music

Celebrate Mother’s Day Weekend at the Center Salon, a Creative Showcase for South Sound Audience

The 2026 Center Salon will take place Mothers Day weekend, Saturday, May 9, in the Washington Center Black Box Theater with cabaret-style seating to provide an immersive ambiance. In commemoration of Mother’s Day weekend, many pieces included in this year’s Center Salon will tie back to the themes of mothers and motherhood. This includes a slideshow that will be projected ahead of the salon, featuring family photos of performers and audience members.

Timberline HS 21st Annual Throwback Concert

This concert features jazz standards from the 1930s, 40s and 50s from Ella Fitzgerald to Frank Sinatra. $10/adults and $5/students. Monday and Tuesday, April 20-21 @7pm at the Timberline Theatre- 6120 Mullen Rd, SE, Lacey.

Choral Arts Northwest Celebrates and Contemplates Belonging Through “This Place, Our Home”

Through the upcoming choral performances of, “This Place, Our Home,” on March 14 and 15, Choral Arts Northwest will use music to examine the concept of home in its many iterations. “This Place, Our Home,” will feature a lineup of historical and modern compositions that center around the themes of housing, belonging and connection, as well as the world premiere of a commissioned piece from Alex Nguyễn, musician and Choral Arts Northwest tenor.

Series at the Washington Center

The Washington Center holds four series, the Silent Film Series, Black Box Jazz, an Adventure series, and Comedy Underground. Stepping into the majority of silent film experiences, audiences can expect house organist Dennis James plays scores alongside a historical silent film. Black Box Jazz showcases jazz performers who compose their own music in a truly intimate setting. The Adventure Series offers an immersive, in-person experience “Whether deep-sea diving or trekking across the Grand Canyon, and the Comedy Underground is more of a club-like feel than attending a theatre. “You can sit with your friends and enjoy your drink while you laugh together.”

Capital City Chorus of Olympia’s Chorale to Perform at Carnegie Hall. Concert and Fundraiser in Olympia January 17

Capital City Chorus of Olympia Chorale has been invited to New York City this May to perform ‘It Is Happiness’ at Carnegie Hall. In support of CCC Chorale members who will be traveling to New York, CCC is hosting the ‘It Is Happiness’ concert fundraiser which will take place Saturday, January 17 at United Churches of Olympia. The concert fundraiser will include a performance of ‘It Is Happiness,’ and will commemorate the seventh anniversary of Oliver’s death. To further celebrate Mary Oliver’s life and body of work, the event will include a live reading of Oliver’s poetry, in collaboration with Browsers Bookshop.

Wild Child’s New Year’s Menu: “Eat the Rich”

Olympia’s family friendly Wild Child Taproom’s openness to a wider swath of the community is evidenced by their involvement with Arts Walk and SafePlace, and by the range of their events programming, whether organized in-house, or, in the case of music, by CapCity Presents, or in New Year’s Eve’s “Eat the Rich” by Capital City Pride, or by the many other individuals and organizations, large and small, who’ve come to see Wild Child as a welcoming venue.

The Carpenter’s House — A New Multidisciplinary Events Space

The Carpenter’s House was envisaged by Justin La Gra, who wanted to manifest a warm, intimate, and inclusive community space for creativity and art made for real people with real materials. Murphy and Ruiz joined the project, with their own specialized skills, resulting in a creative venue, involving a functioning carpentry studio, an art gallery, a live music venue, a community gathering space, and a developing broadcast and media studio. They say that it began as one person’s original idea that grew stronger with a collaborative vision, which was shaped by the community around them.

The Musical Chemistry of Garrett & Gunn

On Saturday, October 24, the acoustic duo of Reggie Garrett & Christine Gunn will perform for the fourth time at New Traditions, this time celebrating the release of The Road Taken, their first collaborative CD.
“We’re always so moved and engaged by both of them,” said New Traditions co-owner Jody Mackey, who expects the event to sell out.
The two share a similar musical sensibility, according to Garrett. “Christine is one of those musicians for whom the thing that’s important is the song,” he said. “There’s not a lot of ego involved. She listens, plays what the song calls for.”

Oly Arts Summer 2025 Print Edition

The Summer print edition of OLY ARTS N0. 33 is published! Here is a list of where in the Olympia area you can pick up your FREE copy, and a link to the PDF file so you can read it online. Enjoy!

LoveOly SummerFest Brings Summer Fun

The purpose of LoveOly, in its third year, is to bring people together and promote downtown. “I love it that we bring the community together right when kids are fresh from the school year,” said Desiree Freeman, executive director of the Downtown Olympia Alliance, which organizes LoveOly. The family-friendly event comes to life June 20 to 22.

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