-- by Kim Davenport 60 years ago this week - on September 1, 1957 - Elvis Presley performed a matinee concert at Tacoma's Lincoln Bowl as part of a five-show sweep of the Pacific Northwest over Labor Day weekend. A crowd numbering somewhere in the neighborhood of 5,000 enjoyed a fairly intimate performance, with seating... Continue Reading →
The Lincoln Bowl famously played host to a concert by Elvis Presley in 1957. As UW Tacoma student Emily Charbonneau discovered, however, this was not the only time the venue hosted concerts. Although the Bowl is primarily utilized today for sporting events, it has in its long history served a variety of roles for the surrounding... Continue Reading →
UW Tacoma student Rachel Wilkinson pursued research into Bill Engelhart and the Bluenotes, one of Tacoma's earliest rock-n-roll bands. Her research resulted in two fantastic artifacts which we're happy to share here: Research paper: Little Bill and the Bluenotes: Tacoma's First Rock Band Multimedia presentation: Little Bill and the Bluenotes: The Life and Times of Bill... Continue Reading →
UW Tacoma student Marissa Edwards chose to explore the Tacoma rock band 'The Fabulous Wailers' for her research project in the Musical History of Tacoma course. Learn more by reading Marissa's research paper, or exploring her very informative PowerPoint slides!
UW Tacoma student Tracie Huynh explored The Ventures, known as 'the band that launched a thousand bands', as her final project for the Musical History of Tacoma class at UW Tacoma. To learn more about this important Tacoma band, read Tracie's research paper, or check out her multimedia presentation!
This short documentary by Randy Sparks is an excellent introduction to some of the great rock-n-roll bands to come out of Tacoma beginning in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Well worth the time of anyone interested in music, Tacoma history, or both! Tacoma's Rock-n-Roll Legends from Randy Sparks on Vimeo.
Tacoma Music History 