David Hutzler is a singer. His mom, Teri Martin, proudly says he has perfect pitch.
Hutzler belongs to the music group United by Music North America, a performance and mentorship program for musically talented people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
It was hard to catch anything Thursday from Hutzler and Martin as they shouted above the thrumming bass, sliding guitars and soulful voices that filtered through downtown Portland as the Waterfront Blues Festival opened its four-day run.
Their United by Music booth is right next to the festival’s biggest stage.
But Hutzler will get a chance to be heard: United by Music will perform on the main stage at noon Sunday on the final day. The blues and R&B showcase is in its 32nd year.
Hutzler, who is on the autism spectrum, first auditioned in 2012 for the newly formed North American group after seeing the Netherland’s branch perform at the Portland festival that year.
He loves music and has been singing “ever since I was little,” he said. His mother clarified: Ever since he was 5.
His favorite song? “That’s How it Goes” by Marcia Ball.
Martin said the group focuses on the blues genre and has been embraced by the blues community.
Fireworks part of the Waterfront Blues Festival Thursday night.
United by Music empowers its members, she said.
The group hosts auditions periodically and pairs those chosen with professional musician mentors, who work with the singers and musicians to prepare for performances around the Pacific Northwest and sometimes elsewhere in the U.S. The group has members around the country but its North American chapters are based in Gig Harbor, Washington, which mostly works with instrumentalists, and Portland, which focuses more on vocalists.
“For everyone involved as an artist,” Martin said, “it opens up new possibilities in their lives.”
Gates open at 11 a.m., festival starts at noon Thursday-Sunday, July 4-7. All ages. Tickets: four-day pass $50, single-day pass $20 advance, $25 at gate, kids 12 and under free with paid adult. Tom McCall Waterfront Park. waterfrontbluesfest.com
–Casey Chaffin; cchaffin@oregonian.com; @todaycaseysays