Wearing your favorite pair of bell bottoms, you walk outside to face another revolutionary day with the newest Led Zepplin eight-track blasting from the high-tech speakers of your 1976 Trans Am.
If this scenario strikes a chord with you, Martin Lund’s One World Festival will bring back more memories with the sounds of Motown, classic rock and the British invasion.
“They were dynamic times, a huge change in music,” said organizer Donna Laslo. “Musicians from this time are legendary.”
This 10th Anniversary Show features music of the 1960s and ‘70s on Friday and Saturday, June 22-23, 7:30 p.m. at Orcas Center.
Lund creates this variety show each June and wows audiences with a sampling of music and world-class artists from the northwest and beyond. Themes in the past have included jazz, Brazilian, Parisian, old-time radio, and “the magic of music.”
“Martin’s gift is music, it’s something he can give to people,” Laslo said.
This year’s show is an opportunity to educate young people about an unconventional time – one that Lund and many other islanders lived through.
“Ability to reflect on the past is important,” said Lund. “The ‘60s and ‘70s was an important time and growing up I knew these were not normal times, they were extraordinary times.”
Songs like John Lennon’s “Imagine,” which is still popular today, showed an age of idealism that Lund says changed the world. It was also time of quality songwriters and experimentation – getting out of the “Leave It To Beaver” box of the ‘50s, said Laslo.
The two bands performing in the upcoming show embody the unique ideas of that bygone era.
Lee Oskar, known for his killer harmonica playing and as a member 1960s and 1970s hit funk band War, famous for songs like “Why Can’t We Be Friends,” will be joined on-stage by his jam band, featuring a string section and African percussion.
“A string quartet in a blues band is exactly like the musical experimentation that was going on in the ‘60s. It’s a pleasure to hear them play,” Lund said. “And Lee is a wild and mean harmonica player. No one equals him.”
The other headliner is Apple Jam, a popular Beatles tribute band out of Seattle that performs Beatles and solo years’ favorites, deep cuts, and never-released songs.
“Apple Jam accurately expresses what the Beatles said and it’s a tribute to those incredible songwriters’ memory,” Laslo said.
Local performers will also share the stage, playing tunes from the past. Talents include Jazz Lund, Gene Nery, Grace McCune, Jim Bredouw, Tony Morales, Kt Lazlo, Sharon Abreu and Khadoma Colomby.
All proceeds of the show benefit The Funhouse-Commons. Laslo and Lund said the reason they are raising funds for the The Funhouse-Commons is its an organization focused on education and creating an environment where kids and adults can better themselves.
And even if you aren’t a child of the ‘60s, all ages can enjoy the music, because quality tunes stay quality forever.
“It’s not just an concert, it’s an event, a happening,” Lund said.
Tickets are $28 or $24 for Orcas Center members and $15 for students. For more info, visit www.orcascenter.org or funhousecommons.org.