--by Jaymin Yu On July 28, 1946, the Point Defiance Park natural amphitheater in Tacoma, Washington, resounded with patriotic songs, jazz, and orchestra. The event was the second USO Music Festival; it attracted more than 7,000 people for a community-oriented celebration of unity and hope for the postwar era. Though the event is a largely... Continue Reading →
-- by Emily Gormley A former professor of what is now Pacific Lutheran University, a musical director for Tacoma Theatre productions, and a Lutheran pastor; Carlo Alberto Sperati (1860-1945) made his mark upon Tacoma through community in equal part to music. Sperati was born in Christiania, Norway (now known as Oslo, Norway) on December 29,... Continue Reading →
-- by Dawn Ross Vicci Martinez may live on the other side of the country now, but she likes to share that her Tacoma roots run deep, being the first baby to be born in her mother’s delivery room at the new (in 1984) Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital. Martinez discovered a love of playing and... Continue Reading →
-- by Trinity Kovalick In the early 1920s live music was the bees knees. A budding city like Tacoma had been gaining in popularity as they didn’t adhere to strict rules like Blue Laws that required venues in Seattle to stop playing music at a certain hour. Linked directly to prohibition and founded out of... Continue Reading →
-- by Meadow Erhardt Growing up, Nasty Nes would visit his sister every year in New York City, where he was exposed to the world of hip-hop music. He brought hip-hop music with him when he returned home to Seattle. Nes started his music career by being a DJ for high school dances and functions,... Continue Reading →
-- by Joe Seats In the mid-90s, Seattle made itself known as the home of grunge. Grunge music was among the most notorious things to come out of the Pacific Northwest, birthing bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam. It generated a fusion between metal and punk, building a new rock style with heavy distortion... Continue Reading →
by Wyatt Logan Wyatt Logan & Friends: Tacoma Classics Reimagined At the turn of the 20th century, the city of Tacoma, WA was still in developmental stages. During this time, several promotional songs were written for the purposes of advertising. These “booster songs” were sold in sheet music form, as commercial recording techniques were largely... Continue Reading →
by Nadia Naushab The Tacoma Dome is arguably the most recognizable structure in Tacoma, Washington. As someone not from the city, seeing the massive building just off I-5 is how I know I've entered Tacoma. The iconic venue is one of the largest wood-domed structures in the world, and can accommodate up to 23,000 people... Continue Reading →
by Evan Hoang Chances are, you’ve never heard the name Richard Cousins before, but millions of people have heard his bold, brazen bass lines from albums accompanying legends like Robert Cray, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Van Morrison and John Lee Hooker. This 2 time Grammy-winning bassist was one of the founding members of the Robert... Continue Reading →
- by Sean Martin Tacoma, 1940s, you are sitting at a small-time late-night jazz club. As you finish your cigarette and take another sip of your whiskey, a small, greasy-haired young man approaches the stage with his saxophone, ready to take his turn on the stage. If you didn’t know any better, you would miss... Continue Reading →
Tacoma Music History 