14

SATURDAY

Multi-instrumentalist Peter Rowan has done everything and been everywhere in his three-decade career. He’s played traditional bluegrass with Bill Monroe, made arty folk-rock with Earth Opera and Seatrain, and collaborated with master Tex-Mex accordionist Flaco Jiminez, anticipating today’s roots-rock and world music. Rowan’s also a fantastic songwriter: His “Dust Bowl Children,” “Before the Streets Were Paved,” “Midnight Moonlight,” and “Panama Red” are classics. Tonight, Rowan teams up with another acoustic virtuoso, singer-guitarist Tony Rice, for a special concert featuring both solo and duo sets. I’m hoping Rowan will sing his haunting version of the folk standard “Wayfaring Stranger”—once heard, it’s never forgotten. Rowan and Rice’s acoustic magic begins tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. $17.50. (703) 549-7500. (Ken Roseman)