Crossroads Music

09/13/2025

09/11/2025

08/27/2025

Crossroads Music will be closed Monday, October 13th in observance of Indigenous People's Day. We will resume normal hours on Tuesday, October 14th. Have a great weekend.

08/26/2025

07/30/2025

Happy Birthday to Buddy Guy! 💙
Born in Lettsworth, Louisiana, Buddy Guy is one of the most influential blues guitarists of the 20th and 21st centuries. He became known in the Chicago blues scene during the 1960s, where he recorded for Chess Records and performed with artists like Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. He later formed a well-known partnership with harmonica player Junior Wells.

Guy's career has spanned several decades, bridging traditional blues with modern styles. He is often cited as a key influence by major rock guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Jeff Beck. His playing style combines raw electric blues with technical skill and expressive phrasing.

Some of his most recognized recordings include "Stone Crazy," "Damn Right, I've Got the Blues," and "First Time I Met the Blues." He has won multiple Grammy Awards and received honors such as the National Medal of Arts and Kennedy Center Honors.

Wishing Buddy Guy continued strength and recognition. His contributions through decades of recordings, performances, and support for younger musicians have influenced generations of artists.

Photo of the artist by Tom Beetz

07/17/2025

Congratulations, Bertram. Your contributions are beyond evaluation.

Centrum Board Chair, Walter Parsons, announced this month that Port Townsend resident, Bertram Levy, has been named Centrum Champion for 2025. Each year, the Centrum Board selects a most deserving community volunteer, advocate, musician or artist to receive the award, and a commemorative plaque is a...

07/17/2025

In 1958, a young photographer named Art Kane gathered 57 of the greatest jazz musicians in the world on a Harlem sidewalk for a group photo. It was meant to be casual, even spontaneous.
He called it A Great Day in Harlem.
Legends like Count Basie, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, and Sonny Rollins stood side by side, smiling, chatting, laughing. Just a moment. Just a morning. Just a photo.
But time doesn’t pause for anyone.
In 1996, nearly 40 years later, the photo was recreated in the same spot with the few who remained. The brownstone still stood. But most of the faces were gone—lost to time, legacy, and memory.
And seeing those two images—side by side—is a quiet reminder:
Life moves quickly. People fade. But love, art, and togetherness echo far longer than we realize.
In 50 years, many of us won’t be here. But today, we are.
So let’s choose to love one another.
To forgive. To laugh. To appreciate the moment before it slips away.

~Lovely USA

07/17/2025

Paul Magid of the New Old Time Chautauqua came by to pick up the guitars, ukuleles and an accordion Crossroads Music is donating for Paul's annual Tribe Reservation project. This year, Paul is headed to western Vancouver Island to conduct a series of workshops on basic guitar playing for the children of several First Nations tribes located in small villages on the island. These villages are located in remote parts of Vancouver Island where there are few educational resources or services that provide for musical or artistic creativity and expression. Paul and his crew are looking to give these kids a start toward making music. Much of their travels will be aboard sailboats.

We wish Paul and his crew safe travels and much success with this most generous and worthwhile project.