Nov 26 Wednesday
The period from the 1870s to the 1900s, known as the Gilded Age, saw the rise of the railroad, textile industry, and production. It also saw a rise in migration to US cities, providing workers to fill low paying jobs producing many of the fashions of the era. This era marked a turning point in fashion as new technologies and changing cultural norms transformed the ways in which people dressed.
Explore this history and enjoy the rare chance to see clothing, notions, and artifacts of the period from the Washington State Historical Society collections.
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.
Join us for CASINO de SALSA with the incredible Takechi Ruiz, Wednesdays at 6 PM! No partner? No problem. Just bring your energy and we’ll bring the rhythm. 💥
Let’s make some 🔥 moves together.
Location: Tacoma - 1105 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Tacoma, WADay: Every WednesdayTime: 6:00 – 7:00 PMAges: Ages 12+Registration Link: https://app.jackrabbitclass.com/regv2.asp?id=532322&preLoadClassID=20477009
Contact: 253-327-1873
AfroCuban Dance is HERE and you’re invited!
Experience the roots, rhythms, and soul of AfroCuban dance with the phenomenal Takechi Ruiz every Wednesday at 7:15 PM.
This is more than a class, it’s a celebration of culture, community, and movement. Perfect for all levels. Let’s move!
Location: Tacoma -1105 Martin Luther King Jr. WayDay: WednesdaysTimed: 7:15 – 8:15 PMAge: Ages 12+Contact: 253-327-1783
Registration Link: https://app.jackrabbitclass.com/regv2.asp?id=532322&preLoadClassID=20477009
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.”
Nov 27 Thursday
Supported by KNKX. “When I began, soul was something people had. It wasn’t a style of music,” Taj Mahal says. No matter where we come from, we are all part of the same circle. We all want to dance, to get out of our heads, and tap into ourselves. When delivered by the Taj Mahal Quintet, the blues can take us there. For more than 40 years, Grammy-winning legend Taj Mahal and his band have taken blues on a joyride through reggae, funk, jazz, cajun, and more, leaving a trail of swinging hips and raised palms in their wake. The quintet is made up of internationally renowned bassist Bill Rich and steel drummer Robert Greenidge (Jimmy Buffet’s Coral Reefer Band), revered percussionist/drummer Tony Durham and Hawaiian based guitarist and lap steel master Bobby Ingano. The five match musical virtuosity with downhome grit unlike anyone else: a blend of sophistication and humble familiarity that is equally at home on a shotgun-shack porch or a Carnegie Hall stage. According to Taj, the collaboration extends far beyond the Taj Mahal Quintet themselves. “Music is like theater to a lot of people -- they’re watching it,” he says. “Well, you can watch it, but you’re supposed to participate. The audience is just as much a part of the music as the musicians are.” Taj pauses, then adds with a warm laugh, “I do like it when they dance.”
One of the most prominent and influential figures in late 20th century blues and roots music Taj Mahal is a 2014 recipient of the Americana Music Association Lifetime Achievement Award along side such luminaries as Jackson Brown, Loretta Lynn and Flaco Jimenez. The three-time Grammy winner and one of the most influential American blues is roots artists of the past half-century.
A self-taught musician, Taj plays over 20 instruments including National Steel and Dobro guitars, and his remarkable voice ranges from gruff and gravelly to smooth and sultry. His music remains a well-seasoned gumbo, spiced with influences that originate in the Caribbean, West Africa, the Southern States, and the inner cities of America.
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.
