Rainshadow Recording welcomes back singer-songwriter and “string wizard” Tony Furtado for a third concert at the Palindrome, as the multi-instrumental musician experiments with yet another freshly minted onstage partnership.

Furtado last performed at the Eaglemount Cidery venue at the end of March, accompanied by his frequent musical partner and five-time Grand National Fiddle Champion Luke Price, as well as by hammered dulcimer and bass player Simon Chrisman, the latter of whom was performing alongside Furtado for the first time during that concert tour.

Saturday, Oct. 19, will see Furtado shake things up again, as Price’s spot in the trio will instead be occupied by Tristan Claridge on assorted strings, starting at 7:30 p.m. at the Palindrome at Eaglemount Cidery on 1893 S. Jacob Miller Rd. in Port Townsend.

When asked how this revised musical order would work, Furtado said, “To be honest, I’m going to find out how this trio will sound on the road, but I can only imagine it will be a blast. If you’ve ever heard the Bee Eaters, then you know how amazing Tristan and Simon can be together.”

The Bee Eaters formed in 2008, and their lineup includes not only Chrisman and Claridge, but also Claridge’s sister Tashina, both of whom play the fiddle and were raised in the diverse musical traditions of bluegrass, Celtic folk and old-time jazz.

“Tristan also plays the cello, but is phenomenal on anything he picks up, really,” Furtado said. “And Simon is a genius on the hammered dulcimer. I’m planning on doing some recording with both of them in early December, and even releasing new music with them in 2025.”

When asked how this trio’s “sound experience” might differ for audiences from their March concert with Rainshadow Recording, Furtado opined that it would be “exciting and unpredictable from my standpoint, so it’s got to be the same for someone in the audience.”

At the same time, Furtado noted that his spring concert at the Palindrome was “packed and super-fun,” which he felt confident could be repeated this fall.

“I feel like the crowd really dug us.” Furtado said. “I think the addition of Simon to the mix was gorgeous and rhythmic. It was like recruiting a bass player, a drummer and a pianist, all in one fell swoop.”

Furtado is no slouch himself, with his skills on the slide guitar, baritone ukulele and banjo, the latter of which he took up at the age of 12, after which he won the National Bluegrass Banjo Championship in Winfield, Kansas, in 1987 and 1991, and signed a recording deal with Rounder Records in between in 1990.

Furtado’s six albums with the label saw him collaborate with well-known musicians such as Alison Krauss, while he also performed and recorded with the band SugarBeat and the Rounder Banjo Extravaganza, and his touring schedule since then has even seen him share a stage with famous names such as Gregg Allman.

“I love the different grooves you can get from playing with other musicians,” Furtado said. “It leads to different sounds, arrangements and energy levels.”

Although Furtado has performed at prestigious music events and venues around the world, including Telluride Bluegrass, Aspen and San Jose Jazz, and the folk festivals of Kerrville and Winnipeg, he’s happy to return to the Palindrome, which he praised as emblematic of the reasons why he loves playing live.

“All my energy is focused on the love of playing music, and rolling with the moment,” Furtado said. “It’s a give-and-take from the audience to the stage and back. The music that’s created is something that otherwise might not occur, without that flow. And when you have a place like the Palindrome, where you know Everett Moran is going to ensure the sound engineering is done so well, it just makes it that much easier to play.”

Rainshadow Recording’s Matt Miner echoed an oft-repeated assessment of Furtado’s talent, that “true talent doesn’t need categories.”