Brian Johnstone plays jazz, flamenco, blues and Scottish traditional music at the Cannon Beach History Center Saturday, May 27. Submitted photo.

CANNON BEACH – Guitarist Brian Johnstone plays at the Cannon Beach History Center from 8 to 10 p.m. Saturday, May 27, as part of the Acoustic Folk! Historic Music Series. Tickets can be purchased at the door for a suggested donation of $5 for adults and $2 for children. Gourmet coffee will be available from Sleepy Monk Coffee Roasters.

Johnstone was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and after an upbringing rich in music, took up guitar at age 19. His early performance experience was in traditional music, playing with and accompanying Border Singers and fiddlers at local dances and concerts. In the mid- to late-1960s, Johnstone played banjo and guitar in several British bands, developing guitar primarily as accompaniment for horn players. He considers musicians Fats Waller, Eddie Condon and George Lewis among his main influences in the arena of jazz.

In additional to being a traditional and jazz musician, Johnstone is an accomplished performer of flamenco-style guitar. In the ’60s, he studied classical guitar techniques, then went to Spain to encounter flamenco at its roots, with the gypsy cantaores (singers) and players of Sevilla and other provinces. With no ambitions to be a “star,” Johnstone has always leaned toward arranging and accompaniment. He enjoys helping to enhance the performances of others, though he has occasionally been thrust into the role of a soloist.

Johnstone has lived and played all over the world. His concert at the Cannon Beach History Center will be a reflection of the development of his preferred musical styles: jazz, flamenco, blues and Scottish traditional. At the concert, he will perform his “Border Trilogy” for the first time in public.

The Cannon Beach History Center is located at the corner of Spruce and Sunset streets in Cannon Beach. For information, call (503) 436-9301.