Tim Parsons / Tahoe Onstage
Tony Furtado is starting back where he left off: Alibi Ale Works – Incline Public House.
The banjo and guitar virtuoso played in September 2019 before starting what he planned to be a five-month break. Then the Covid-19 concert stoppage hit, and the break continued.
“We were ready to hit the road in the spring and summer all set for really nice international festivals,” Furtado told Tahoe Onstage. “Then gig by gig, brick by brick, it all collapsed.”
Improvisation is an important characteristic for a musician, and Furtado is no ordinary artists. He’s multi-dimensional. He focused on the clay-based sculpturing side of his career before collaborating with his songwriting, multi-instrument playing wife, Stephanie Schneiderman, for the music side.
“I learned streaming” Furtado said.
An hourlong Thursday night broadcast became more elaborate and better produced as it grew to 31 episodes. It began as a duo but became a sponsored program with a multitude of contributors.
“We paid everybody,” said the Portland-based Furtado. “We were helping to spread the love to musician friends in town.”
During the live-show hiatus, Furtado made his first banjo-themed album since the 1990s. And he had plenty of help from his friends, who remotely recorded their parts. The guest artists include Scott Amendola, Mike Marshall, Todd Sickafoose, Aaron Johnston, Rob Berger and Luke Price, a fiddle player who will perform with Furtado in the Alibi Amphitheater at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 22. Tentatively titled “Decembering,” the album is in its final mastering stage.
Furtado will be making his third-Alibi appearance. In 2019, he played in a trio with Price and bass player Keith Brush. It was to be played outside but moved indoors due to cold weather. As crews mop up the Caldor Fire, the Lake Tahoe air quality is remarkably good this week and conditions should be excellent at the newly named Alibi Amphitheater.
Expect a lively show with the stripped-down banjo-fiddle duo. Price is a three-time national fiddle champion and Furtado is a two-time national bluegrass champ who has collaborated with Alison Krauss, Jerry Douglas and many other during a three-decade recording career.
“I’ve been playing with Luke for 10 years,” Furtado said. “He’s a great singer and harmonizer.”
Also this week, Alibi Incline has scheduled an Oktoberfest celebration in its beer garden at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18. Truckee’s Coburn Station will be onstage.
-Tim Parsons
- Tony Furtado Duo
- When: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 22
- Where: Alibi Amphitheater, 931 Tahoe Blvd, Incline Village, NV 89451
- Tickets: $15 in advance: LINK
- What to bring: A chair or blanket to sit on the grass
