Cannery Row

Cannery Row is a folk group located in the Anacortes/Guemes Island area. The group members include Tim Wittman, his sister Pam (Wittman) Hobson and her husband Greg Hobson. Tim lives on Guemes Island, and the Hobsons live on South Fidalgo Island. Pam and Tim have a music history that goes back to the mid-1960’s , playing folk music in a group called “The New Concepts.” Greg played keyboards with them in groups that featured rock & roll music. The New Concepts was a 5 member group playing traditional folk music as well as newer music written by Randy Sparks of the New Christie Minstrels, the Smother’s Brothers, Burl Ives, and others. They performed locally for a wide variety of venues including the dedication of the Anacortes Museum, the Anacortes Arts Festivals, various dedications, such as the Anacortes Airport, and occasional dinner hour concerts at local restaurants. The group disbanded in the early 1970’s as they went their separate ways to attend various pursuits. More recently, Tim organized a similar folk group called ‘Windsong’ which initially formed to sing at a dedication for a new sculpture by local artist Leo Osborn. They performed at the Museum of Northwest Art along with 2 poets, Thelma Palmer, and Densley Palmer. Windsong performed several concerts on Guemes Island Community Hall and the North Wind Art Gallery, as well as a Peace Rally at Causland Park in Anacortes, and weekly performances during the summer at Deception Pass State Park Amphitheatre. They started including more and more of Tim’s original songs to their program that were received very well by the listening audience. In January 2010 the group recorded Tim’s “Cannery Row” and decided to form a separate group called Cannery Row specifically geared toward writing and recording original music. They have a small recording setup in a barn located on South Fidalgo Island. There, amidst the chickens, donkeys, and other critters, they lay down tracks of Tim's original compositions.

Guemes Island, WA