Tickets for this season of ZooTunes at Woodland Park Zoo go on sale for zoo members on Thursday. Online sales to the general public begin Friday.
Here’s the schedule:
Wed., June 22 – Taj Mahal / Joan Osborne ($26)
Sun., June 26 – Marc Cohn / Mary Chapin Carpenter ($24)
Wed., June 29 – Lucinda Williams ($22)
Thurs., June 30 - The Robert Cray Band ($24)
Wed., July 6 - AfroCubism ($22)
Wed. – Thurs., July 20 & 21 - Indigo Girls with Mount Moriah ($26)
Fri., July 29 – Brandi Carlile ($36)
Wed., Aug 10 – k.d. lang and The Siss Boom Bang ($35)
Sun., Aug 14 – The Go-Go’s Ladies Gone Wild Tour ($24)
Wed., Aug 17 - Carolina Chocolate Drops with special guests ($19)
Sun., Aug 21 – Aimee Mann with The Weepies ($19)
The Go-Gos perform Aug. 14.
Zoo gates open at 5 p.m.; concerts begin at 6 p.m. and are held rain or shine (no ticket refunds).
Tickets go on sale beginning May 6 at 8:00 a.m. online at www.zoo.org/zootunes. A $2 processing fee is added to all online ticket purchases. A limited number of tickets are available for purchase at Woodland Park Zoo gates during zoo hours: 9:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. daily. Ticket prices at all outlets will include a $1 facility fee to fund maintenance of the zoo’s concert facilities. One child 12 and under per paid ticket is admitted free. Tickets sell out fast, so purchase early!
For the first time, Woodland Park Zoo members will have the opportunity to purchase ZooTunes tickets before the general public. The ZooTunes member pre-sale begins online only on May 5 at 8:00 a.m. Members will receive an exclusive pre-sale link by email and can purchase up to eight pre-sale tickets per show. Pre-sale is available to active members and to new members who have registered online or at zoo entrances by midnight on Saturday, April 30. To become a zoo member, visit www.zoo.org/join.
The Ballard High School music program presents a night of jazz on Saturday, April 30, with the first ever “Ballard Jazz Gala.”
The event will be held at the Blue Ridge Community Clubhouse (10040 15th Ave. N.) from 6-10 p.m. The beginning of the evening will be a silent auction and wine raffle with solo performances by BHS jazz music students. From 7:30-10 p.m., the vocal jazz and jazz band will perform, concluding with special guest the Hammon-Esvelt Quintent.
Tickets are $25 each (available here) which gets you complimentary heavy hors d’oeuvres, with beer and wine available for purchase. All proceeds support the Ballard High School Music Program.
From the outside, the old Craftsman house at 6300 Phinney Ave. N. looks like any other on the block. But on the inside, multi-instrumentalist and owner Michael Connolly runs Empty Sea Studios — concert venue, recording studio, teaching space and platform for his LearningMusician website.
“May of 2009 was the first show,” Connolly said at his studio while setting up chairs before a January weekend acoustic performance by ThorNton Creek, “and I haven’t had to close the doors yet. A lot of people still don’t know this place exists…but word of mouth has kept me alive.”
In order to better promote his business, Connolly has just hired someone to work primarily on marketing, something that will help him focus on what he loves doing — playing, writing, recording and teaching music.
Connolly started playing the mandolin at age 6, picking up more instruments, writing songs and helping other artists develop their talents ever since. Today, he teaches, records, promotes and markets music full-time.
Empty Sea Studios owner Michael Connolly looks over the soundboard before a recent concert by ThorNton Creek.
Although music was always his passion, Connolly wasn’t always involved in it as an occupation. After college he started a career in computer engineering, and in 2004 he came to Seattle when he landed a job at Amazon.
Connolly eventually grew tired of “working long hours” to make a rich company richer, so he turned the only direction that made sense — straight for the music.
He renovated the upstairs of the house to be a “multi-purpose space for recording and teaching,” and kept downstairs for personal living quarters.
By the time he had finished, he had also created a “single-purpose listening room for concerts,” soon becoming the most visible aspect of the business. The stage allows groups such as ThorNton Creek and artists like Korby Lenker to perform only feet away from the audience, which creates an “intimate acoustic experience” Empty Sea has become known for.
Musician Thornton Bowman, of ThorNton Creek, practicing on stage at Empty Sea Studios before a January concert.
For Connolly, “anything acoustic” means folk, early jazz, blues and Americana –“anything that sounds like it came from real instruments,” he explained.
“Fortunately, there are enough people interested in the music that I have plenty of work here in the Northwest,” he added, moving into the recording studio to make a few adjustments before the show.
Yet, only 20 percent of Connolly’s revenue actually comes from weekly concerts. The rest is generated through teaching, recording and from his LearningMusician website.
“The concerts are how I meet the people that might be recording clients,” he explained, adding that musicians who come to hear the concerts often become recording clients or students.
“The acoustic audience has a high percentage of musicians,” he said while helping his engineering intern, Jordan Cunningham, 20, finish setting up as a few audience members started to trickle in for the show. “They are a very narrow niche, but a very deep investment if you can tap into it and provide a product and venue that meets their needs.”
Cunningham said he helps Connolly during shows and on recording sessions, including setting up microphones and the sound booth, patching up gear and even “giving input to musicians,” Cunningham explained.
Connolly said it’s great to have someone around to help, and the payoff for Cunningham is that he has access to the facilities and can transition from an academic setting into the real word of freelance audio engineering.
Empty Sea Studios owner Michael Connolly with engineering intern Jordan Cunningham.
The other part of Connolly’s business, his website, www.LearningMusician.com, probably takes the least amount of effort to maintain but generates the most income.
“It’s like a dating website for music teachers and those looking for instruction,” he explained. “Teachers pay $10 per month as a subscription fee and potential students have free access to the site.”
Connolly admits he probably works more hours now that he owns a small business, but said the lifestyle change was more than worth it.
“I spend most of my time running around like a chicken with my head cut off — answering email and stacking chairs. You think you’re going to do the thing you’re good at, and that ends up being 20 percent of what you actually do during the day,” he said. “Although I achieve my living by busting my ass week after week, I do it by playing my music and doing what I love.”
Tyler Steele is PhinneyWood’s intern. He is a journalism student at the University of Washington.
Registration is now open for Katy Webber’s early childhood music classes, Katy’s Musikal Magik, at the Phinney Neighborhood Center. A professional musician with a degree in jazz performance, Webber’s classes incorporate movement, getting comfortable with various instruments, and improving listening skills through sound identification.
Classes include Infant/Toddler Music, for ages 1 month to 3 years; Infant Music Development, for ages 1-17 months; and Toddler Music Development, for ages 18 months to 3 years. Classes are $50-$60 depending on the session. Drop-in rates are $12 per class.
For more information, see her website. To register, email katywebber@gmail.com or call 206-729-3412.
Webber also teaches classes at the Green Lake, Ballard and Northgate community centers.
Taking full advantage of an opportunity to build community and create safer neighborhoods, people took to the streets tonight to renew acquaintances and meet neighbors for the first time during National Night Out.
Greenwoodstock, one of the bigger events in the area, drew a steady crowd of people who played in the park…
and listened to three bands…
as they munched on grilled pizza margherita.
Here’s video of the event, featuring the Bubble Man and Jeff Fielder and Black Market, as well as shots of the the pizza. Mmmmmm, pizza….
Send in your pictures and we’ll post the best here.
Andy sent us this photo from 68th and Greenwood Avenue North, where Mayor Mike McGinn stopped in for the festivities, as did the Engine 21 firefighters, who are new neighbors.
Here’s a picture from Tom on 2nd Avenue, NW, where it looks like there was food aplenty for the 40 people and six canines attending.
Dan P. sent in this photo of the scene at 89th and Linden where more than 50 people showed up and they had a badminton net stretched across the street:
Here’s a sharp pic from Christy taken on 79th between Linden and Fremont avenues.
Here are a couple clips we shot during the Greenwood-Phinney Artwalk.
First up, the Ukelele Ladies, who performed at Francine Seders Gallery, 6701 Greenwood Ave. N. on Friday night.
And as promised, here’s a clip of the guys performing outside of Makeda Coffee on Saturday. They’re looking for a name for their band. Got any ideas?
As we get more comfortable with the process of shooting, editing and posting video for the site, we’ll post more clips of happenings in the neighborhood.
We’re looking for video ideas, so let us know what goings on in the neighborhood you’d like to see us cover.
A perfect spring evening – and lots of interesting art and music – drew throngs of people to the first day of the 15th annual Greenwood-Phinney ArtWalk.
We only had time to hit the south end of the ArtWalk tonight, so please help fill in the details with what you saw on your part of the event.
Here’s Sasquatch Studios owner Sacha Maxwell with a paper mache bustier made by artist Nikki deRelle, who is reflected in the mirror.
At Johnson and Johnson Antiques, Trio Con Brio performed from a set of porcelain thrones, which they said added a certain “resonance” to their music.
And at Espresso Dental, one of several bonus stops not listed on the downloadable map listing more than 60 businesses, Phil Scroggs poses with his self-portrait Phillustration, aptly named “Phil.”
The ArtWalk continues 12-5 p.m. Saturday. Find more details in our previous post.
Michael Connolly, owner of Empty Sea Studios at 6300 Phinney Ave. N., is an accomplished musician on a number of different instruments. Now he’s taking his talents on the road to open for the Indigo Girls. Connolly is joining with duo Coyote Grace to open for Indigo Girls tomorrow in Oregon, then continuing on to Nevada and California through the weekend.
Connolly and Coyote Grace opened for the Indigo Girls two years ago at their Woodland Park Zoo concert, after the Girls were given a Coyote Grace CD by a friend.
That’s Michael on the left, with Ingrid Elizabeth and Joe Stevens of Coyote Grace.
(Photo courtesy of Michael Connolly.)
“For Joe Stevens…The Indigo Girls were the official soundtrack to his childhood and learning how to play guitar, so to hear one of them tell Joe that she loved his songwriting was pretty amazing!” Connolly says. “Ingrid, Joe and I are all very excited to get to share stages with the Indigo Girls and expose our music to a much wider audience! And this just in – we were also asked to play three songs with them on their set!”
The new Couth Buzzzard Books Espresso Buono Cafe at 8310 Greenwood Ave. N. is starting Open Mic Nights at 7 p.m. every every Wednesday. The evening is hosted by musician/philosopher Katie Weller. Sign-up starts at 6:30 p.m.
Come and share your music, poetry, stories, whatever. Drinks and food available. You can learn more at our Facebook page: Couth Buzzard Espress Buono or website: www.buonobuzzard.com. And don’t forget our Family Game night every Thursday at 6, and the Writer’s Group on Mondays at 7 p.m.
Who else in the neighborhood sponsors open mic nights? Let us know in comments.
Greenwood resident and Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn will give his inaugural address Saturday at City Hall, 600 5th Ave., in downtown Seattle. The day’s events include a City Hall Open House, a number of different musical acts and a circus arts performance, followed by an Inaugural Music Festival at the Showbox SODO.
Here’s Saturday’s schedule:
Main Lobby:
1 p.m. Victor Noriega Trio, jazz piano inspired by Filipino folk music
2 p.m. Recess Monkey, kiddie-pop rock for the young and young at heart
3 p.m. Mayor McGinn’s inaugural address
3:30 p.m. Seattle Symphony Brass Quintet, top brass perform classical and pops
4:30 p.m. Quinton Morris, classical violinist with pianist Kevin Kaukl
Mayor’s Office, 7th Floor Lobby:
1 p.m. Warren Chang, world-renowned master of the erhu (Chinese two-string fiddle)
2 p.m. Quichua Mashis, Andean music performed by Quichua Indians of northern Ecuador
3 p.m. Mayor McGinn’s inaugural address
3:30 p.m. Northwest Tap Connection, modern and tap dance from Seattle’s brightest young artists
City Hall, 2nd Floor
1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Councilmembers’ offices will be open to the public
City Hall
1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Circus arts – acrobatics, juggling and stilt walking by performers from the former ensemble Circus Contraption
Public Art Tours of City Hall – Tours begin at 1:50 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. at the lobby’s fireplace behind the amber glass wall.
The Inaugural Music Festival, a free, all-ages event featuring Wheedle’s Groove, Hey Marseilles, Gabriel Teodros and headliners The Maldives, is at 8 p.m. at the Showbox SODO, 1700 1st Ave. S. A number of popular local food vendors will be parked outside.
The monthly Greenwood-Phinney Art Up Art Walk is 6-9 p.m. tonight. Two dozen businesses, restaurants and pubs will be open and displaying various artwork, with many artists present to discuss their work. Several places are also offering free live music. See yesterday’s post for a list of every venue participating, names of artists, and musicians performing at this event sponsored by the Greenwood-Phinney Chamber of Commerce.
