14
AUG. 17�24
SOUND CHECK
WHAT’S PLAYING AROUND
THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
Wayne Worthen plays Side A-lley concert Aug. 19
By John Vollinger
Go! Magazine
LA GRANDE — With a slight change
to Side A-lley’s concert series, this week
brings Idaho-based singer/songwriter
Wayne Worthen.
The music starts at 7:30 p.m. Friday,
Aug. 19.
Worthen is bringing his varied and
eclectic style to the stage and says he
enjoys “playing/singing folk, folk rock,
Celtic, blues, ragtime, classical, soft jazz
and country.”
Though this is quite a broad range of
styles and infl uences, Worthen’s sound
is one that is immediately enjoyable and
interesting.
One can expect to hear original com-
positions, with or without lyrics, with
his acoustic guitar playing being the
one constant.
Side A/Contributed Photo
Wayne Worthen plays Friday, Aug. 19, at Side A Brewing in La Grande.
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Baker
City, Courthouse
OR 97814
1995 4th
3rd Street,
County
541-523-8223
Rick Gloria, Veteran Services Coordinator
The Baker County Veteran
Services Office provides access
to the wide range of benefits
and services offered to
veterans and their dependents.
Health Care
Education
Compensation
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& much more.
He says that he tries “hard to write
music that has feeling and passion” and
that it is his “sincerest hope that you will
fi nd that listening to [his] music helps to
enhance your life, that in some small way
it brings joy and warmth to you.”
This intentionality to his music is plain
to any who see him play and listen to his
compositions; Worthen seems to say so
much in his music, even with songs that
solely rely on instrumentation.
For example, his song “Little One”
feels as if it could be an ode to a child in
his life, if not some kind words or advice
to share with them, though that is just
one interpretation one can get from
the song.
Similarly, the instrumental song “Dead
Man Hole” seems as if it tells an entire
story in itself, perhaps taking place in
the harsh American frontier, despite its
pleasing melody.
This mastery at songwriting is, then,
only enhanced by the addition of lyrics.
Worthen says that his mother reports
he was “singing before [he] could talk.”
This aligns well with his mention of inten-
tionally hoping to bring joy with his music
— you can tell, through this phrasing, that
he is not bringing ego to the stage, but
just trying to share some spots of time,
through some enjoyable music.
Though there is not an abundance
of singing in his songs, one can get an
example of it by searching for “He Don’t
Love You Like I Do” which is a song sung
warmly and telling a timeless story.
For more information, or to purchase
some of Wayne’s music, head to wayne-
worthen.com.
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