While a number of musical acts come to Port Townsend to perform as part of the Rainshadow Recording concert series at The Palindrome at Eaglemount Cidery from hometowns that are often well removed from the Pacific Northwest, Sway Wild practically hails from next door.

The San Juan Island-based indie-folk duo of Dave McGraw and Mandy Fer was, by their own account, born on the Salish Sea, following a two-month sailing voyage through the remote anchorages of British Columbia, which inspired them to explore musical sounds with the same bold curiosity that they’d previously turned toward those coastal waters.

Sway Wild released its self-titled debut album worldwide in 2019, and Fer, the band’s electric guitarist, is pleased to return to the region, to play at The Palindrome on Sunday, Aug. 18.

“It feels so great,” Fer said. “I was talking with Dave about how it’s been too long since we’ve been back home. We’ve played in Port Townsend and Chimacum as recently as a few years ago, and we just played in Port Angeles a week or so ago. I love how this community always feels like it’s growing and blossoming with new, cool stuff artistically.”

Although Fer lamented that she and McGraw aren’t able to return “home” to northwestern Washington frequently enough to keep pace with the latest developments in its musical scene, she nonetheless cited the grounding of that sense of place as part of Sway Wild’s sound.

“The music we’ve made has reflected the times and places we were in,” Fer said. “When you hear our songs, I think they reflect the slight maritime flavor of the Pacific Northwest. At the same time, especially in this internet era, you can’t help but be influenced by everything around you, since it’s so easy to interact with so much of it.”

Fer accordingly describes Sway Wild’s sound as eclectically collected from “the corners of rock, pop, funk and folk,” but at its nucleus, she sees her and McGraw’s music as filled with an “infectious joy,” whose lyrics seek to share their “jubilation, grief, and frustration with a complex and deeply imperfect society.”

Although Aug. 18 will mark Sway Wild’s first performance at The Palindrome, it’s not Fer’s first engagement with Rainshadow Recording.

When she’s not teaming up with McGray as Sway Wild, Fer also tours as the lead guitarist for Amos Lee and Allison Russell and has recently performed with Brandi Carlile.

One aspect of performing for Rainshadow again that Fer eagerly anticipates is the relative intimacy of the venue.

“It makes it easier for people to connect with the music, and connect with each other,” Fer said. “Some folks might feel tempted to dance at some points. We’re not limited to any one genre.”

Indeed, Fer and McGraw’s specialties complement each other musically, since Fer plays her Fender Stratocaster, while McGraw alternates between his acoustic guitar and drum kit.

“We touch upon a lot of flavors of emotion,” said Fer, who hopes their music can “squeeze the heart in your chest, draw tears from your eyes” and “force you to get up and move your body, over and over, all at once.”

When Sway Wild performs at The Palindrome on Aug. 18, at 7:30 p.m. at 1893 S. Jacob Miller Rd. in Port Townsend, Fer looks forward to being greeted by familiar concert-goers and new listeners alike.

Tickets are available online at ticketstorm.com, or at the door.