Local fusion guitarists play to benefit Snohomish theater

Andre Feriante and Damon Buxton have postponed their concert at Tim Noah Thumbnail Theater in Snohomish until next year.

“We have to be careful with COVID-19,” Feriante said. “Especially if the theater hasn’t been doing many shows.”

Buxton added: “With breakthrough cases, Andre and I just don’t want to do anything that could potentially kill someone.”

But you can still listen to the guitarists draw on a fusion of styles, from flamenco and classical, to new age and jazz on Oct. 2 via Facebook — including a new song Feriante wrote as a tribute to Spanish guitar master Andrés Segovia.

Buxton will perform at 7:30 p.m., followed by Feriante at 8:30. The back-to-back Facebook performances will benefit the Thumbnail.

Feriante, of Langley, is a world-fusion guitarist. He mixes flamenco, classical and Brazilian styles.

A multi-instrumentalist, Feriante plays 43 relatives of the guitar. He will perform standard and original songs from his “String Stories” show, which features the ukulele, lute, oud, sitar and ronroco.

Feriante and Buxton have 40-year careers as guitarists, both with 15 albums each to their names, though this will be their first collaboration. They’ve already postponed the double-billed concert at the Thumbnail once because of COVID-19.

Feriante, 59, who trained with Segovia, will also debut a song dedicated to the classical guitar master. After watching a YouTube video of Segovia performing “Rondo” by Henry Purcell, he was inspired to compose a similar tune.

“I remember it from my childhood,” said Feriante, who was born in Naples. “It just brought back a lot of memories. I was in this little Italian farmhouse with my cassettes, and I would listen to Segovia while I was doing my studies.”

Feriante’s song is titled “Boy From Linares,” named after Segovia’s hometown in Spain.

Buxton, 63, is a classical and world crossover guitarist from Bothell. His songs are inspired by fingerstyle, classical, new age and jazz.

He plays the six-string classical guitar. His sound includes silent spaces, open tunings, natural reverb and double picking. Buxton will perform selections from his collection of more than 130 original songs.

Feriante will be playing two Stilwell guitars on Oct. 2. Guitar builder Michael Stilwell Luthier lives near the Tim Noah Thumbnail Theater.

Feriante is the founder of the Whidbey Island Guitar Festival. He has shared the stage with the Northwest Symphony, Heart and Alice in Chains. He presented TEDx Talks for Sno-Isle Libraries on “The Power of Music to Heal, Transform and Inspire” and “The Round Table of Song.” He also has hosted “La Guitarra” on Seattle’s KING-FM.

Buxton has a bachelor’s in fine arts from Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts. He has collaborated with Will Ackerman, the founder of Windham Hill Records, on all of his albums. He has performed at the Kirkland Performance Center and Bastyr University Chapel in Seattle. He also is sponsored by Hannabach strings.

“I am entirely self-taught — and I am not bragging about that at all,” Buxton said. “When I was 21, I did take three guitar lessons.”

Feriante released his 15th album last year. “If Only Love” takes the listener on a musical journey around the globe. In addition to the Spanish guitar, he plays the ronroco, harp guitar and baritone ukulele on the recording.

Buxton released “Love In The Time Of War,” his 15th recording, this year. He said the 11-track album is inspired by the “wars” surrounding the coronavirus and the presidential election.

Feriante and Buxton are looking forward to their Facebook concerts on Oct. 2 — they’re also more than OK to wait one more year for their collaboration, if it helps to stem the spread of COVID-19.

“It should be an evening of soothing and uplifting instrumental guitar with positive talk in between,” Buxton said. “If you were going to design music to lower your blood pressure, this would be it. At the same time, both of us strive really hard to just make something beautiful.”

Sara Bruestle: 425-339-3046; sbruestle@heraldnet.com; @sarabruestle.

If you stream

Andre Feriante and Damon Buxton will perform benefit concerts for Snohomish’s Tim Noah Thumbnail Theatre on Oct. 2 via Facebook. Both guitarists, Feriante and Buxton draw on a fusion of styles, from flamenco and classical to new age and jazz. Buxton will perform at 7:30 p.m. at damonbuxton.com/thumb, followed by Feriante at 8:30 at fb.me/e/xRU40aH6. Their tip jars are damonbuxton.com/tip and www.paypal.com/paypalme/andreferiante. More at www.thumbnailtheater.org.