Community Calendar

KNKX's 10th Anniversary event celebration culminates on Saturday, December 12 when we present a lively evening of words and music in the Great Hall at Town Hall Seattle. We'll kick things off with our special guest, award-winning journalist and a host of NPR All Things Considered, Ailsa Chang in conversation with KNKX Morning Edition host Kirsten Kendrick. You'll hear about Ailsa's trajectory from litigator at a San Francisco law firm, to an internship in her 30's at member station KQED, to her full-fledged journalism career. Ailsa will also peel back the curtain on a day in the life of All Things Considered, including how the show is structured, maintaining authenticity and what it means to find your voice on the air, some of Ailsa's favorite interviews, and the role KNKX plays in bringing nuanced coverage to the Pacific Northwest. There will also be a short audience Q&A.

Next - our good friend, Northwest music luminary, jazz trumpeter, composer, and producer Thomas Marriott will bring his Special Quintet to the stage, featuring pianist and new Artistic Director for Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, Orrin Evans. The group also includes bassist Trevor Ford, tenor saxophonist Troy Roberts, and drummer George Fludas. Thomas is a force for jazz on the West coast with 15 albums that have reached number one on the jazz radio airplay charts. He's won multiple awards, including being named a "Jazz Hero" by the Jazz Journalists Association in 2024, and one of Seattle's "Most Influential People" by Seattle Magazine in 2026.

VIP tickets ($100) include a catered pre-event reception, a meet and greet with Ailsa Chang, Thomas Marriott, Orrin Evans, and Kirsten Kendrick, and preferred seating for the main event. GA tickets are $39 and youth (18 and younger) are $15.

Proceeds benefit KNKX.

Sponsored by KNKX. Tacoma’s annual holiday tree lighting ceremony, marking the official start of the holiday season, is set for Saturday, November 28 beginning at 5 pm at the Pantages Theater at South 9th Street and Broadway Plaza. There will be free refreshments, free photos with Santa, live entertainment courtesy of the JBLM Brass Quartet, and plenty of holiday cheer to go around. KNKX's Paige Hansen hosts the official Tree Lighting. Presented by Tacoma City Theaters and the City of Tacoma. KNKX invites you to an open house at our Tacoma studios (930 Broadway) from 4:30-5:50 p.m. Enjoy music from saxophonist Kareem Kandi and refreshments, and take a self-guided tour. Hope to see you there!

If you arrive early, you can enjoy a delightful performance of Sounds of the Season by the Tacoma Concert Band. The performance starts at 3:00 p.m.

Inside KNKX's Tacoma Studios at 930 Broadway:
Visit our open house from 4:30-5:50 p.m. - enjoy music from Kareem Kandi and refreshments, plus, you can take a self-guided tour.

Welcomed by KNKX. Frank Vignola and Pasquale Grasso are two of the most celebrated jazz guitarists performing today. Grasso, an Italian-born virtuoso known for his pianistic approach and bebop mastery, is a regular performer at Frank Vignola's Guitar Night.

The two guitarists have developed a close musical synergy, blending Vignola's encyclopedic knowledge of the American Songbook and swing with Grasso's modern, fluid lines inspired by bebop piano legends like Bud Powell.

Dave Brubeck became a household name in the 50s and60s, due to the commercial success of his quartet. Cecil Taylor remained committed to challenging audiences with his dense, atonal improvisations. Both were greatly influenced by the European Avant Garde, and communicated that influence in different ways.

Piano Starts Here highlights the work of some of the most prolific and talented composers and pianists to have ever tackled the instrument. Each of the performances brings together Seattle's finest pianists to perform the works of the artist selected for that evening on the Royal Room's Steinway B grand piano.

Seasonal ice skating returns to Bellevue Downtown Park at the Bellevue Downtown Ice Rink presented by Symetra!

Enjoy festive themed skate days, holiday fun, and memorable moments on the ice for all ages.
The Bellevue Downtown Ice Rink is the region’s largest seasonal ice skating experience, with more than 9,000 square feet of real ice. Fun for the entire family!

Located at Bellevue Downtown Park, one block south of Bellevue Square at NE 1st Street and 100th Avenue NE, by Inspiration Playground.

Arts at the Armory returns for its 6th year, presented in partnership with Tacoma Arts Live.

This juried indoor art market brings together local and regional artists in a two-day marketplace at the historic Tacoma Armory. Attendees can expect to browse and purchase original artwork across a range of media, meet the artists behind the work, and experience the Armory’s unique architecture as a backdrop for the show. The event is part of Tacoma Arts Month, marking its 25th anniversary in 2026.

Presented by NWAA, KNKX and The Stranger. Critics often compare David Sedaris with Mark Twain because he’s the only living writer who captures the profane ridiculousness of modern life with the same stunning wit and surprising sentences that Twain pioneered. But if you only know Sedaris from his books, you’re missing out on the liveliest literary roadshow of our time.

On Sunday, November 15, Sedaris returns to his favorite American venue, Benaroya Hall’s Taper Auditorium, to celebrate his latest book of essays The Land and Its People. At his readings, Sedaris is a hilarious, freewheeling master of ceremonies. He shares new work, offers spirited book recommendations, autographs and personalizes every book in the building, and conducts a rambunctious live Q&A session with the audience. Don’t miss your chance to meet the world’s funniest, most entertaining writer at the height of his powers.

For our third annual festival, South Hudson Music Project continues its mission to present music that reflects the innovations in jazz and contemporary music with deep roots in the music of Chicago, NYC, St Louis, and Los Angeles in the late 20th century. Our first two years focused on the musical innovations of Butch Morris, Sun Ra, Henry Threadgill, and Julius Hemphill. This year expands to a deep dive into the music specifically associated with NYC in the 80s and the Downtown Scene.

November 18 - What’s Going On: Night One: Conduction Workshop and Art of the Trio
Set One: Conduction workshop with Wayne Horvitz and Stephanie Richards. Along with some of Seattle’s finest improvisers, the public is welcome to observe or participate (bring your instruments. Set Two: Art of the Trio. Exploring the music of Butch Morris, John Zorn, Henry Threadgill, and Wayne Horvitz, featuring Ayesha Brooks, Leanna Keith, and Ha-Yang Kim. By donation and open to the public.

November 20 - What’s Going On: Open Music/NY in the 80s
Set 1: Open Music. Conduction orchestra under the direction of Steph Richards, Mazz Swift, and Wayne Horvitz. Set 2: New York in the 80s.Sara Schoenbeck plays The Lounge Lizards; Fred Frith, Wayne Horvitz, and friends play John Zorn’s Torture Garden; Darren Loucas plays Bill Frisell; Neil Welch plays Frank Lowe; Simon Henneman plays Sonny Sharrock; Fred Frith plays Skeleton Crew; James Falzone plays Marty Erhlich (Dark Woods Ensemble). $25 advance : $30 at Doors

November 21 - What’s Going On: NY in the 80s./Electric Circus plays the Mudd Club
Set 1: New York in the 80s. Kathy Moore plays James Blood Ulmer Robin Holcomb plays Robin Holcomb Andy Roth plays Bobby Previte, Wayne Horvitz plays Horvitz, Morris, Previte Trio Alex Guy and Mazz Swift play Billy Bang, Geoff Harper plays Bill Laswell Fred Frith Plays Massacre. Set 2: Electric Circus plays the Mudd Club. The music of Blondie, Richard Hell, The Ramones, Talking Heads, DNA, The Contortions, Bad Brains, Lou Reed, Lydia Lunch and more. $25 advance : $30 at Doors

Also: What's Going On New Music Mondays - November 9, 16, and 30

Supported by KNKX. Taj Mahal is a towering musical figure - a legend who transcended the blues not by leaving them behind, but by revealing their vast and magnificent scope to the world. Measuring the impact of the 84-year-old is nearly impossible, but people try anyway. Grammy wins for TajMo in 2017 (Taj's collaboration with Keb' Mo'), 'Get on Board' with Ry Cooder in 2022, and 'Swingin' Live at the Church in Tulsa' in 2024 brought his tally to five wins and sixteen nominations, underscoring his undiminished relevance more than 50 years after his solo debut.

A recipient of the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award, an inductee into the Blues Hall of Fame, and an Americana Music Association Lifetime Achievement Award honoree - among countless other distinctions - Taj's resume is a testament to his influence. Yet accolades are not what drive him. "I just want to be able to make the music that I'm hearing come to me - and that's what I did," Taj says. "When I say, 'I did,' I'm not coming from the ego. The music comes from somewhere. You're just the conduit it comes through. You're there to receive the gift."

Taj Mahal doesn't wait for permission. If a sound intrigues him, he sets out to make it. If origins mystify him, he moves to trace them. If rules get in his way, he unapologetically breaks them. To Taj, convention means nothing, but traditions are holy. He has pushed music and culture forward, all while looking lovingly back.

A brilliant artist with a musicologist's mind, he has pursued and elevated the roots of beloved sounds with boundless devotion and skill. Then, as he traced origins to the American South, the Caribbean, Africa, and elsewhere, he created entirely new sounds, over and over again. As a result, he's not only a god to rock-and-roll icons such as Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones, but also a hero to ambitious artists toiling in obscurity who are determined to combine sounds that have heretofore been ostracized from one another. No one is as simultaneously traditional and avant-garde.

Sponsored by KNKX. Registration is officially open for the 3rd Annual Quincy Square Jazz Festival, taking place on February 4th & 5th , 2027!

The Music Discovery Center, Olympic College, and Bremerton High School are thrilled to welcome student musicians back to downtown Bremerton to celebrate the enduring legacy of Quincy Jones. Before becoming a global icon, music pioneer, and champion of American sound, Quincy discovered his passion right here in Bremerton. From his early roots in bebop to his landmark contributions across pop and modern music, Quincy’s spirit of innovation lives on at Quincy Square—Bremerton’s premier music promenade on 4th Street.

Now in its third year, the festival continues to grow as a destination for regional youth music, drawing middle and high school instrumental and vocal jazz ensembles from across the state for two full days of performance, growth, and community.