Kids lift their voices in song

The Vashon Youth Chorus will present a free spring concert at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 4, at Vashon United Methodist Church. Directed by Julie Kangas and accompanied by Laura Cerven, the choir will perform works in English, French, Swahili and Hebrew, including American folk songs, social justice ballads and songs of peace from around the world. Young people are especially encouraged to attend.

Preaching the blues at the Bike

A revered local band, One More Mile, will play a no-cover show at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 5, at Red Bicycle Bistro & Sushi. The blues group is fronted by “The Principal” Jason Lollar (vocals/lead guitar) and “Lonesome” Mike Nichols (vocals/harmonica) — a musical brotherhood that goes back decades. Lollar is the founder of the Lollar Guitar Pickup Company and cut his teeth playing with the Shakey Jake band throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He has opened for acts including John Mayall, Mick Taylor, Curtiss Salgado, Isaac Scott and William Clarke. Nichols, a former member of The Great Divide, has opened for the likes of Elvin Bishop and Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen. Rounding out the band are keyboardist/vocalist Tony Mann, bassist/vocalist Chuck Keller and drummer/vocalist Wesley Peterson. The show is for all ages until 11 p.m. and 21 and older after that.

Maggie Laird Trio plays a secret show

The Maggie Laird Trio — made up of Vashon music power couple Maggie Laird and Todd Zimburg, joined by Dennis Staskowski — will play in concert at 7 p.m. Sunday, April 7, at a concert held in a secret spot. Reservations are needed to find out the location of the show, presented by Tip the Scales. Laird, a vocalist, pianist and songwriter, performs originals, jazz standards and a range of multi-genre favorites. According to Scott Yanow, author of The Jazz Singers, “Her music can be thought of as jazz with a pop sensibility, displaying her roots in rock, pop, cabaret and the theatre while always having the spirit of jazz.”

Zimberg has worked in the Puget Sound region as a drummer, percussionist and educator for more than 20 years. He has performed locally with Isaac Scott, Duffy Bishop, Jambalassy and for 10 years with Northwest blues legend Tom McFarland. He has also appeared regularly with such national acts as Big Brother and the Holding Company, Bo Diddley and the late Fenton Robinson, among others. To buy tickets and learn the concert location, contact keggleston@kateggleston.com.

Jazzy guitar at the Farmers Market

Local guitarist and composer Michael Whitmore will play a solo set from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 6, at the Vashon Farmers Market — the market’s opening day. Whitmore is a nylon string guitarist, occasional vocalist and the leader/composer of Vashon’s jazz ensemble Some’tet. His music includes post-jazz, avant-jazz, free-jazz, with a hint of samba and American primitivism. A veteran of the Los Angeles new music scene, he moved to the Northwest about a decade ago. He is also a music historian, a DJ and a record collector. Currently, he hosts the Friday Morning Scramble on Vashon’s KVSH 101.9FM.

Discussion tackles issue of migration

A new series of once-a-month Thursday evening talks focused on literary and religious topics and social issues will launch at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 11, at the Vashon Havurah, with a talk by Merna Hecht and Rob Crawford, called “Crossing Borders/Closing Borders: Two Perspectives on Migration in Europe With an Eye Toward America.” Hecht, a storyteller, teacher and Vashon’s poet laureate, will talk about her experience volunteering in different settings with refugee women and children. Crawford, a professor emeritus at UW Tacoma, has interviewed activists and academics about the political repercussions of the refugee crisis, the rise of the far-Right, and the future of democracy in Europe and the United States. Following their presentations, both speakers will engage the audience in a discussion of how immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers are welcomed and rejected in light of radically changing political environments. The Havurah is located at 15401 Westside Highway SW. All are welcome, as are modest donations.

Big name in rock music comes to town

Patterson Hood, a singer-songwriter and co-founder of the celebrated band, Drive-By Truckers, will play a solo show on Tuesday, May 7, at Vashon Theatre. Hood has a musical pedigree that began at his birth in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, as the son of the longtime bassist of the Muscle Shoals Rythm Section. Hood’s music careens between country and southern rock, but he is also a songwriter capable of poignant, searching ballads and more hard-rocking barn burners. His show on Vashon is a coup for local presenter Debra Heesch, who has presented many other national and specialty music acts on Vashon. Advance tickets, $35 for the first four rows of the theater and $22 general admission, are on sale now at vashontheatre.com. All day-of-the-show tickets at the door (if any are left) are $25.