Like succulent BBQ, some of the region’s finest attributes have been around for so long that we take them for granted. Take guitarist Scott Sawyer, to wit, the state’s tastiest 6-string bender this side of Deep Gap’s Arthel “Doc” Watson. Triangle-based, Sawyer has been honing his craft for eons, playing venues of every description, from pricey supper-clubs to beer-soaked dives and–as Nnenna Freelon’s preferred picker–prestigious venues around the world. Though Sawyer can swing cerebrally, solving prickly harmonic riddles like a mathematician, he’s at his best as a blue-collar improviser, combining earthy jazz and accessible blues that make the listener wanna holler. My fave Sawyer-led combo is “Go There,” a rockin’ power trio fueled by the percolating backbeat of Kenny Soule (ex-Nantucket) and the bass rumble of Bobby Patterson. The band’s four-date mini-tour of North Carolina stops at The Pour House in Raleigh on Saturday, June 19. Take my advice: Go There–or be square! 8 p.m. $6. —Joe Vanderford
