Bennett set to perform at park

Get ready to swing and rock.

Jazz musician Dave Bennett will be performing “Roots of Pop: From Swing to Rock,” at 7 p.m. Thursday in the amphitheater at Hudson Family Park. His performance marks the first live concert hosted by Arts Place after more than a year without because of coronavirus concerns.

(Arts Place hosted two live-streamed performances earlier this year.)

Prior to the concert, Bennet will also be providing a free educational workshop focused on improvisation and musical composition through swing, blues and ballads at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Arts Place in Portland.

Bennett, who will be playing clarinet, guitar and piano, has spent the majority of his life traveling the country. His show includes music from the swing era through early rock and country. With everything from a jazz version of The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby” to Glen Campbell’s “Witchita Lineman,” Bennett’s show, he said, includes something for everyone.

“It’s a little all over the map, but I think it’ll be a pretty good variety for folks,” he said.

Bennett also plans to play some new tracks of his own, mainly rock and guitar-oriented pieces. He released his first album, Blood Moon, in 2017.

He’s been writing songs since he was a teenager but hadn’t performed or released any of his own until recently.

One of his featured songs for Thursday, “Lonesome Highway,” was written in 2002 when he was 17 years old.

“These songs are my stories,” he explained, noting he’s been playing more of his own work in the last year and a half. “(I’ve) had time to break them in, and the response has been really strong.”

Bennett, a Waterford, Michigan resident, has performed in Portland twice before about 10 and 12 years ago, he estimated. In the last year, shows have been limited because of the coronavirus pandemic. He’s been thrilled to start performing more often again.

“Boy, it’s sure a blessing –– it’s the greatest job ever have, to do what you love and make people happy,” Bennett said about being a musician.

He’s also proud of the wide variety of music included in the upcoming show.

“I love different types of music. I guess, all the different genres have influenced me to learn different instruments,” he said. “The fact that we can go out and play a show and maybe fit in those different styles I like together, it’s kind of an extension of who I am inside … it is a way for me to communicate with people.”

Bennett’s show is the first in a two-part summer concert series for Arts Place. Vocal Trash will perform Aug. 5 at Hudson Family Park. The group has been featured on the Hallmark Channel and awarded “Best Musical Act” by Fort Worth magazine, according to a press release from Arts Place. Vocal Trash, which is “all about song, dance, and sustainability,” uses instruments made from recyclable materials.

Tickets for Bennett’s show and Vocal Trash’s show are free but are still required. Those interested can reserve tickets at artsland.org. For more information, call (260) 726-4809 with questions.