Dance on the Village Green on Monday nights
Tunes@Noon launches July 16 with FOOD and VIGA
Dust off your picnic baskets --
Summer Concerts at Ober start June 19!
We're continuing the popular tradition Laura Hendrix started five years ago of bringing you the best music we can get on lazy summer Thursday nights.
All concerts starton Thursdays at 7:00PM and end at 9:00.
And all concerts are FREE.
Thanks to co-sponsors Vashon Allied Arts and Windermere Real Estate.
Maya Soleil brings the rhythm of the Sun to our Solstice (almost) opening concert June 19
“Imagine surfing on a sound wave. You catch it here and now, but it carries you all the way back to… the primal thump of animal skins pulled tight across hollow logs. An instant later, the sounds of a saxophone, a guitar, or a synthesizer bring you back into the 21st century. If any band can take you there, it's Maya Soleil.” Third Place Books
Maya Soleil eclectic ensemble will bring their high-energy show of original music, ranging from the Highlife and Afro-beat to other dance music styles of western and southern Africa to funky jazz. Costumed vocalists and dancers charm with lyrics in several African languages as well as English, with colorful dances, and audience participation in dance and song. Fiery improvised solos on saxophone and keyboards soar over a solid underpinning of bass and world percussion to deliver an electrifying audio-visual experience.
Ensemble members come from Zimbabwe, Guinea, Ghana, Jamaica, and the USA. 
Members of Maya Soleil have toured the world, performing and recording, They were featured artists on KCPQ-TV’s (Seattle) profile for NW Folklife Festival and have been chosen to perform for heads of state throughout the world. Taste Maya Soleil's African joy music at mayasoleil.com
Incendio's Popular Latin Guitars return to Ober Park July 24
Every time they come to Vashon, the crowd roars to sign them for the next year. So, Incendio returns!
“We always have had great word of mouth,” says lead guitarist J.P. Durand. “It’s just
approaching that tipping point. If we play for a thousand people, we won’t get 800 people
coming up and giving us a perfunctory pat on the back, saying, ‘You guys are really
good.’ We’ll get 50 people coming up saying, ‘We will follow you into hell.’” And, that's why they keep playing Vashon because, even with an audience of 300, 50 or more invariably promise to follow them into hell.
Incendio’s richly textured music is rooted in myriad sources: Bass player Liza Carbé’s flamenco and
classical training, J.P. Durand’s Peruvian heritage, guitarist Jim Stubblefield’s European travels and
musical collaborations with Kuwaiti oud maestro Waleed Hamad, not to mention
Durand’s penchant for rock-style dramatics and Stubblefield’s lightning-fingered jazzfusion
mastery. Carbé’s deceptively graceful bass playing grounds Durand and
Stubblefield’s dazzling twin-guitar attack, resulting in adrenalizing sonic explorations that
take on greater dimension when they call in pals like longtime drummer Joe Shotwell. Sample the magic of Incendio at incendioband.com
Darrius Willrich Sweetens A Rural Summer Night with
Urban Soul, August 7
Darrius Willrich is a singer, songwriter, band leader, and all around soul heavyweight. Plan for a romantic evening in the park August 7. Paul Bennett of Disheveled Magazine says “His songs ooze sexuality without trying to sound sexy ...It should be required listening before every hook-up” says Bennett.
Initially influenced by Stevie Wonder and Prince, Darrius has crafted an original style all his own, capitalizing on his innate musical ability to combine diverse genres of music, from jazz to hip hop, to electronica, soul and R&B.
A cornerstone of Seattle's live music scene, Willrich collaborates Seattle Artists including Soul Provider, Choklate, Donyea Goodman, Vitamin D, Jake One and Bean One. He also co-writes with producer Brent Laurence on house beats for the UK club scene, and to date, has composed scores for four feature films. Take a moment with Darrius at darriuswillrich.com
All That (Island) Jazz Brings NYC Quality Home
August 21
Island Jazz Quintet dazzles audiences everywhere with their cool edgy jazz stylings, and they're bringing them home to Ober Park August 21.
This Island grown group gelled in a Vashon woods cabin in 1999 and they've been growing ever since. Their style combines improvisational jazz, bossa nova, and a smoky hint of cabaret in distinctive arrangements that lead Victory Review to note, "Vashon Island boasts a group worthy of national attention. They would be right at home in a New York cabaret."
Get the groove at islandjazzquintent.com
Then come to the Ober cabaret and swing with Islanders:
Maggie Laird, vocals, melodica
Richard Person, trumpet,flugelhorn
Tom Wilkins, piano
Todd Gowers, upright bass
Todd Zimberg, drums
Portage Fill Fills the Park as the Lights Get Low
September 4
It's a big park and we know just the band to fill it. Vashon's own Portage Fill (harmonic) will close the summer concerts in the park series with the sounds of swing that only a fleet of horns and strings can create. Look for some USO style theatrics to close out the summer with a BIG, home-grown musical event.
Thanks, Vashon, for being a great audience! You make our guest musicians want to return for more...
VPD and Vashon Folk Dancers bring
World Music to our Village (Green)
All start at 6:30 p.m.
June 23 Pangeo Greek Orchestra
Aug. 11 Cambalache Salsa! At Ober Park
Aug. 18 Balkan Cabaret w/Mary Sherhart At Corbin Beach
This year Monday night Music on the Green adds Open Mic Night co-sponsored with Vashon Youth Council and Vashon High School Literature Journal. These evenings will feature select performers. If you want to perform contact: David Salonen: dsalonen@gmail.com, 920-8890 or Danny Salonen: dsalonen2@yahoo.com, 963-6165
Tunes@Noon brings Island musicians to the Green starting July 16 –
with the VIGA Wednesday Market
12noon to 3:00 p.M.
July 16- Lance Morgan & Rich Horton, endless repertoire
July 23 – The Elementals (Brent Magstadt & Sherry Thal, with Fletcher Andrews on drums), rockin’ Hawaiian flare
July 30 – Bob Krinsky, Rockin’ guitar
August 6 – Ken Jacobsen, electric cello & Ron Hook, smooth guitar – split bill
August 13 – Tribal Voices with Song & Legend – split bill- ramblin’ styles
August 20 – Robyn Landis, fine guitar & song
August 27 - Steve Amsden, sweet song & voice