Tony Furtado

An evocative, soulful singer, wide-ranging songwriter & virtuoso multi-instrumentalist adept on banjo, cello-banjo, slide guitar & ukulele.
About this Event

Very few musicians of any stripe so personify a musical genre as completely as Tony Furtado embodies Americana roots music.

Tony is an evocative and soulful singer, a wide-ranging songwriter and a virtuoso multi-instrumentalist adept on banjo, cello-banjo, slide guitar and baritone ukulele who mixes and matches sounds and styles with the flair of a master chef (he’s also an accomplished sculptor, but that’s another story). All of the music of America is in Tony’s music. Relix hit the nail on the head when writing of Tony: “True talent doesn’t need categories.

”A native of Pleasanton, California, who now makes his home in Portland, Oregon, Tony Furtado took up the banjo at age 12, inspired by the Beverly Hillbillies television show and a sixth-grade music report. He first attracted national attention in 1987, when he won the National Bluegrass Banjo Championship in Winfield, Kansas. Not long after that, Tony opted for the life of a full-time professional musician, joining Laurie Lewis & Grant Street. A second victory at Winfield, in 1991, bookended his years with Grant Street.

In 1990, Tony signed a recording deal with Rounder Records, one of the country’s preeminent independent record companies. Beginning with Swamped in 1990, he recorded six critically acclaimed albums for the label, collaborating with such master musicians as Alison Krauss, Jerry Douglas, Tim O’Brien, Stuart Duncan, Kelly Joe Phelps and Mike Marshall. During this period, Tony also performed and recorded with the band SugarBeat and the Rounder Banjo Extravaganza with Tony Trischka and Tom Adams.

Beginning in the late 1990s – influenced by such musical heroes as Ry Cooder, David Lindley and Taj Mahal – Tony added slide guitar, singing and songwriting to his musical toolbox and began leading his own band. He is a tireless road musician who performs in a dizzying variety of formats: solo, in a duo or trio or with his full five-person band. He especially values the opportunities he has had to tour with such legendary musicians as Gregg Allman and with such esteemed slide guitarists as David Lindley, Derek Trucks and Sonny Landreth.

Tony has performed throughout the world at top venues and appeared at such prestigious music festivals as the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, Jazz Aspen, Kerrville Folk Festival, Strawberry Music Festival, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Sisters Folk Festival, San Jose Jazz Festival and countless others.

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Join us for dinner and drinks! The Sapphire Room features a full dinner and bar menu. The Sapphire Room is all-ages and family friendly. Every person that enters must have a ticket. No babes in arms.

We make every effort to honor the table and seats selected at the time of purchase. However, due to the intimate nature of The Sapphire Room and our table-style seating, The Sapphire Room reserves the right, in rare circumstances, to move a reservation to an equivalent or upgraded table within the same seating section purchased.

To provide the best experience for our guests, we avoid seating unrelated parties together at the same table. If you select a table with more seats than the size of your party, there is a possibility that your reservation may be moved to a table that more appropriately accommodates your party size. Any such move will remain within the General or Preferred section originally selected and will be to a table of equal or greater price value. Preferred seating will not be downgraded to General seating.

Please note that general seats may have a partially obstructed view. Table locations may vary slightly from positions shown on the seating map.

With the purchase of a ticket, Sapphire guests are eligible for The Riverside Hotel's "Sapphire Getaway" for $179 + tax. This rate is available for the night of the Sapphire Room show and includes a standard hotel room (double occupancy) and breakfast for two the following morning. To reserve, please call the Riverside Hotel front desk at 208-343-1871. The Sapphire Getaway rate is subject to availability and blackout dates. It will not be available for every show.