Georgia Browne is a familiar face to anyone who has attended a concert at Island Center Hall or Bainbridge Waterfront Park in the last few years.

She’s the friendly, petite woman with long brown hair, taking money at the door, making sure the performers are comfortable and greeting everyone with her trademark warm smile as if they were old friends.

Browne’s official title is Cultural Arts Events Coordinator for the Bainbridge Island Park and Recreation District. As such, she is responsible for booking and coordinating performers for Park and Rec-sponsored events.

She is also a musician, playing guitar and writing her own heartfelt songs. Browne and fellow musician Eddie Jay Williams will be the featured performers at the First Friday concert at Island Center Hall Nov. 4.

As a teenager she had strummed the guitar a bit, and sung in the high school chorus, but that part of her life was set aside, until she moved to Bainbridge Island five years ago to be near her family.

Browne quickly became involved in the local music scene and started going to jam sessions and open mics, and playing her guitar.

“It was a great place to land,” she said of Bainbridge.

Browne has begun writing her own songs, influenced by Kate Wolfe, Dar Williams and others in the alt-country/folk genre. She considers herself a singer first, and a guitar player second.

“I mostly play to accompany my singing,” she said.

Local guitar maker Larry Dewey thought so much of Browne that he secretly made a guitar just for her, under the tutelage of Bainbridge guitar maker Ken Savage.

“It took a couple of years,” she said. “They kept asking me questions about what size guitar I liked, what was the best neck width.”

The result was the “Sweet Georgia Browne Special” or “SGB Special,” a beautiful guitar custom-made for her petite size, presented to her last winter.

“It was designed to fit me — I couldn’t believe it,” she said.

Browne hopes to continue growing as a musician and songwriter, writing from a very personal place.

“The whole process is so good for me on so many levels,” she said.

Williams comes from the other end of the musical spectrum, arriving on Bainbridge a decade ago after being immersed in the music scene in Los Angeles and playing guitar since he was 16. Like many musicians, he was surprised at what he found in this corner of the world.

“There is a surprising concentration of quality (of musicians) here,” he said. “It’s better than in L.A.”

Williams performs mostly original songs, taken from his life experiences and lessons learned in working a wide variety of jobs. A very wide variety.

“I stopped counting at 75 jobs,” he said. “I figure if I can’t impress ‘em with quality, I’ll go for quantity.”

His songs include odes to bartending, disc jockeying, the Post Office, farming and duct tape.

“You can never go wrong with a song about duct tape,” he said.

Williams cites John Prine, Tom Waits, Randy Newman and Warren Zevon as influences.

He has recorded two CDs of his songs, “Some Day” and “The Easy Surrender.”

He also works as an audio engineer, recording other artists, and as the sound engineer for Bainbridge Island Park and Recreation concerts.

His current job and source of songwriting material is as a janitor for the Park and Rec. Department. What rhymes with toilet?

Browne and Williams perform at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 4, Island Center Hall, 8395 Fletcher Bay Rd., Bainbridge Island. Admission at the door is $8 adults, $5 ages 6-18. wu