Belfair Self-Storage hosts Native American holiday music in November

Kirk Boxleitner | Oct 28, 20210

Barbara Treick’s rotating art gallery at Belfair Self-Storage is preparing to welcome back two of her previously appearing artists next month for a seasonally themed reception.

The Sunday before Thanksgiving, from 2-4 p.m., will see abstract painter Tai Connell, who previously appeared Aug. 5, displaying her art and Christmas gifts, including jewelry and coasters. Also appearing will be Native American musician Vince Redhouse, who previously appeared June 12, performing holiday songs and selling his CDs.

Redhouse recalled being impressed with Treick, the manager of Belfair Self-Storage at 23270 NE state Route 3, from the moment they met.

“Barbara’s such a friendly person, and she’s an artist herself,” Redhouse told the Shelton-Mason County Journal. He met Treick by being a renter at the storage. “I saw her artwork, and I liked her spirit, so I gave her one of my CDs to listen to, and she produced a series of paintings inspired by it, so I agreed to play my music at a reception showing off her work.”

Redhouse said the pandemic has eliminated larger venues, so he’s happy to engage with smaller audiences through venues such as Belfair Self-Storage.

One of Redhouse’s two CDs available at the Nov. 21 reception will be the 2003 Grammy-nominated album, “Sacred Season,” which he produced with Redheart. It combines a tenor saxophone, concert and Native American flutes, powwow drums and chanting to perform festive favorites with a Southwestern flavor.

Redhouse’s second CD for sale, “A Distant Star,” offers a similar collection of holiday standards performed with a Native American influence. It earned a 2019 Native American Music Award for “Flutist of the Year.”

“My sister sings the songs in Navajo, and I sing them in English,” Redhouse said. “And when I play the Native American flute, I’m able to draw as much inflection out of it as exists in the human voice. I’ve spent 20 years training myself to make my flute sing like a human voice.”

Redhouse credits much of his musical eclecticism with being raised in the Bay Area by a family of jazz musicians, which he said has allowed him to infuse Native American music with tonal ingredients.

Redhouse is a two-time Grammy nominee and National Jazz Hero recipient. He’s performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and now teaches the Native American flute to young Native Americans in reservation schools, which he believes both “allows their brains to function at a higher level” and helps foster a sense of cultural identity among them.

He credited his wife, who he met 13 years ago, with introducing him to Mason County, which she calls home.

“Living in Puget Sound is different than living directly on the coast, and I love it,” Redhouse said.

Redhouse’s website is vinceredhouse.com and windpeoplemusic.com. Any local artists interested in being displayed on Belfair Self-Storage’s can call Treick at the office at 360-275-2257, or email [email protected].