By Kirk Boxleitner

Singer-songwriter Casey Neill is no stranger to either Port Townsend or The Palindrome at Eaglemount Cidery. In addition to touring throughout America, Europe and Japan, Neill has performed on the Olympic Peninsula since he lived in Olympia during the 1990s. His most recent visit to town saw him perform at Fort Worden State Park, to open for the Indigo Girls’ historic finale to last September’s Port Townsend Film Festival.

He’ll be performing again at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 8, with Jenny Conlee, founding member of The Decemberists, as part of Rainshadow Recording’s ongoing concert series.

Conlee plays both keyboards and the accordion, while Neill balances between more traditional folk music and more avant-garde electronic rhythms.

“I’ve always loved this area,” said Neill, who’s also performed at venues such as Town Hall in New York, Bumbershoot and the Newport Folk Festival. “I remember nights I performed in downtown Port Townsend during the nineties, and the Rainshadow Recording concert series, that Matt Miner and Everett Moran have staged, has been great.”

While his folk influences range from Americana to Scots-Irish, Neill expressed an appreciation for the enthusiastic responsiveness of Port Townsend audiences in particular, where he’s found the crowds receptive to lyrical nuances.

“During my show with the Indigo Girls, I was treated to knowing laughter from 800 people, due to a regionally appropriate reference,” Neill said.

Miner described Neill’s new album, “Sending Up Flares,” with his band The Norway Rats, as hinting at a European influence, with songs that channel “the cinematic sweep of golden-era U2,” as well as “the dark, complex alt-rock” of P.J. Harvey.

Neill acknowledged that it can be challenging to categorize his sound, since his band’s album includes not only a four-piece string section, but also an assortment of synths, stacked vocal harmonies and “burbling electronics.”

Nonetheless, Neill agreed that his and Conlee’s upcoming evening at The Palindrome would likely include some “upbeat, celebratory rocking.”

Appropriately for the Puget Sound area, Neill cited recurring nautical themes in a number of his songs, which he sees as reflective of how much he feels “at home” in this coastal, rural region.

“I play a lot of shows in bigger cities, but there’s just something about smaller maritime towns,” Neill said. “A place like The Palindrome is just a cool room to play in. It affords a degree of communication with the crowd that’s often not possible on larger stages. It’s a more personal experience, where you’re close enough to the audience that they can fill in the gaps of what your songs are seeking to convey.”

Tickets for Neill’s performance at 1893 S. Jacob Miller Rd. are available at the door or at ticketstorm.com online. For more information, call Matt Miner at 503-484-8196.