Glitterfox
Portland-based Glitterfox is bringing the band’s queer rock anthems, tinged with soul-wrenching lyrics and out-of-body dance rhythms, to Vashon’s Snapdragon Café & Bakery on Thursday, March 28.
The show is being presented by islander Debra Heesch.
The band’s founders are a married couple, Andrea Walker and Solange Ioga.
“We’re very spirited performers and when the four of us are playing music together, you can feel and see how much we love each other as people and as bandmates,” said Walker, in a recent interview. “So expect a lot of fun and a lot of energy. There’s a strong emotional current that runs through every single song that we write and perform. I hope that it touches people in the heart as well. Not only are you going to dance and move, but you’re also going to go away from it feeling something great.”
Get tickets at tinyurl.com/hysfnvce, find out more at glitterfoxband.com, and listen to a Voice of Vashon interview of Walker and Ioga here.
Joseph Keckler and Lydia Lunch
Joseph Keckler, who made a memorable Vashon debut in 2022, will return to Vashon Center for the Arts at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 28, to present another evening of his vivid stories and stirring songs. He will be joined by the legendary New York musician and writer, Lydia Lunch.
Keckler is a singer, writer, and multifaceted artist whose work has recently been presented by Lincoln Center, Yale University, and NPR Tiny Desk. He has created numerous songs, short films, and evening-length performance pieces and is the author of the essay and story collection, “Dragon at the Edge of a Flat World,” published in 2018 by Turtle Point Press.
Lunch was an iconic part of the No Wave movement of the 1970s in New York City, and continues to be a prolific writer, musician, poet, spoken word artist, and photographer.
Since 2019, she has hosted The Lydian Spin, a weekly podcast. Her decades-long career is the subject of “The War is Never Over,” a feature-length documentary film.
Find out more and get tickets at vashoncenterforthearts.org.
Social Dance Party
A social dance party will take place from 6:30-9 p.m. Saturday, March 30, at Snapdragon’s Black Cat Cabaret.
Solo dancers and couples are welcome for this evening of dancing salsa, tango, swing, blues, fusion, freestyle and more, with short lessons throughout the evening by performer and teaching artist, Sarah Elizabeth Howard, host and owner of Nomadic Dance. There is a $10 suggested donation and a one-drink minimum, with food and drink available for sale.
Find out more, including information about Nomadic Dance classes held at Open Space for Arts & Community, here. To register and ask questions, email sarah@nomadicdance.com.
Dina Martina
Award-winning and celebrated drag diva Dina Martina will make her island debut at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 5, at Vashon Center for the Arts.
Her show, “Dina Martina: Sub-Standards,” will be a “truly wondrous and surreal blend of questionable song, unnecessary dance, overburdened costumes, and side-splitting video,” according to VCA’s description of the show.
Find out more and get tickets at vashoncenterforthearts.org.
Uptown comes to Vashon
“Uptown,” a singing group from New York City that combines smooth stylings of rhythm and blues classics with contemporary pop and soul music, will bring their high-energy vocals and choreography to Vashon with a show at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 14, at Vashon Center for the Arts.
VCA’s website promises the show will provide “the perfect mix of Bruno Mars-caliber stage presence with the vocals of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gay, Earth Wind & Fire, and more.”
Find out more and purchase tickets at vashoncenterforthearts.org.
CHRCH
Vashon’s favorite variety show, CHRCH, filled with sketch comedy, music and special guests, will serve up two performances at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Sunday, April 14, at Open Space for Arts & Community. The theme for the show is “Keep Vashon Weird.”
Get advance tickets at openspacevashon.org, and find out more about the Vashon-centric variety show at chrchatopenspace.com.
Roger McGuinn
The legendary founder of The Byrds, Roger McGuinn, will appear in an intimate concert at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 17, at Vashon Center for the Arts.
From his signature 12-string Rickenbacker sound to his instantly recognizable vocals on hits like “Turn Turn Turn,” “Eight Miles High,” and “Mr. Tambourine Man,” McGuinn made history with his music.
McGuinn’s concert, said VCA’s website, will be a “spellbinding mix of story and song that includes songs that are ‘old friends,’ along with other folk music that McGuinn passionately embraces.”
Find out more and get tickets at vashoncenterforthearts.org.
Ray Pfortner workshops
Island photographer Ray Pfortner will offer three upcoming workshops.
Pfortner will lead a free two-part photography shoot-and-share with Vashon Senior Center at Vashon’s Froggsong Gardens. The on-location shoot at Froggsong will take place from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Thursday, April 4, followed by a sharing of participants’ results, with feedback, at 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 10, at the Senior Center. For more information, visit vashoncenter.org or call 206-463-5173.
“Handmade Photographs in Beeswax,” presented in conjunction with the Episcopal Church of Holy Spirit, will teach students how to make keepsakes of a photograph or piece of wood on wood, stone or tile. The class will take place from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, April 6, at Open Space for Arts & Community. The registration deadline is March 29; register or get more information by visiting online, or emailing Kit Bean, at kitbean@gmail.com.
In another three-part workshop, “Photo Styling: The Art of Arranging,” presented by Vashon Center for the Arts, Pfortner will explain how, often, the best photographs are not found but arranged, straight out of the imagination of the photographer. The class, which costs $140, takes place on April 18, 25, and May 9, and includes a location shoot at Point Robinson. For more information and to register, visit online.
