Farnsworth Guitars calls Edmonds home

Edmonds local Brian Farnsworth has been building guitars for six years now. He was looking to learn how to solder guitar pickups — a transducer that captures or senses mechanical vibrations — so he could swap pickups on his own gear, and he connected with a luthier instructor. Brian picked up many skills during this time, but waited a while before building his first guitar on his own. Through the help of friends on Instagram, he jumped in and accomplished it.

As a musician with a love for tube amplifiers, like old Marshalls, getting into building electric guitars made sense. For Brian, “there’s nothing like plugging into a red-lined tube amp.” Although he enjoys acoustics and would love to explore them someday, for now it is all about the electric guitars.

Brian grew up in Colorado, lived in Chicago for a while and finally ended up in the Pacific Northwest. Brian and his wife found Edmonds and love being part of the community, especially by walking to the Saturday markets and spending time downtown. One of the events Brian gets most excited about is the Edmonds Arts Festival. Before this year’s event was canceled, Brian had built an inventory of guitars just for the event.

Expect to see Farnsworth Guitars more and more around Edmonds. Brian has a vision to incorporate his guitars with a space to teach and present live music. Sounds like a fantastic possibility for our community.

Checkout Farnsworth Guitars’ website and Instagram account.

Northwest Folklife Festival virtual schedule announced

Northwest Folklife and Seattle Center have joined to provide a virtual Folklife experience. The virtual festival will take place this Memorial Day Weekend, May 23-25 at nwfolklifestreaming.org. Presented by Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, there will be artists, creatives, sponsors and merchants.

Seattle Theatre Group and Seattle Sacred Music and Art offering a Global Sacred Music Project

Thanks to a partnership between Seattle Theatre Group (STG) and Seattle Sacred Music and Art (SAMA), you can watch a Facebook Live concert featuring Seattle/Okinawan Shamisen player Mako on Thursday, May 21 at 7 p.m.  on the SAMA Facebook page. The goal of SAMA is to bring a series of musical and artistic experiences to the Seattle region that will seek to lift the spirit, create curiosity of other cultures, and provide education opportunities through artistic presentation.

Couch-a-Thon Film and Music Festival in support of the Seattle Artist Relief Fund

The Couch-a-Thon is an independent, multi-day livestream event to collect donations for Washington gig workers affected by COVID-19. Donations go to creatives on an application basis, in partnership with Langston and the Seattle Artist Relief Fund. The livestream begins May 25 on the Couch-a-Thon Film and Music website, and more information can be found on Facebook or Instagram.

More ways to support the Edmonds arts community – as shared by the Edmonds Arts Commission

• Make a donation to a favorite organization
• Donate the cost of your ticket for a canceled show instead of requesting a refund
• See a show or view “virtual galleries” online
• See if you can purchase goods or service online from a local artist or gallery

Closures and Cancellations

The following are known to be closed and/or canceled. Please confirm on your own before making any schedule changes.

• Edmonds Kind of 4th of July
• Edmonds Jazz Connection
• Cascade Symphony: Current season canceled
• Art Walk Edmonds: May Art Walk and June Wine Walk have been canceled
• Edmonds Library: Temporarily closed
• Edmonds Theater: Temporarily closed
• Frances Anderson Center: Temporarily closed
• Cascadia Art Museum: Temporarily closed
• Edmonds Historical Museum: Temporarily closed
• Gallery North: Temporarily closed
• Edmonds Driftwood Players: Current season has been canceled
• Phoenix Theater: Current season has been canceled
• Black Box Theater: Events canceled— By Rachel Gardner

  Rachel Gardner has a heartfelt appreciation for art in all forms and believes everyone is an artist, some just don’t know it yet. A dedicated and involved Edmonds resident, she can often be spotted onstage cracking jokes between sets or in the audience enjoying local live performances. She enjoys being playful with her art and finding unique ways of expression, like forming a boho-grunge-folk ukulele trio with local Edmonds moms.