May 24 Sunday
Sponsored by KNKX. The 55th Annual Northwest Folklife Festival will include programming that includes music, dance, spoken word, visual arts, films, participatory dances, and workshops spanning over 20 stages for an anticipated audience of over 200,000. This year's Cultural Focus is Ubuntu which translates to “I am because we are." Ubuntu is about belonging. That we belong to each other because our personhood is connected to the personhood of someone else. Our humanity is rooted in the relationships that we hold with people. People that we have both met and not met–consciously, subconsciously, and unconsciously. It is a testament to the undeniable fact that we are tethered to each other, whether we know them or not. That an action or an encounter can have a ripple effect on our immediate time and place, as well as somewhere halfway across the world.
As the last part of Northwest Folklife's series, Ubuntu also underscores the journey that people take to reach that co-existence. Ubuntu is the result of an audacity to believe that we are part of something bigger than just ourselves. Change, balance, passion, and purpose are all lessons towards an endgame that is both simpler and more complex that we ever imagined. That FOLK is where it starts and where it ends.
KNKX presents the new Jam Tent all weekend long. Stop by our booth there on Sunday, May 24 from 11 to 8 p.m. Also on Sunday, KNKX presents a music showcase from 3:30-5 p.m. on the Mural Stage featuring Miss Minami and Jessica Lurie hosted by KNKX's Abe Beeson. Get more information about Northwest Folklife here.
May 26 Tuesday
Welcome the three Northwest finalists in this year's Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition home, and enjoy music from these talented students in the Bothell, Mountlake Terrace, and Shorewood High School jazz programs.
Shorewood High School won the Susan C. Gordon Award for Most Soulful Band.
May 28 Thursday
Supported by KNKX. Nearly sixty-five years after he moved to the United States from Kingston, Jamaica, his hometown, Grammy-nominated legendary pianist Monty Alexander is an American classic, touring the world relentlessly with various projects, delighting a global audience drawn to his vibrant personality and soulful message. A perennial favorite at Jazz Festivals and venues worldwide and at the Montreux Jazz Festival where he has performed and headlined concerts 23 times since 1976, his spirited conception is one informed by the timeless verities: endless melody-making, effervescent grooves, sophisticated voicings, a romantic spirit, and a consistent predisposition, as Alexander accurately states, “to build up the heat and kick up a storm.” In the course of any given performance, Alexander applies those aesthetics to a repertoire spanning a broad range of jazz and Jamaican musical expressions—the American songbook and the blues, gospel and bebop, calypso and reggae—and gives the hardcore-jazz-obsessed much to dig into while also communicating the message to the squarest “civilian.” Documented on more than 75 recordings and cited as the fifth greatest jazz pianist ever in The Fifty Greatest Jazz Piano Players of All Time (Hal Leonard Publishing), the Jamaican government designated Alexander Commander in the Order of Distinction in 2000.
In 2022 the Jamaican government conferred on Monty Alexander the national honor of the Order of Jamaica for "Sterling Contributions to the Promotions of Jamaican Music and the Jazz Genre Interpretations Globally".
May 30 Saturday
Sponsored by KNKX. One ticket, sixteen venues, one night of incredible jazz!
The fifth annual Edmonds Jazz Walk, 5 PM to Midnight Saturday, May 30, 2026!
One Night of Amazing Music Featuring:
Pearl Django, Umami Jazz Fusion, Steve Treseler, Danny Kolke, Jared Hall, Rich Cole, Brad Boal, Chris Symer, Bill Anschell, Duende Libre, Jerry Steinhilber, Roman Goron, Kevin Buster, the General's 7 Jazz Band, Steve Korn, Neil Welch, Reuel Lubag, John Sanders, Alexey Nikolaev, Jacob Zimmerman, Greg Williamson, Heather Chriscaden, Brent Jensen, Jamie Findlay, Ben Thomas, Jake Bergevin, Dan Kramlich, the University of Washington, Edmonds Woodway High School, Soundsation, and many more...
Eleven-time GRAMMY-winning jazz bassist Christian McBride performs with the SRJO in the band's final concerts of the season May 30 and 31. The concerts will also mark retiring SRJO artistic director Michael Brockman's final concerts leading the band he co-founded with Clarence Acox (retired) 31 years ago.
McBride, one of the leading figures on today's jazz stage, will perform a program including some jazz standards and a few of his own compositions, including "The Shade of the Cedar Tree," written to honor the great jazz composer Cedar Walton. Plus, "Familiar Steps" commissioned from McBride by SRJO in 2021 and premiered during the pandemic before a restricted audience and nationwide livestream.
Come see Christian McBride & Michael Brockman's final concerts as Artistic Director.
Jun 12 Friday
Join KNKX on June 12 when Salmon Bay FC takes on FC Olympia at Interbay Soccer Stadium in Seattle. We're part of Local Radio Night, amplifying and celebrating the role KNKX and other local public radio stations play in culture, music, news, and community connection. KNKX Midday Jazz host Paige Hansen will be on hand for the halftime fun, and you can pick up some fun swag at the KNKX booth. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. and the game starts at 7 p.m. Get your tickets here.
Jun 14 Sunday
KNKX is excited to welcome NPR's Tiny Desk Contest on the Road Tour to Neumo's in Seattle on Sunday, June 14. Come celebrate with the winner of this year's Tiny Desk Contest, selected from thousands of unsigned bands and artists. Also performing at Neumo's are some Tiny Desk Contest favorites from around the Pacific Northwest. Hope you can join us!
Sep 15 Tuesday
Boz Scaggs is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. An early bandmate of Steve Miller in The Ardells and the Steve Miller Band, he began his solo career in 1969, though he lacked a major hit until his 1976 album Silk Degrees peaked at number 2 on the Billboard 200, and produced the hit singles “Lido Shuffle” and “Lowdown”. Scaggs produced two more platinum-certified albums in Down Two Then Left and Middle Man, the latter of which produced two top-40 singles “Breakdown Dead Ahead” and “Jojo”. After a hiatus for most of the 1980s, he returned to recording and touring in 1988, joining The New York Rock and Soul Revue and opening the nightclub Slim’s, a popular San Francisco music venue until it closed in 2020. He has continued to record and tour throughout the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, with his most recent album being 2018’s Out of the Blues.
It’s been five decades since drummer/producer Bobby Colomby and friends assembled the first group to successfully blend rock and jazz into a genre-crossing sound and style. So successfully in fact, that the band’s second album, Blood Sweat & Tears, topped the Billboard charts for many weeks and beat out the Beatles’ Abbey Road for the prestigious Album of the Year Grammy award. That album produced three major hit singles: “You Made me so Very Happy,” “Spinning Wheel,” and “And When I Die.”
But now Colomby is looking for much more as he develops Blood Sweat & Tears into a contemporary voice, one that reaches beyond a single, nostalgic audience.
Determined to make something of herself, a girl from rural Texas dreams of flying. But it’s 1917, and flight schools don’t accept women, much less one who is Black and Native. Refusing to take no for an answer, Bessie Coleman goes to extraordinary lengths to make her dream of flying a reality.
In celebration of its 30th anniversary, the Washington State Historical Society invites you to explore the history of building the State History Museum. 30 Years and Counting: The Making of the Washington State History Museum is a special exhibition that uncovers the vision, effort, and community spirit that brought this iconic Tacoma landmark to life.
Discover the bold ideas and architectural ingenuity that shaped the museum’s distinctive look. From early sketches to final blueprints, see how the building’s design reflects both innovation and reverence for Washington’s past. Go behind the scenes of the museum’s construction. Through photographs and artifacts from the building process, witness how a dream took shape—brick by brick, beam by beam.
Staff Picks: 30 Objects for 30 Years
In a special feature area, museum staff share their favorite objects from the collection—each one a personal reflection on the power of history to inspire, surprise, and connect us.
Never Turn Back: Echoes of African American Music unveils the profound legacy of Gospel, Blues, Jazz, and Soul artists who shaped the soundscape of American culture and used their music as instruments of resistance, identity, and representation.
Gospel, Blues, Jazz, and Soul embody the profound influence of African American music on culture and history. From the spiritual foundations and transformative movements of Gospel hymns to the revolutionary improvisations of Jazz, the Blues’ Southern roots rising from the Mississippi Delta, and Soul’s powerful amplification of the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements, these genres have defined the unique sound and undying spirit of a nation that continues to echo through contemporary Black music today.
This is a permanent exhibition. Since time immemorial, Tribal nations have existed in this place we call Washington. This Is Native Land invites visitors to understand Washington State through the lived experiences and voices of its Native people.
Tribal nations are sovereign nations. Today, Native history, culture, and community thrive in our state. Through everyday acts of sovereignty – big and small – Indigenous peoples demonstrate they are still here, they have persevered, and they will always be here.
This Is Native Land is guided by three teachings:We are of the land and watersWith knowledge comes responsibilitySovereignty protects people, lands, and waters
These teachings are shared through multimedia, artwork, and interactive objects designed for guest engagement. They represent a contemporary continuation of Tribal stories and traditions.
Over 100 Native contributors from more than 60 Tribes shaped the exhibition’s stories and content. We thank the Native Advisory Committee and all community participants for their contributions.
LeMay – America’s Car Museum proudly presents The Birth of the American Supercar, a groundbreaking exhibition guest curated by renowned automotive innovator Steve Saleen. This one-of-a-kind display invites guests on an exhilarating journey through the evolution of American supercars. From early speed pioneers to cutting-edge modern marvels, visitors will experience a stunning lineup of vehicles that have redefined engineering, speed, and style, built by a wide range of American automotive manufacturers like Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Saleen himself, and even some more obscure ones like Vector, Cunningham, and Hennessey. From roaring V8s to sleek carbon-fiber bodies, discover how American automakers pushed boundaries, challenged European rivals, and redefined what a supercar could be. This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to see some of the most thrilling and historically significant American-made performance vehicles ever built—all under one roof.
Dive into the whimsical world of Moominvalley and the life of its creator, Tove Jansson, with "Moomins’ Sea Adventures" and "Tove and the Sea".
"Moomins’ Sea Adventures" brings Moominvalley to life with illustrations and life-sized characters from the stories. In the center of the exhibit is an interactive island complete with a lighthouse and rowboats that invites visitors to imagine adventures of their own.
"Tove and the Sea" offers a more intimate counterpoint, tracing Tove Jansson’s lifelong relationship with the Finnish archipelago through large-scale photographs and reflective texts.
Discover rare finds from guest plant vendors at this weekend market. Explore the garden's spring displays and shop from Washington and Oregon nurseries.
Hands On Children’s Museum is saying “Thank you for your service” with 50% off admission for military families (with a valid military ID), May 22–25.
Visit Memorial Day weekend for hands-on fun and creative activities, including:
• Silkscreening & Patriotic Painting (Saturday through Monday only)• Red, White, & Blue Flyers• A Bubble Dance Party & Lawn Games• Star-Spangled Spinners• Firework Wands• A Scavenger Hunt
Sponsored by Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, Inc.
“Every piece I create, from the humblest tumbler to the most baroque sculpture, makes a statement about isolation, striving, access, perseverance, boundary pushing, and the pursuit of excellence. I believe my presence in the field as a working-class Black man, striving and excelling in a field occupied chiefly by society’s most privileged (whitest), is a powerful artistic and political gesture. “—Jason McDonald
Glass vessels evocative of the highly ornamented Baroque style, black silhouettes embedded in scenes on ancient pottery vessels, and medallion reliefs of Black figures all abide in the deliberate, expansive practice of Jason McDonald. McDonald’s visual language is deeply rooted in research of ancient histories, traditional techniques, and race. Here, contemporary ideas blend and transform tradition with caring attention to detail, precision in thought, and beauty. Motivated by glass—with its magical properties, myriads of endless possibilities and potential—McDonald’s devotion lies in the desire to refine the craft, making his hands more familiar and knowledgeable with each replication. Through his repetition and re-imagination of these historical forms, the objects transform into sculptures and vessels of time, carrying with them the essence of centuries-old traditions, as well as McDonald’s commitment and insertion of the representation and notions of Black identity. With a commitment to the craft that transcends his own work, McDonald diligently carves out space for those who will follow him through mentoring and the creation of his own glass studio, which he has named Ideal Conditions.
Organized by Tacoma Art Museum and curated by Victoria Miles.
