By TOM SIMPSON Since the age of five, Vikki Gasko Green has been entertaining live audiences with singing, dancing, and acting. An award winning ventriloquist and songwriter, Green provides a unique blend of magic, ventriloquism, educational songs, dramatic reading and more. Her puppet companions range from dogs to giant frogs and all the way to …
By TOM SIMPSON Jazz artist Darren Motamedy has played with Ray Charles, Kenny G, Steve Oliver, Paul Taylor, Grover Washington Jr. and many other notable musicians. This month, Lacey in Tune will feature Motamedy on its noontime stage for a set of smooth-jazz standards and improvisational saxophone. Live a Special Day, Motamedy’s 10th studio album, …
BBQ, Bands, and Family Fun at Rainier Vista Park by TOM SIMPSON On Tuesday, July 3, the City of Lacey hosts a pre-Fourth-of-July family event at Rainier Vista Park. The entertainment lasts from 4 p.m. until after the fireworks at 11 p.m. The afternoon and evening includes an oversized inflatable bounce house and slide for children, a …
By TOM SIMPSON Late in June, Lacey in Tune hosts the 133rd Army Band’s rock group, Full Metal Racket, which performs Top 40 hits, classic rock, country, grunge, pop, hard rock and patriotic songs recompiled as rock medleys. Members of the 133rd Army Band range in age from the late teens to mid-50s. Among them …
By TOM SIMPSON Musical Family Adventure The Harmonica Pocket is a family-friendly band from Port Townsend, Washington, that comes to Lacey in Tune as part of the Timberland Regional Library’s summer-reading program. Songwriter Keeth Monta Apgar leads the group with thick, jazz chord progressions and thoughtful, storytelling lyrics merged into songs that entrance audiences young …
By TOM SIMPSON Hometown brothers Luke and Isaac Olson will kick off the summer for Lacey in Tune with an early evening set that reverberates with country-pop songwriting prowess. Originally from Olympia, the duo won the Battle of the Bands at Capital Lake Fair in 2013 and also won a national songwriting contest for their …
by Nora Kovacs for OLY ARTS Sit back and relax with the soulful sound of a modern jazz legend as part of the Lacey in Tune summer-concert series. Award-winning horn player Dmitri Matheny will conclude the series with his smooth charm and masterful form on the flugelhorn. Born in Nashville, Tennessee and raised between Georgia …
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS With cultures mixing and matching with increasing amorousness, it’s only natural for music to spread like dandelion flowers from one side of the world to another. It’s because of this cross-pollination that we arrive at groups like the John Welsh Band. A multicultural outfit, the John Welsh Band incorporates …
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS Ideally, duos should possess the kind of magnetism and presence that let you forget the lack of a big backing band. Simon and Garfunkel clearly had that quality. After a listen to Sundae + Mr. Goessl, one can hear their love for each other melding with their musical prowess …
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS Sometimes it’s easy to hear the connection two artists share with each other, meaning they’re so on the same page that the authorial voice seems to be coming from one mind. Blaze and Kelly have been writing and performing together since 2004, and that history comes across in the …