Community Calendar

When the iconic Ms. Lisa Fischer sings, she brings a joyous sense of discovery to every song. The Grammy and Oscar winning powerhouse vocalist is at the peak of her powers, blazing her own path, reveling in the chance to dive into every vocal possibility. While she carries traces of the legendary stars with whom she’s collaborated over four decades, Ms. Lisa Fischer is a constellation in her own right, singing songs with “amazing power, energy, and projection” enthuses Keith Richards, after 26 years of musicmaking with Ms. Lisa Fischer in the Rolling Stones.

At first glance Fischer might seem like a paradox. She spent much of her career exulting in the role of the ultimate team player as an elite backup singer for artists such as Luther Vandross, the Rolling Stones, Sting, Tina Turner or Nine Inch Nails. Even after the Brooklyn native scored a chart-topping R&B hit, “How Can I Ease the Pain,” and a 1992 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, she decided to focus on her already thriving career supporting the world’s biggest acts. But when her story was featured in the Oscar-winning 2013 documentary 20 Feet From Stardom, Fischer experienced a course-changing epiphany. “I was always looking at the next tour, the next gig,” she said. “The film gave me a chance to take stock and realize I could start defining my own path.”

Seizing the moment to rediscover herself, Fischer embarked on her ongoing musical journey with string wizard and arranger JC Maillard’s Grand Baton, a group capable of following (and leading) her in just about any musical direction. Together they’ve gathered a far-ranging repertoire of songs, including many tunes she’d made her own during his backup years. “Grand Baton gave me my wings,” Fischer says. “They give me permission to do whatever I want.”

Ms. Lisa Fischer and her band, Grand Baton, first set out on tour in 2014 in-between Lisa’s tours with The Rolling Stones, with no product to sell, no recordings or video to help book or promote shows, no t-shirts. Despite all that, based on Lisa's reputation alone, they were invited to play in clubs, at the Newport and Monterey Jazz Festivals, and at concert halls all over the globe, winning accolades from critics, devotion from fans, and—always—invitations to return, soon. Their music is an organic gumbo of progressive rock, psychedelic soul, and African, Middle Eastern, Caribbean rhythms and classical influences. In performance, they re-invent songs by Led Zeppelin, Amy Grant, Little Willie John, Luther Vandross, and The Rolling Stones or Lisa’s Grammy winning solo hit “How Can I Ease The Pain”. Lisa has emerged as the most inventive and heartfelt interpreter of classic rock standards and R&B working today. This musical partnership elevates both Fischer's artistry and Grand Baton's distinctive style, resulting in a harmonious blend that resonates with audiences seeking a fresh and genre-defying musical experience.

Sponsored by KNKX. T-D Victoria International JazzFest, with 8 stages, 50 performers and over 200 musicians, including Pink Martini, Kororoko, Miles Electric Band: M.E.B. – Celebrating 100 Years of Miles Davis, Béla Fleck, Edmar Castañeda & Antonio Sánchez: BEATrio, Brandon Woody’s Upendo and Sharan Blues Group etran de l’aÏr.

Full lineup at- https://jazzvictoria.ca/jazzfest-home/jazzfest-line-up/

In celebration of its 30th anniversary, the Washington State Historical Society invites you to explore the history of building the State History Museum. 30 Years and Counting: The Making of the Washington State History Museum is a special exhibition that uncovers the vision, effort, and community spirit that brought this iconic Tacoma landmark to life.

Discover the bold ideas and architectural ingenuity that shaped the museum’s distinctive look. From early sketches to final blueprints, see how the building’s design reflects both innovation and reverence for Washington’s past. Go behind the scenes of the museum’s construction. Through photographs and artifacts from the building process, witness how a dream took shape—brick by brick, beam by beam.

Staff Picks: 30 Objects for 30 Years

In a special feature area, museum staff share their favorite objects from the collection—each one a personal reflection on the power of history to inspire, surprise, and connect us.

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.

This is a permanent exhibition. Since time immemorial, Tribal nations have existed in this place we call Washington. This Is Native Land invites visitors to understand Washington State through the lived experiences and voices of its Native people.

Tribal nations are sovereign nations. Today, Native history, culture, and community thrive in our state. Through everyday acts of sovereignty – big and small – Indigenous peoples demonstrate they are still here, they have persevered, and they will always be here.

This Is Native Land is guided by three teachings:
We are of the land and waters
With knowledge comes responsibility
Sovereignty protects people, lands, and waters

These teachings are shared through multimedia, artwork, and interactive objects designed for guest engagement. They represent a contemporary continuation of Tribal stories and traditions.

Over 100 Native contributors from more than 60 Tribes shaped the exhibition’s stories and content. We thank the Native Advisory Committee and all community participants for their contributions.

LeMay – America’s Car Museum proudly presents The Birth of the American Supercar, a groundbreaking exhibition guest curated by renowned automotive innovator Steve Saleen. This one-of-a-kind display invites guests on an exhilarating journey through the evolution of American supercars. From early speed pioneers to cutting-edge modern marvels, visitors will experience a stunning lineup of vehicles that have redefined engineering, speed, and style, built by a wide range of American automotive manufacturers like Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Saleen himself, and even some more obscure ones like Vector, Cunningham, and Hennessey. From roaring V8s to sleek carbon-fiber bodies, discover how American automakers pushed boundaries, challenged European rivals, and redefined what a supercar could be. This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to see some of the most thrilling and historically significant American-made performance vehicles ever built—all under one roof.

Historically Hip Open Mic!

First Wednesdays at the Historic Issaquah Train Depot, sign in at 6 pm, live at 6:30 pm

Bob Brock and Lee Haro started managing the gig in 2012 (started in 2008). It returns on the first Wednesday of every month, from 6:30-9 pm.

In the know …

Please be fully prepared by having their guitar tuned up ahead of time.
Limit your talk time to the minimum and know your song lengths so you won’t run long
Your two songs and 10 minutes is your total time on stage…

“I think open mic helps promote music in the community as part of the effort to promote all forms of art, Bob said. “It offers a chance for folks to gather and play music as well as develop new musical friendships. We try to foster our open mics as an opportunity for beginners, intermediates, as well as advanced performers to play. Young and old and all in between are welcome. “

Bob said the Historic Issaquah Train Depot is the perfect venue. “It has great ambience and allows us to focus exclusively on promoting music and musical friendships.”

Dates: First Wednesday of the month – *January 7, February 4, March 4, April 1, April 29, June 3, July 1, August 5, September 2, October 7, November 4, December 2.

Special Opportunity to perform at the Open Mic Stage during Make Music Day Annually on June 21st – a celebration of the solstice! Plus, Issaquah Goes Apples Saturday, October 17th, 9 am – 2 pm.

Al Fresco Open Mic at the Historic Shell Station 232 Front St. North, Issaquah (weather dependent) – April, May, June [Make Music Day], July, August, September.

Issaquah Open Mic Night

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.”

When the iconic Ms. Lisa Fischer sings, she brings a joyous sense of discovery to every song. The Grammy and Oscar winning powerhouse vocalist is at the peak of her powers, blazing her own path, reveling in the chance to dive into every vocal possibility. While she carries traces of the legendary stars with whom she’s collaborated over four decades, Ms. Lisa Fischer is a constellation in her own right, singing songs with “amazing power, energy, and projection” enthuses Keith Richards, after 26 years of musicmaking with Ms. Lisa Fischer in the Rolling Stones.

At first glance Fischer might seem like a paradox. She spent much of her career exulting in the role of the ultimate team player as an elite backup singer for artists such as Luther Vandross, the Rolling Stones, Sting, Tina Turner or Nine Inch Nails. Even after the Brooklyn native scored a chart-topping R&B hit, “How Can I Ease the Pain,” and a 1992 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, she decided to focus on her already thriving career supporting the world’s biggest acts. But when her story was featured in the Oscar-winning 2013 documentary 20 Feet From Stardom, Fischer experienced a course-changing epiphany. “I was always looking at the next tour, the next gig,” she said. “The film gave me a chance to take stock and realize I could start defining my own path.”

Seizing the moment to rediscover herself, Fischer embarked on her ongoing musical journey with string wizard and arranger JC Maillard’s Grand Baton, a group capable of following (and leading) her in just about any musical direction. Together they’ve gathered a far-ranging repertoire of songs, including many tunes she’d made her own during his backup years. “Grand Baton gave me my wings,” Fischer says. “They give me permission to do whatever I want.”

Ms. Lisa Fischer and her band, Grand Baton, first set out on tour in 2014 in-between Lisa’s tours with The Rolling Stones, with no product to sell, no recordings or video to help book or promote shows, no t-shirts. Despite all that, based on Lisa's reputation alone, they were invited to play in clubs, at the Newport and Monterey Jazz Festivals, and at concert halls all over the globe, winning accolades from critics, devotion from fans, and—always—invitations to return, soon. Their music is an organic gumbo of progressive rock, psychedelic soul, and African, Middle Eastern, Caribbean rhythms and classical influences. In performance, they re-invent songs by Led Zeppelin, Amy Grant, Little Willie John, Luther Vandross, and The Rolling Stones or Lisa’s Grammy winning solo hit “How Can I Ease The Pain”. Lisa has emerged as the most inventive and heartfelt interpreter of classic rock standards and R&B working today. This musical partnership elevates both Fischer's artistry and Grand Baton's distinctive style, resulting in a harmonious blend that resonates with audiences seeking a fresh and genre-defying musical experience.

Sponsored by KNKX. T-D Victoria International JazzFest, with 8 stages, 50 performers and over 200 musicians, including Pink Martini, Kororoko, Miles Electric Band: M.E.B. – Celebrating 100 Years of Miles Davis, Béla Fleck, Edmar Castañeda & Antonio Sánchez: BEATrio, Brandon Woody’s Upendo and Sharan Blues Group etran de l’aÏr.

Full lineup at- https://jazzvictoria.ca/jazzfest-home/jazzfest-line-up/