posts that contain mini-bios of our writers
By ADAM McKINNEY Washington is no slouch when it comes to quality and quantity of jazz bands, but some lack a sense of self-awareness and infectious fun. It’s a fate that can befall anyone who spends a lifetime mastering a craft. That’s not the case with Hook Me Up, a Puget Sound quartet that approaches …
By TOM SIMPSON Many music fans hear echoes of alt-rock and grunge when they listen to the musical landscape of the Pacific Northwest. However, this region has quietly begun to nurture a new generation of musicians in a hugely popular and uniquely American genre of music: country. In fact, in the last few decade, a …
By MOLLY GILMORE Creative Theatre Experience is a summer program for young people, yet its season offers a chance to see mature work by local, theatrical powerhouses. This summer, the program presents Footloose, based on the Kevin Bacon film about a teen who moves to a town where dancing is forbidden; Crush, an alien-invasion rom-com …
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, …
ART REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Jacci Lynn Butler’s Holy Trinity and Other Tales in Abstract at Browsers Book Shop is this artist’s first solo exhibition in Olympia. When I visited, there were half a dozen small works on a couch waiting to be hung. In the staircase ascending to the upstairs gallery …
By ALEC CLAYTON Every year, Capital Lakefair gives the South Sound its own royal court, chosen in the spring from among junior girls at local high schools. Here’s a look at the royal court for Capital Lakefair 2018: Lakefair Queen Juliet Huttar Juliet Huttar says she was shocked when given the title of Capital Lakefair …
by JONAH BARRETT All the park’s a stage, but remember to bring bug spray. Animal Fire Theatre returns for its eighth summer production, The Winter’s Tale. Hipster thespians know it as one of the bard’s more obscure plays, memorable mostly for the greatest stage direction there ever was: “Exit, pursued by a bear.” Detailing a …
by LUCIA VOLKER Swimming Holes of Washington authors Anna Katz and Shane Robinson will be in Olympia next week to talk about their new book. The two of them spent time investigate 68 swimming spots in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia, and share their findings with us in a new guide book, published by Mountaineers Books. …
By MELISSA AVRIL HARRIS Loss of Mt. Rainer is the latest production from the Olympia Film Collective, a non-profit organization of talented local filmmakers aiming to produce features and shorts that reflect the beauty and vibrancy of the Pacific Northwest. The short film borrows from Edgar Allan Poe’s macabre short story entitled Loss of …