Community Calendar

Got a big dream of playing the Tiny Desk? Send us a video of you playing one song behind a desk of your choosing. If you win, you'll get to play your very own Tiny Desk concert and go on tour with NPR Music. When you enter the 2026 Tiny Desk Contest, you join a nationwide community of music-makers and creators. Get started on your video now! GET ALL THE DETAILS HERE.

Here's what you do:
Create a new video that shows you playing one song you've written.
Do it the way you'd perform a Tiny Desk concert: at a desk. (Any desk!)
Upload your video to YouTube.
Fill out the entry form after it opens at 10 a.m. ET on January 13 and before 11:59 p.m. ET on February 9, 2026.

The winner will:
Play a Tiny Desk concert at NPR in Washington, D.C.
Be featured on NPR’s All Things Considered
Headline NPR Music's Tiny Desk Contest On The Road tour

Supported by KNKX. A noted pianist, composer and leading figure in the Northwest jazz scene, Marc Seales has shared stages with many of the great players of the last two decades. He has played with nearly every visiting jazz celebrity from Joe Henderson and Art Pepper to Benny Carter, Mark Murphy, and Bobby Hutcherson. With the late Don Lanphere he performed in such places as London, England; Kobe, Japan; The Hague in the Netherlands; and the North Sea Jazz Festival.

Two-time Grammy award winner Ernie Watts is one of the most versatile and prolific saxophone players in music. It has been more than 50 years, since he first picked up a saxophone, and from age 16 on, he has been playing professionally, initially while attending school. Watts has been featured on over 500 recordings by artists ranging from Cannonball Adderly to Frank Zappa, always exhibiting his unforgettable trademark sound. In 2014, Watts received the prestigious Frankfurt music prize, given by the city of Frankfurt, Germany. It is presented to both classical and non-classical musicians. Of the 32 current winners, only six have been jazz musicians. Per the Frankfurt music prize foundation, Watts was “selected for his strikingly, melodic, saxophone style, and his original tone language,” with which he has already enriched several generations of musicians. Previous jazz honorees include Chick Corea, Paquito de Rivera, and John McLaughlin. In 2015, Watts was selected as guest of honor at the Telluride, jazz festival in Colorado, and played on the Ernie Watts main stage with his own quartet.

Spencer Williams was an American jazz and popular music composer, pianist, and singer from Louisiana. He is best known for his hit songs "Basin Street Blues", "I Ain't Got Nobody", "Royal Garden Blues", "I've Found a New Baby", "Everybody Loves My Baby", "Tishomingo Blues", and many others. Clarence Williams was a piano player, composer, bandleader, singer and producer who was very influential in the world of popular music, especially jazz and blues, starting in the 1920’s and continuing through the mid-20th century. They are not related, however, they did both grow up in Louisiana and their paths did cross on several occasions.

The Piano Starts Here series 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. This series is sponsored by KNKX and the South Hudson Music Project.

After a lifetime spent on the road and in the studio supporting other musicians, bassist and producer Kazlo Johns (aka John Kessler) released his first-ever solo music project ALTER EGO on May 22, 2024. You're invited to an album release event on January 21, 7:30 p.m. at Seamonster Lounge in Seattle.

As music director and bassist of the Mountain Stage radio show from 1983-1997, Kazlo accompanied hundreds of performers including Dr. John, Sarah McClachlan, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, and Sonny Landreth. Kazlo toured constantly, with Steve Ferguson from NRBQ, and with Julie Adams from Mountain Stage among many others.

Along the way he became interested in the art of recording music and learned the ins and outs of engineering, leading to having his own recording studio and producing albums from punk- rock to opera. “It started with me having some recording gear in my apartment and turned into me having a bed in a recording studio”.

The musical alter-ego of long-time music host John Kessler (88.5 KNKX/Tacoma Seattle NPR), Kazlo Johns is the result, in part, of the pandemic, and the need to continue creatively in a time of no gigs or recording sessions. As a bassist without a band, Kazlo was compelled to find ways to make the bass be the focus of his musical energy. He learned some classical music, and studied jazz with bass master Osama Afifi.

Still hungering for more bass, Kazlo started developing his own style of bass tapping. “One day I realized that all those notes were there on the bass, just like they are on the piano. And so I began to explore what I could do to use those notes in tapping figures. I’m never going to play like Victor Wooten or Dave LaRue. But I can come up with cool riffs and turn those into fun little digressions to amuse myself.”

Sponsored by KNKX. This live storytelling event explores the evolution of warrior societies in Tribal communities through the voices of Indigenous veterans and active-duty military across three generations. Events will be held on Tohono O'odham and Yaqui Tribal territory (Tucson, AZ) and Squaxin Island Tribal territory (Olympia, WA).

The Disabled List Comedy Festival is the Pacific Northwest’s first-ever disability-focused comedy festival. Produced and hosted by local comedians Dan Hurwitz and Kayla Brown, it will take place on Jan. 23 at 7:00pm at the Northwest Film Forum in Seattle, WA, and at Theatre Off Jackson on Jan. 22, 24, and 25.

The Disabled List is a collective of disabled comedians that has been performing in and around Seattle since 2018. In 2021, we produced a short film that debuted at Northwest Film Forum’s Local Sightings Film Festival and was screened at several other film festivals throughout the state. The Disabled List Comedy Festival will feature filmed sketch and live stand-up by comedians with disabilities, including a couple special guests that are still under wraps.

Sponsored by KNKX. The National Book Award-nominated author of The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois released Misbehaving at the Crossroads: Essays & Writings in 2025, a personal and thought-provoking work that explores the journeys and possibilities of Black women throughout American history and in contemporary times.

Q&A with Colleen Echohawk, our Community Curated Series director.

Sponsored by KNKX. The 3rd Annual Olympia Funk Festival returns January 30–February 1, 2026, bringing three days of electrifying performances to Washington’s capital city. This year’s festival features funk powerhouses Tank and the Bangas, MonoNeon, and George Porter, Jr., alongside an all-star lineup of regional and national artists. With over 100 performers across 22 bands, the event continues to grow as a major cultural celebration in the Pacific Northwest.

KNKX returns as a proud media sponsor, supporting the festival’s mission to create an inclusive, joyful, and family-friendly experience that keeps live funk music thriving. The festival's venues include The Historic Capitol Theater, Olympia Ballroom, Olympia Center, and Ilk Brewing. Ilk Brewing will host free, all-ages programming including funk DJs and the Passing the Torch youth stage, while The Olympia Center will be home to free, educational masterclasses for aspiring musicians.

Beyond the stage, Olympia Funk Festival prioritizes affordability and access. Children 15 and under attend free, and tickets remain among the lowest priced for a multi-day music festival of this caliber — all to ensure that families and fans from across the country can experience the magic without breaking the bank.

KNKX is proud to support Olympia Funk Festival 2026 as it continues to cultivate the next generation of funk lovers and musicians through education, cultural exchange, and pure dance floor joy.

Sponsored by KNKX. Olympic College and the Music Discovery Center will once again bring scholastic jazz to downtown Bremerton.

On February 5 and 6, 2026, the Music Discovery Center of Bremerton and Olympic College are proud to present the 2nd Annual Quincy Square Jazz Festival. With his discovery of music in Bremerton, Quincy Jones went on to be one of the most celebrated performers, producers, and promoters of Jazz and modern music in American history. From Bebop to Pop to Hip hop, Quincy has been on the forefront of musical innovation his entire career and the city of Bremerton is proud to honor him with Quincy Square, a brand new music promenade in downtown Bremerton on 4th Street.

This year, the Quincy Square Jazz Festival is expanding to welcome instrumental and vocal jazz ensembles from across the state to join us in a day of competition, education, and celebration. We’ll kick off on Thursday, February 5th with middle school jazz bands competing at Olympic College. On Friday, February 6th, we’ll switch to high school jazz bands at Olympic College and high school vocal jazz ensembles at Bremerton High School. The top three jazz bands and the top three vocal jazz ensembles will be invited to perform at the Quincy Square Jazz Gala on Friday evening, February 6th at the historic Roxy Theatre.

Our panel of skilled adjudicators will score and place ensembles and follow up with a clinic to mentor musicians. Each group will have professional sound and video recording provided at the conclusion of the festival.

Registration is open now and limited to 20 ensembles in each of the three categories. Spots are likely to fill fast!

Presented by the Music Discovery Center & the Olympic College Foundation
Co-sponsored by The ROXY Theatre, Sound West Group, Ted Brown Music