posts about live music, performance of music, concerts, etc.
By Karen Lunde When the calendar flips to December, it’s nigh impossible to walk into a store or turn on the TV without hearing endless refrains of Jingle Bell Rock and Frosty the Snowman. Love them or loathe them, holiday songs are ubiquitous this time of year. But The Olympia Peace Choir’s concert at Huntamer …
By Karen Lunde The Washington Center and Minnaert Center stages will ring with the sounds of orchestras and choirs this weekend as Olympia’s student musicians take the stage. One will deliver a beloved holiday tradition, and the other a program centered around the universal theme of hope. On Friday, December 6, the Student Orchestras of …
by Ned Hayes Carols often become the background mutter of the holidays – old tunes covered by bored pop stars. Yet the joy of hearing a professional group of singers deliver Christmas standards in the original intended choir format is a surprisingly fresh and enlivening experience. In the skyscape of sound, the sopranos hit the …
By Jonah Barrett “On December fifth, you’re going to be razzle dazzled,” exclaimed activist and drag performer Tammie Brown. It’s true: Brown and a number of drag performers will grace the Octapas Café stage. Soon making her Olympia debut, Brown gained prominent notoriety in 2009 when she appeared on the first season of RuPaul’s Drag …
By Molly Gilmore This season, The Washington Center for the Performing Arts has the blues — and the world music, and the dance, and the touring musicals, and the comedy, and so on. “We’re continuing to provide something for everyone,” said Jill Barnes, the center’s executive director. “I say that every year, and I feel …
By MOLLY WALSH Emerald City Music, established in 2016, features over two dozen rising and established talents each season. In its upcoming fourth season, performances will explore the nature of the chamber music genre, centering around one question: What is classical music? Utilizing visual elements and collaborations with outside organizations, this season features a diverse …
By CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL There’s probably some parallel universe in which one might feel comfortable reviewing a Tacoma Dome performance by the man born Reginald Dwight in London, England. He’s 72 now, so it’s perfectly understandable the guy’s singing his swan song after half a century of touring and worldwide notoriety. There is, however, not a …
By Molly Walsh Hailing from Olympia, Ethan Tucker’s acoustic-guitar-driven songs range from midtempo party anthem “Crazy Tonight” to the melancholy strums of ballad “Josephine.” Expanding beyond his Pacific Northwest origins, Tucker has toured the country with such acts as Jimmy Cliff, Buddy Guy and The Wailers. With a slightly raspy, soulful voice and sweet, acoustic …
By Molly Walsh Inspired by Los Lobos, Santana and WAR, Flor De Luna is classic Latin rock with hints of blues, jazz and Afro Cuban influences over a wide range of classic-rock hits. Band members range from their 20s to their 60s. Thus, the band’s classic playlist dons a modern edge. A Flor De Luna …
By Jonah Barrett When one hears about electronic music, pianos don’t necessarily come to mind. This August, one-man musical project Beetle Box will perform in Olympia for two consecutive days. He’s brought his piano. Beetle Box is the brainchild of John Pennington of Little Rock, Arkansas. A series of piano lessons having ick-started his love …