Arts in brief | March 3 edition

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, March 2, 2022

Laura Veirs performs at VCA

Oregonian indie-rocker Laura Veirs will appear in concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 4, at Vashon Center for the Arts.

An acclaimed songwriter, Veirs is also known for her alternative folk style and mesmerizing vocals. Her newly released album, “My Echo,” includes appearances and contributions from Jim James, Bill Frisell, Karl Blau, Matt Ward and others.

It is the latest in Veirs’ artistic output of 11 solo albums, extensive tours and collaborations with the likes of Neko Case, kd lang, Sufjan Stevens, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, The Decemberists and many others. She’s also a podcaster (Midnight Lightning, about musician parents), an award-winning children’s book author (“Libba,” about folk musician Elizabeth Cotten), a mother and a songwriting teacher who uses a technique she designed herself, the Kaleidoscope Creativity Cards.

Tickets are on sale at vashoncenterforthearts.com.

Jazz masters play a free show in VCA lobby

Stop by the lobby of VCA from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 5, to hear three of Seattle’s most accomplished jazz musicians perform in preparation for a major upcoming recording of Bill Evans recordings.

The free afternoon of jazz was arranged by celebrated jazz bassist and islander Bruce Phares, who will be joined by guitarist Brian Monroney and drummer/percussionist Mark Ivester.

Monroney has performed and/or recorded with major artists such as Gloria Estefan, Natalie Cole, Barry Manilow and Welsh singing legend Tom Jones (with whom Brian toured as guitarist and musical director for 18 years). Since relocating to the Seattle area in 2012, Brian has performed with local favorites including Lee Oskar, Teatro Zinzanni, Nearly Dan and Greta Matassa.

Ivester has extensive experience in many different idioms from pop-rock to big band to jazz to orchestral settings. He has performed with many national jazz artists including Larry Coryell, Freddie Hubbard, Diane Schuur, Mose Allison, Charlie Byrd and Eartha Kitt, and currently performs and records with Greta Matassa, the Jovino Santos Neto quartet, Sonando and The Nick Manson trio.

The trio performed last week at the jazz club North City Bistro, winning the praise of Ron Simon, acclaimed Northwest bass teacher. Simon, in a post about the concert, said he was blown away by the trio.

Three master musicians playing at the highest levels, exploring the music of Bill Evans,” he wrote. “It does not get any better than this.”

Rainbow Girls return to Vashon

Rainbow Girls, a folk trio from California, will play a show at 7 p.m. Monday, March 7, at Vashon Theatre.

The show, presented by islander Debra Heesch, is a long-awaited return to Vashon for the trio, who had been booked to play a show on Vashon in 2020 during what turned out to be the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Comprised of Vanessa May, Erin Chapin and Caitlin Gowdey, Rainbow Girls is known for shows that meld soulful harmonies, layered instrumentals and lyrical content with subject matter ranging from love, self-reflection and social justice. Their instruments and techniques include slide guitar, keys, upright bass, harmonica and beat-boxing and mouth trumpet.

Originally formed in 2010 in Santa Barbara, California, Rainbow Girls has performed internationally, from busking on the streets of Europe to playing pubs and theaters in the United Kingdom, to house concerts, festivals and shows in the United States.

Anna Moss will open the show. Tickets, $15, can be purchased at vashontheatre.com. Doors to the show open at 6:30 p.m. Find out more about the trio’s music and shop for their albums and merch at rainbowgirlsmusic.com.

Art talk with Mary and Roxy Coss

As part of VCA’s “Talks on the Rock” series, the artist Mary Coss and her daughter, jazz musician Roxy Coss, will discuss their individual and collaborative creative process at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 10, in the Kay White Hall Lobby.

Mary will exhibit in the VCA Gallery in March, in celebration of International Women’s Day. Roxy is an internationally renowned jazz saxophonist-composer and the founder and president of the Women in Jazz Organization (WIJO). Both mother and daughter each create works with a social conscience that occasionally unite them in shared projects.

Get tickets to the event and find out more at vashoncenterforthearts.org.

Peter Mulvey in concert

Peter Mulvey, an internationally-touring singer-songwriter with 19 albums, an illustrated book, a TED talk to his credit, will play a show, co-presented by Debra Heesch and Vashon Center for the Arts, at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 11.

Mulvey has opened for acts including Ani DiFranco, Emmylou Harris, and Chuck Prophet. His work draws on his passion for poetry, social justice, scientific literacy and humanism.

Local legend Kat Eggleston will open the show. Get tickets at vashoncenterforthearts.com.