wetlands in southern Louisiana — and to help heal the damage — from the 2010 BP oil spill.
Winston has performed thousands of shows, which always include some of his best-known solo piano pieces, including melodic folk piano, Guaraldi’s Peanuts soundtrack pieces, New Orleans R&B-oriented piano, Doors songs, and stride piano. He has several recordings in the works and will be incorporating some new material on this 2014 spring/summer tour.
Since 1986, Winston has been raising money for food banks and service organizations, and will continue to do so by working with a local food bank in every tour market to hold a canned food drive at the show. At the Poulsbo concert, he will work with Gateway Fellowship’s Local Missions Fund.
