Jul 12 Saturday
From a very young age Jose Gonzales had a creative curiosity. It all started with the piano and led to a life exploring music and theatre. His jazz trio includes Matt Jorgensen on drums and Michael Marcus on upright bass. Their juicy, funky sound have become a Northwest favorite, especially their thrilling annual performance of Vince Guaraldi’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas". Dynamic, bluesy, and passionate, Jose “Juicy” Gonzales sings and plays your favorites and more. www.jose.band
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.”
Set in the East Village of New York City, during the previous pandemic, Rent is about falling in love, finding your voice and living for today. Based loosely on Puccini’s La Boheme, Jonathan Larson’s play follows a year in the life of a group of young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York’s Lower East Side, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Rent has become a pop cultural phenomenon, with songs that rock and a story that shaped a generation of audiences and taught us all to measure our life in love.
A distant heir to a family fortune sets out to speed up the line of succession by using a great deal of charm…and a dash of murder. When the low-born Monty Navarro finds out that he’s eighth in line for an earldom in the lofty D’Ysquith family, he figures his chances of outliving his predecessors are slight and sets off down a far more ghoulish path. Can he knock off his unsuspecting relatives without being caught and become the ninth Earl of Highhurst? And what of love? Because murder isn’t the only thing on Monty’s mind.
Jul 13 Sunday
The demands of the music of Steely Dan are high, both in technical proficiency and in preserving the sarcastic, knowing attitude originally conceived. Nearly Dan does well on both fronts, fusing together the chops of 12 diversely-talented artists (with backgrounds in jazz, rock, R&B, country, and swing) into a veritable butcher’s shop window of precisely cut bass lines; surgical, highly reminiscent guitar solos; a biting yet sophisticated horn section and richly marbled beats. Nearly Dan's recipes avoid over-earnest adulation, coolly presenting Steely Dan’s Burroughsian black humor and notoriously perfectionist musicianship. Mixed with their own arrangements of those masterpiece compositions, the result is pure ambrosia. Nearly Dan puts their earnestness where it matters most; into the relaxed but highly practiced execution of great songs like the bouncing “Reelin’ In the Years,” the sorrowful, karmic circularity of “Do It Again,” or the funny but mortified “Peg.” Endorsed by the company they keep, this group’s musicians have performed with greats such as Stevie Wonder, Sammy Davis Jr., Ray Charles, Lou Rawls, the Four Tops, the Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Huey Lewis, Tower Of Power, Tito Puente, Natalie Cole and Gladys Knight.
Live Music Returns to the Waterfront This Summer!
Get ready for an unforgettable summer on the water—Oodalalee: Concerts at Pier 62 is here. Brought to you by your friends at The Crocodile, this brand-new summer series transforms the recently renovated Pier 62 into a beautiful open-air concert venue, right on the edge of Elliott Bay.
Kicking off June 1 with a performance from Hermanos Gutiérrez, the series brings a stacked lineup all summer long, including Silversun Pickups, Watchhouse, Deltron 3030, Cosmo Sheldrake, Blind Pilot & John Craigie, Fruit Bats, and Otoboke Beaver with even more to be announced.
Time to Party with Thomas the Tank Engine! Day Out With Thomas: The Party Tour is rolling into the Northwest Railway Museum this July with loads of celebration-themed games and activities! Enjoy a real train ride with Thomas, live entertainment, photo ops, the exclusive gift shop, and lawn games. Then, head over to the Celebration Station for party-themed games and activities! Spend the day creating memories and celebrating 80 years of Thomas & Friends!
There’s so much to do at Day Out With Thomas: The Party Tour, including:
Hop aboard a train ride with ThomasParty at the Celebration StationPlay with Thomas & Friends™ toys in the Play Pod and apply your temporary tattooPhoto opportunities throughout the event, including with Thomas himselfAn activity sheet that will guide guests through the event experience highlighting the four key station stops to visit for a free giveawayLive entertainment including Eric OdeOutdoor activities including a bouncy racetrackA meet and greet with Sir Topham Hatt, Controller of the Railway,Railway museum admission with access to the Train Shed exhibits,Pop-up gift shop on site with exclusive Thomas & Friends™ products available only at Day Out With ThomasSnacks and drinks available on-site for purchaseVisit the historic downtown district of Snoqualmie for shopping and dining opportunitiesCreate lifetime family memories
Day Out With Thomas is heading to the Northwest Railway Museum on July 11 – 13, 18 – 20 & 25 – 27, 2025
Echoes of the Floating World features a striking collection of 18th, 19th and early 20th-century Japanese woodblock prints from the Tacoma Art Museum and others, displayed alongside works by contemporary Northwest artists. This exhibition honors the rich legacy of ukiyo-e while exploring its cultural impact on today’s artistic expressions.
Hours-
Monday CLOSEDTuesday CLOSEDWednesday 10 am – 5 pmThursday 10 am – 8 pmFriday 10 am – 5 pmSaturday 10 am – 5 pmSunday 10 am – 5 pm
We are protesting project 2025. TacomaRama marching band will join us for the next 4 years. We will meet each month on the Saturday closest to the 18th each month. Always 10am, always Reconciliation park. Feel loved and supported.
Showcasing NE Seattle and PNW artists. Fun, family-friendly neighborhood fine art festival with local bands, beer garden, food trucks, kids activities, and more. See you July 12 & 13, 2025
More information at http://www.wedgwoodfestival.com/