In-Person, Online & On the Air

Trinity United Methodist’s Candlelight Concerts hosts Joe Euro, a “Classical/Neo-Classical Finger-Style” guitarist, who will be performing at Trinity United Methodist Church on Thursday, March 24, at 7:00 PM for one set with no intermission.

The performance will also be streamed live at https://trinityumcpt.org/ where you will find a link for the Candlelight Concerts Online and ways to donate. The concert will also be simulcast on KPTZ FM 91.9.

Admission is free, with a suggested donation $10 per person. Half of the proceeds from this concert will go to Joe Euro’s chosen charity, Bayside Housing & Services, https://www.baysidehousing.org, whose mission is to strengthen the community through housing, advocacy, and human services supporting social and economic independence.

Trinity United Methodist Church is located at 609 Taylor Street, across from the Community Center, in Uptown. Attendees should plan on arriving early – doors will open at 6:30.

Joe Euro is a Port Townsend entrepreneur who has followed his passions of music, wine and travel (he’s also hosted and guided many European and one South American “Small Group Journeys”) and founded one of Washington’s State’s oldest and finest wine shops, the Wine Seller on Water St. all the way back in 1982. He is also a pretty amazing “Finger-Style”/ classical/jazz guitarist who has played numerous live shows and events such as Port Townsend’s and Seattle’s Wooden Boat Festivals, Centrum’s Jazz Port Townsend, various concerts and venues over many years, including many weddings, corporate functions, restaurants, private parties…and even a few funerals…Euro worked out his arrangement of Amazing Grace after being asked to play at an upbeat funeral years ago, and it is on his High Road recording. He might play that as well…all depending on time and mood.

Since this concert will be live streamed, and simulcast on local FM Station, KPTZ (91.9) Joe is looking forward to a potentially much larger audience than the usual 80-120 or so folks that can fit in this beautiful old, historic and acoustically splendid building. “I’m looking forward to this opportunity to share my music, once again, my 12th Candlelight Concert in as many years, and to help raise money for some worthy causes. In this case, 1/2 the donations will go to Bayside Housing & Services, the other 1/2 to the fund to help maintain this historic 1870’s building. I often play my heart strings out, though, even if it’s only me listening”.

The Candlelight Concert performance will include: Acoustic, Instrumental “Neo-Classical”/“Finger Style” Guitar, featuring many of Euro’s original “Neo-Classical” compositions, some actual Classical Guitar, some lite jazz, a few “covers” and a bit of his “Ambient Space Guitar” pieces. Euro’s recordings have been played and appreciated around the world, and his music is available through a number of sources such as Spotify; Amazon Music; YouTube; Rhapsody; Napster, Pandora, and more.

Euro’s performance is always intriguing with a fair amount of variety and perhaps just a glimmer of virtuosity…(he hopes…if all fingers and brain are working together…in harmony…no pun intended) His selections are generally played on at least 3-4 different guitars which all sound and look different and tuned differently, most are classical/ Spanish nylon string guitars but Joe usually brings “Big Red”, his jumbo bodied steel string with cutaway. Euro also utilizes a fair amount of guitar “tricks” that allow him to, with the use of various, what he refers to often as “Iconoclassical” techniques with “reach overs”, “slap ons”, “hammer ons”, “pull offs” and other such guitar techniques that allows him to actually play two parts of a piece at once. All part of the wave of “Finger-Style” guitar techniques pioneered by the late, great Micheal Hedges, and carried on and evolving by other modern guitar superstars such as Andy McKee, Mike Dawes, Billy McLaughlin, Luca Sticangnoli and many more to name just a few.

Euro will perform some pieces such as one he’s titled “The High Road” (the title track to his 1st CD, a lively Scottish dance-like piece). Global Warning, The Secret Lives of Raindrops, and variations and improvisations of some of his other compositions such as Eyes On The Horizon. Various other originals will be from Euro’s 4+ studio recordings: “Eyes On The Horizon”; “Souvenir”; “Holiday Cheer” (but he’s not going to play any actual holiday tunes…”Nope…not gonna do that” he says….”against my religion to play holiday music after the Holidaze”) and “Through the Years.”
Euro records a fair amount of piano/guitar pieces on his recordings as well, although rarely plays piano in his live performances…”they’re too hard to lug around…let alone do live overdubs with my guitars, as i do on my recordings” (However, Joe does do a little bit of LIVE overdubs with a looping device)

Euro chooses not to be tied to playing a particular stated set list…but generally he chooses to cover, besides his own compositions… a few straight classical pieces “plucked from the Classical Guitar repertoire”. Perhaps some Scarlatti, Satie, and Fernando Sor, arranged into a medley of one of Euro’s own “Flamenco Fantasy” tune with improv. Euro has taken to playing some arrangements he’s made of other popular tunes such as Fields of Gold, One of Us and Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah…often performed as a medley, ending with a short “quote” of Bach’s Jesu Joy of Man’s Desire”. There may be a few jazz standards Euro has made arrangements and improvs of such classic tunes as Black Orpheus, by Luis Banfa, Monk’s Round Midnight…and Meditations by Jobim…probably Monk’s Blue Monk as well. All depending on if there’s time to get to all or most of what Joe would like to perform for you.

Euro will no doubt perform some of his “Big Spacey Sound” as he calls them…ambient pieces such as his “Alone Among Angels”, from his “Souvenir” CD and he sometimes does a medley of two of his ambient pieces “Then They Were Gone” and “Midnight Watch”from Euro’s “Eyes on the Horizon” and “The High Road” recordings.