April 13, 2012 at 10:41am
According to weather reports, the Gray Sky Blues Music Festival might need to change it's name. Apparently the sky over Tacoma will contain patches of blue with special appearances by the sun.
Saturday, directly following the Daffodil Parade, the Tacoma Events Commission and South Sound Blues Association will host the Gray Sky Blues Music Festival at venues all over Tacoma, like The Swiss, Stonegate Pizza, the Harmon Brewery and Cutter's Point Coffee. Performers include headliners The Karen Lovely Band, Chester Dennis Jones Band, James King and the Southsiders, The Billy Shew Band and a boatload more. The Harmon Brewery will also be hosting the Third Annual Custom and Rod Car Show. ?And the after party will be at Stonegate Pizza with an all-ages and adult jam, both kicking off at 8:30 p.m.
The Weekly Volcano caught up with Mr. Tacoma Blues and Gray Sky organizer Gary Grape for his thoughts on this year's festival.
WEEKLY VOLCANO: What's new this year at the Gray Sky Blues Festival?
GARY GRAPE: Hopefully 70 degrees and sunshine. And headliner Karen Lovely Band. I first saw this band at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis two years ago. They performed at the famous Orpheum Theater in the finals, which the band eventually grabbed second place. When Karen hit the first note I thought, "Here's a star." I was right. She was signed by Piedmont Talent Agency out of Charlotte, North Carolina. She's been touring the country ever since and has been nominated for many blues music awards.
VOLCANO: What are some of your favorite moments from past Gray Sky Festivals?
GRAPE: For me, my favorite Gray Sky was the first. That was the year I brought Teddy Lee Hooker from Long Beach, California to headline at The Swiss. Teddy Lee and I became good friends and continue to stay in contact.
Last year was quite special too. We brought the young kids' group The V-Knights from Phoenix. They were just awesome young players and definitely a crowd favorite.
VOLCANO: We see guitarist Jumpin' Josh is on the roster again. Is he old enough to drive yet?
GRAPE: No, not yet! He's only 14.
VOLCANO: How healthy is the blues scene in Tacoma?
GRAPE: Considering the stagnant economy the last few years blues is still popular in our area. Thanks to clubs like Jazzbones, The Spar, The Swiss, Stonegate and Dawson's the musicians have a format to perform. I'm seeing a few younger musicians that are now playing blues and hopefully that will prove to help ‘Keep the Blues Alive'. I expect the Swiss, Harmon Brewery and Stonegate to be rockin' with blues fans on Saturday.
Here's the latest Gray Sky lineup for Saturday, April 14:
The Swiss Pub (1904 S. Jefferson)
1 - 2 p.m. Palmer Junction
2:30 - 3:30 p.m. The Rafael Tranquilino Band
Cover charge kicks in at 3:30 p.m. $8-$10
4 - 5:30 p.m. Chester Dennis Jones Band
6 - 7:30 p.m. The Karen Lovely Band
The Harmon Brewery (1938 Pacific Ave.)
9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Third Annual Rod and Custom Car Show
Noon - 1 p.m. The Billy Shew Band
1:15 - 2:15 p.m. ZEB Presented by Puget Sound Music for Youth Association
2:30 - 3:30 p.m. The CD Woodbury Band
4 - 5:30 p.m. James King and the Southsiders
Cutter's Point Coffee (1936 Pacific Ave.)
12:30 - 1:30 p.m. Jumpin' Josh and Felicia
2 - 3 p.m. Alyx and Chris Phippen
Stonegate presents the "After-Festival Party" (5419 South Tacoma Way)
8:30 - Midnight Chester Dennis Jones Band and Adult Jam (upstairs)
8:30 - 11 p.m. "All Ages Jam" hosted by Jumpin' Josh Violette and Felicia Agrelius (downstairs)
News and entertainment from Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s most awesome weekly newspapers - The Ranger, Northwest Airlifter and Weekly Volcano.
Thanks for posting! But I want say that Walkie Talkies are really required while organizing fun...
Really nice album. I have already purchased Vedder's Album. Listening to the song of this album,...
about Eddie Vedder’s "Ukulele Songs" available today - and I don’t hold a candle to that shit
Your post contains very beneficial content. Kindly keep sharing such post.
Vedder's album is really nice. I have heard attentively
about Eddie Vedder’s "Ukulele Songs" available today - and I don’t hold a candle to that shit
amazing information for getting the new ideas thanks for sharing a post
about 5 Things To Do Today: Art Chantry, DIY home improvement, "A Shot In The Dark" ...
446th Airlift Wing, 5 Things To Do, 62nd Airlift Wing, 7th Infantry Division, Air Force, All Ages, Army, Arts, Awards, Benefits, Best of Olympia, Best of TAcoma, Bobble Tiki, Books, Business, Camp Murray, Ceremony, Chainsuck, Classical Music, Comedy, Comment The The Day, Community, Concerts, Condemn or Allow?, Contest, Day Tripper, Deals, Defense Department, Deployment, DJ/Electronica, Events, Facebook, Fashion, Federal Way, Fife, Fircrest, Food & Drink, Future Things Are Coming, Games, Gay Rights, Genius, Gig Harbor, Green Crush, Happy Hour Hug, Health, History, Holidays, Honors, I Corps, In Their Words, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Judging by the Trailer, Keeping Up With The Coffeehouses, Kids, Lacey, Lakewood, Legislature, Madigan Army Medical Center, Marines, McChord Field, Media, Memorial, Military, Milton, Morning Joe, Music, National Guard, Navy, Nerd Alert!, New Beer Column, News To Us, Night Moves, Not Cool, Olympia, Outdoor Addict, outdoors, Photo Hot Spot, Podcast, Pop Culture, Poster of the Day, Puyallup, Radio, Rangers, Retail, Rocket Science, ROTC, Ruston, Schools, Screens, Sex, Shout Out, South Sound Sidekick, Spanaway, Special Forces, Sports, Steilacoom, Strykers, Summer Tip, Sumner, Tacoma, Talking Shop, The Mouth, Theater, Tightwad, Tournament of Burgers, Tournament of Mac and Cheese, Training, Travel, Twitter, University Place, USO, Veterans, Video Hot Spot, Volunteer, Web/Tech, Word, Wounded Warrior
Read Comments