California-based blues and roots band Rick Estrin and the Nightcats are returning to Port Townsend, to perform at The Palindrome at the Eaglemount Winery and Cidery, on Friday, June 21. The band is promoting its new Alligator Records album, “The Hits Keep Coming.”

“We haven’t been to Port Townsend for a few years, but we’ve been here several times,” Estrin said. “I always  hought it was a cool, charming place. But honestly, what inspired us to return was the same thing that brought us here the first time. We love what we do, we believe in what we do, and we want to bring it to the people every chance we get.”

Estrin acknowledged the demands of going on the road. “What keeps me going is the love” he feels, “for the music, for our people in the audience, and for the guys in the band.”

Estrin has won seven Blues Music Awards, including for “Song of the Year,” “Traditional Male Blues Artist, Instrumentalist-Harmonica,” and twice for “Band of the Year” with the Nightcats, which include drummer Derrick “D'Mar” Martin, multi-instrumentalist Christoffer “Kid” Andersen, and keyboardist, “organ wizard” and bass player Lorenzo Farrell, a Bremerton resident.

Farrell described himself as “thrilled” to be performing in the Olympic Peninsula, a relative rarity given that Estrin and the rest of the Nightcats live in California.

“My wife and I love living so close to Port Townsend, and often make day-trips up here to enjoy the scenery, shopping and restaurants,” Farrell said. “I’ve always dug the music scene all around the Sound, especially in Port Townsend, where there are lots of folks who appreciate live music, and tons of stellar performers who live in the area.”

Farrell noted that, “back in the day,” not only Estrin, but also blues legends like “Little Charlie” Baty, co-founder of the Nightcats in 1976, made Port Townsend a regular stop on their tours.

“All that seemed to fade away over the years, but I always dreamed of somehow bringing it back,” said Farrell. He helped found “LTD Presents” to help bolster live blues and jazz in Western Washington. “We’ve already brought Duke Robillard, Pearl Django, Tia Carroll, Kid Andersen, Alabama Mike, D.K. Harrell and more to Port Townsend.”

Estrin confirmed that, early in the Nightcats’ career, “even before we were recording,” the Pacific Northwest was where they toured when they first ventured outside Northern California.

“Back in the late 1970s, we got hip to the scene up here, through our connections with friends like Robert Cray and Curtis Salgado,” Estrin said. “There’s actually been a strong music scene in the Pacific Northwest for a long time. Way back in the late 1940s and 1950s, people like the young Ray Charles and the teenage Quincy Jones were fixtures on the Seattle scene.”

Estrin also appreciates the relatively unique opportunity afforded by performing at The Palindrome.

“We play venues of all sizes, and undeniably, there’s a certain high that comes from playing for a huge crowd,” Estrin said. “But there’s also a deeper connection you can make, and a level of intimacy you can achieve, in a smaller setting, that’s just not possible at a large festival or in a stadium.”

Tickets may be purchased in advance at ltdpresentslive.com or on the day of the show.