Jul 09 Wednesday
Never Turn Back: Echoes of African American Music unveils the profound legacy of Gospel, Blues, Jazz, and Soul artists who shaped the soundscape of American culture and used their music as instruments of resistance, identity, and representation.
Gospel, Blues, Jazz, and Soul embody the profound influence of African American music on culture and history. From the spiritual foundations and transformative movements of Gospel hymns to the revolutionary improvisations of Jazz, the Blues’ Southern roots rising from the Mississippi Delta, and Soul’s powerful amplification of the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements, these genres have defined the unique sound and undying spirit of a nation that continues to echo through contemporary Black music today.
Opening Reception: July 3, 6pm-9pm1213 Cornwall Ave, Bellingham, WA 98225
Allied Arts of Whatcom County proudly presents "Puzzles in Pigment," an exhibition celebrating the diverse language of abstract art through the work of four distinctive local artists. The show features Brett Sandström's balanced compositions emphasizing mindfulness and simplicity alongside Jake Gombis's large-format conversational paintings that explore both tangible and abstract relationships through pedestrian mediums. Visitors will also experience Lori VanEtta's vibrant acrylic abstracts that breathe life into every space, and Marjie Miller's encaustic pieces created using an ancient Greek technique of fused, melted wax. We regret that artist Mansur Ahmed cannot join us due to border travel limitations.
"Puzzles in Pigment" invites art enthusiasts to immerse themselves in a colorful journey where each artist's unique perspective creates a different piece of an abstract visual puzzle. From Sandström's three decades of artistic exploration to Miller's revival of classical methods, this exhibition showcases the rich diversity of abstract expression while highlighting the creative vibrancy that Allied Arts of Whatcom County cultivates in the region.
Allied Arts is a non-profit gallery, all proceeds from sales go towards supporting the arts in our community.
For more information visit www.alliedarts.org or contact the gallery at 360-676-8548 x102 or gallery@alliedarts.org.
Join us for a fun and relaxed watercolor class where vou'll explore new techniques and experiment with vibrant colors. Perfect for all levels - no prior experience needed!
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
Creative watercolor techniquemixing and blendingLayeringbalance between water and pigment
Visit Pike Place Market every Wednesday this summer for Produce on Pike, our evening farmers market happening July 9 through September 10 from 3–7 p.m. Shop fresh, seasonal produce from local Washington farms, meet the growers, and explore handmade goods. Plus, enjoy live chef demos each week featuring recipes made with the freshest Market ingredients of the week.
The Normandy Park Arts Commission has worked throughout the winter and spring to create an exciting summer music schedule for the annual ‘Music in the Park’ concert series! Every Sunday in July and August at Marvista Park, the City is hosting free concerts starting at 5:00 pm. These concerts are open to the public and feature live music and a theater performance. The summer will culminate with a special jazz music finale in late August featuring This finale will offer an entire afternoon of music with three bands. Bring a picnic blanket or lawn chair and enjoy this fantastic summer lineup in 2025
The series is performed at Kingston Village Green Park. Bring your chairs and listen to wonderful and fun melodies outside in the open air.
July 2: Ranger and the Rearrangers - Hot Club SwingJuly 9: Mark Lewis QuartetJuly 16:Jump Monkeys - energetic jump blues and swingJuly 23: WHOZYAMAMA - Cajun musicJuly 30: Olympic Serenade string Quartet - stirring classical, movie and show themesAugust 6: Mark Dufresne Band - exciting and powerful R&BAugust 13: John Greyhound Maxwell Trio - amazing slide guitar, acoustic bluesAugust 20: Bannister and Maine with their guest artist Roger Ferguson bring folk and Americana tunes with guitar, mandolin and voicesAugust 27: Singer/songwriter Ben Gage shares his tunes and covers of folks and Americana tunes
June 20 - August 1, 2025 Summer Festival 2025 The World’s Largest Chamber Music Party returns!
This five-week celebration of extraordinary music and first-rate artists presents 12 mainstage concerts at Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall, each including a free pre-concert recital; two outdoor concerts in idyllic parks in Seattle and Bellevue; 18 concerts aboard The Concert Truck; the live music and cooking event Tasting Notes; an exciting variety of community and education programs, and for those who can’t attend in person, the return of our live streaming and on-demand, state-of-the-art Virtual Concert Hall.
Among the renowned artists participating this year are violinists James Ehnes, Elena Urioste and Noah Bendix-Balgley; pianists Yulianna Avdeeva and Inon Barnatan; and cellists Bion Tsang and Sterling Elliott. Highlights include masterpieces by Beethoven, Brahms, Fanny Mendelssohn, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, and Tchaikovsky; music by important 20th-century composers, such as Mieczysław Weinberg, Rebecca Clarke and Amy Beach; and a selection of lesser-known works handpicked for the festival, including neglected pieces by Mel Bonis, Charlotte Sohy, and Moritz Moszkowski.
Welcomed by KNKX. Frank Vignola is one of the most extraordinary guitarists performing before the public today. His stunning virtuosity has made him the guitarist of choice for many of the world’s top musicians, including Ringo Starr, Madonna, Donald Fagen, John Lewis, Tommy Emmanuel, Lionel Hampton, the Boston Pops, the New York Pops, and guitar legend Les Paul, who named Vignola to his “Five Most Admired Guitarists List:” for the Wall Street Journal.
His dynamic genre-spanning music has brought him to 21 countries on three continents – and still growing – performing in some of the world’s most illustrious venues, including the Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall, The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, New York’s Lincoln Center, The Blue Note, and the world’s oldest indoor concert hall, Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Italy.
Pasquale Grasso - It was the kind of endorsement most rising guitarists can only dream of, and then some. In his interview for Vintage Guitar magazine’s February 2016 cover story, Pat Metheny was asked to name some younger musicians who’d impressed him. “The best guitar player I’ve heard in maybe my entire life is floating around now, Pasquale Grasso,” said the jazz-guitar icon and NEA Jazz Master. “This guy is doing something so amazingly musical and so difficult. “Mostly what I hear now are guitar players who sound a little bit like me mixed with a little bit of [John Scofield] and a little bit of [Bill Frisell],” he continued. “What’s interesting about Pasquale is that he doesn’t sound anything like that at all. In a way, it is a little bit of a throwback, because his model—which is an incredible model to have—is Bud Powell. He has somehow captured the essence of that language from piano onto guitar in a way that almost nobody has ever addressed. He’s the most significant new guy I’ve heard in many, many years.”
Supported by KNKX. Acoustic guitarist Leo Kottke was born in Athens, Georgia, but left town after a year and a half. Raised in 12 different states, he absorbed a variety of musical influences as a child, flirting with both violin and trombone, before abandoning Stravinsky for the guitar at age 11. Kottke has been awarded two Grammy nominations; a Doctorate in Music Performance by the Peck School of Music at the U of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; and a Certificate of Significant Achievement in Not Playing the Trombone from the U of Texas at Brownsville with Texas Southmost College.
