This week’s biggest musical events are mostly Ski to Sea-centric. Big block parties are the story of the weekend, but I’ll suggest some quieter things as well.
Ski to Sea
Boundary Bay kicks off the festivities on Friday, May 27 with Hot Damn Scandal starting at 4 p.m. They’ll be followed by Elk and then Joel Ricci’s new project, Funkways. If you want to keep partying after that, you could catch Petty or Not over at the Wild Buffalo.
On Saturday, May 28, Stones Throw is throwing its first block party for several years now. Music starts at 2 p.m. with Badd Dogg Blues, then Baby Cakes take the stage at 6 p.m. to groove into the night. Just down the street, Skylark’s will also get into the action with CraigO’s Planet Groove at 1 p.m and the Stillvettas at 5 p.m. The FireHouse also has shows on both Friday and Saturday.
On race day, Sunday, May 29, the Fairhaven Festival kicks off at 11 a.m., with Cascadia Groove. They will be followed by Hot Damn Scandal, The Atlantics and then Baby Cakes, with belly dancing and comedy happening in between musical acts.
News
The Northwest Washington Fair announced its final headline act. Country star Granger Smith plays Saturday, Aug. 13, and tickets are on sale now.
The Lawnstock lineup is out! Head up to Western’s campus on Saturday, June 4 to catch Naked Giants, TeZATalks, 49th Parallel and lots more.
Juxt Taphouse is hosting a new music event every Wednesday from 7:30–9:30 p.m. It’s sort of an invitational open mic. If you’re interested in performing, hit them up on Facebook or Instagram.
Picks of the week
If you want to listen to music without being surrounded by boisterous athletes, one intriguing option is the WWU Sound Sculptures Concert, happening Sunday night. Performances from a variety of ensembles will be taking place outside, on and around the sculpture collection, and each piece will repeat so that you can wander from one to the next in any order.
The other big event is Chris Botti. The trumpeter and vocalist brings his mix of jazz and classic pop to the Mount Baker Theatre on Friday night as part of the venue’s Lookout Sessions series.
The Downtown Bellingham Partnership is bringing back its activation grants program this year. Local businesses can apply for small grants that pay for outdoor events around downtown. Last year this led to a lot of neat pop-up concerts, and I hope the same will be true this year. If you own a downtown business (or know someone who does) consider applying and hosting some live music.
The Bellingham Irish Festival is changing names and will now be the Bellingham Celtic Festival. It’s scheduled for Oct. 13–16.
Live music calendar
Wednesday, May 25
Blue Room: 9 p.m., Tuesday’s Refuge, Free Harmony (folk/rock)
Boundary: 6 p.m., Aaron Guest on piano
Honey Moon: 8 p.m., Open Mic
Rockfish: 6 p.m., Fidalgo Swing
Sylvia Center: 7 p.m., Cory Weeds Quartet
Thirsty Badger: 7 p.m., Open Mic
Thursday, May 26
Blue Room: 6 p.m., Open Mic
Boundary: 3 p.m., Hambone Wilson & Jan Peters (blues), 8 p.m. Bob Dylan Birthday Celebration featuring Louis Ledford, Robert Sarazin Blake, others
Honey Moon: 8 p.m., Bluegrass Jam
Kulshan Trackside: 6 p.m., Salt Pine (alt-country)
Menace: 6:30 p.m., The Alger Rhythms (rock covers)
Twin Sisters: 6 p.m., Julian MacDonough Trio (jazz)
That’s What I Like: 6 p.m., J.P. Falcon and Friends (folk/rock)
Friday, May 27
Aslan: 8 p.m., TBA
Beach at Birch Bay: 6 p.m., Jimmy Wright Band (classic rock)
Boundary: 4 p.m., Funkways, Elk, Hot Damn Scandal
Eagle Haven: 5 p.m., Brittany Jean (singer-songwriter)
FireHouse: 6:30 p.m., Steve Webb (folk/soul/reggae)
Fireside: 7 p.m., Free Harmony (folk/rock)
Greene’s Corner: 6:30 p.m., Bluesjazzical Grüv
Guemes Island General Store: 5:30 p.m., Hookmeyer (blues/jazz)
Honey Moon: 8 p.m., Gallowglass (Celtic/folk)
Lighthouse: 7:30 p.m., Blake Angelos
Main Street: 8 p.m., The Groove Doctors (classic rock)
Mount Baker Theatre: 7:30 p.m., Chris Botti (jazz/pop)
Shakedown: 9 p.m., Proud Failures, Monstress, Done to Death (punk/metal)
Skylark’s: 5 p.m., Raveis Kole (folk)
That’s What I Like: 7 p.m, Angelica Rene
Vault: 7 p.m., Mary Ellen Lykins and Craig Adams (blues)
Wild Buffalo: 9 p.m., Petty or Not (Tom Petty tribute)
Saturday, May 28
Beach at Birch Bay: 4 p.m., Mutiny Bay (hard rock covers)
Blue Room: 8 p.m., Green Frogs, The Hookups, Beatroots (rock)
Birdsview: 6 p.m., Cory Vincent (folk/rock)
Boundary: 1 p.m., Tea Seas Trio (jazz/funk)
Brown Lantern: 9 p.m., Tom Savage (blues)
Conway Muse: 8 p.m., Midnight Hour (blues/rock)
Eagle Haven: 7 p.m., Full Spectrum (classic rock)
FireHouse: 6:30 p.m., Latin Tinge Septet (Latin jazz)
Fireside: 3:30 p.m., Singers’ Saturday
Greene’s Corner: 6:30 p.m., Simon Evans
Guemes Island General Store: 6:30 p.m., Amanda Richards and the Good Long Whiles (outlaw country)
Honey Moon: 8 p.m., East Coast Dave and the Midwest Swingers (acoustic Americana)
Lighthouse: 7:30 p.m., Marvin Johnson and Tim Volpicella (jazz)
Rockfish: 7:30 p.m., Billy Appleton Band (rock)
Skylark’s: 1 p.m., CraigO’s Planet Groove (psychedelic rock), 5 p.m., The Stillvettas (rock)
Station 49: 5 p.m., Queen’s Bluegrass
Stones Throw Block Party: 2 p.m., Badd Dog Blues Society, 6 p.m. Baby Cakes (pop/R&B)
Wild Buffalo: 8:30 p.m., Wobble Night (electronic/ bass)
Sunday, May 29
Culture Cafe: 7 p.m., Open Mic
Kulshan: 5 p.m., The Devilies (Irish/ folk)
Lighthouse: 7:30 p.m., Tim Volpicella (jazz)
Old Edison: 5:30 p.m., Ron Bailey & The Tangents
Monday, May 30
Boundary: 6 p.m., Sleepy Alligators (Grateful Dead tribute)
Kulshan: 6 p.m., Steve Webb
Tuesdays, May 31
Aslan: 8 p.m., Jazz Night
Beach at Birch Bay: 6:30 p.m., Open Mic
Boundary: 6 p.m., Paul Klein on piano
Farmstrong: 6:30 p.m., Free Harmony
Before heading out to listen to live music, check with individual venues to make sure the event is still taking place as scheduled.
Jesse Stanton’s music column, The Beat Goes On, runs Wednesdays. Email: jsbhammusic@gmail.com or Twitter: @JSBhamMusic.
