VCA’s new season spotlights talent from near and far
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, July 28, 2026
Vashon Center for the Arts has announced more than 100 performances, lectures, films and other events for its 2026-27 season, including appearances by nationally known musicians, authors and dance companies.
The season opens Aug. 30 with Drink the Sea, a new group featuring Peter Buck of R.E.M. and Barrett Martin of Screaming Trees and Mad Season.
“While some names of this season’s performers will be instantly recognizable, others might not be,” VCA Executive Director Allison Halstead Reid said in a press release. “And that’s a great thing, because I can’t tell you how many times audience members have come up to me after shows, asking, ‘Why haven’t I heard of these people sooner?’”
Other fall concerts include Duane Betts and his band, Palmetto Motel, on Sept. 4; the Metta Quartet celebrating the 100th anniversary of jazz musician John Coltrane’s birth on Oct. 7; Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Paula Cole on Oct. 9; Louisiana musician Marc Broussard on Nov. 6; and Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Robbie Fulks on Nov. 21.
Later in the season, VCA will host Lady Blackbird, Julie Fowlis, Pete Droge and Elaine Summers, and the Jenner Fox Band performing a tribute to Paul Simon. MarchFourth will headline a New Year’s Eve celebration.
Comedy offerings will include Paula Poundstone and the Ladies of Laughter, while visiting dance companies will include Whim W’him and the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble.
The season will also feature several Vashon-based performing arts organizations.
Vashon Island Chorale will perform Mozart’s “Requiem” in a free concert Sept. 11 commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Vashon Opera will open its season Sept. 25 and 27 with Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera,” starring soprano Angela Meade and tenor John Matthew Myers. Vashon-Maury Chamber Orchestra will perform Oct. 25.
Vashon Repertory Theatre will present “Moby Dick, or The Whale,” an adaptation of Herman Melville’s novel, from Oct. 16-18, followed by a one-person adaptation of “A Christmas Carol,” titled “Humbug,” on Nov. 28.
VCA dance students and guest performers will appear in “The Nutcracker” from Dec. 3-6. Student dance and musical theater productions will continue throughout the season.
Other fall events include “Dear Reader: An Evening with Julia Quinn,” featuring the author of the “Bridgerton” novels, on Sept. 12; a Sept. 26 screening of “Heart of a Lion,” a documentary about biologist Mark Elbroch’s research into mountain lions; and an Oct. 29 presentation by photographer Kiliii Yuyan on Indigenous environmental stewardship.
Art historian Rebecca Albiani will also begin a new lecture series Sept. 13 with a presentation on the Japanese aesthetic philosophy of wabi-sabi.
World music offerings will include Scottish band Skerryvore on Oct. 11. Later performers will include Ukrainian folk group Yagody, Irish band Lúnasa, Cape Verdean singer Lucibela, Spanish singer-songwriter Pedro Pastor, Jesús Muñoz Flamenco and Ugandan musician Samite. VCA will also bring back Balkan Night.
Classical and chamber music performances will include “Piano Duel: Liszt vs. Thalberg” on Oct. 2 and the Vashon debut of Seattle’s Jigsaw Chamber Music Ensemble on Nov. 15. The season will also include the Governor’s Chamber Music Series and PianoFête, VCA’s annual festival of two-piano music.
More than 90% of the season’s shows will be free for attendees ages 18 and younger, according to VCA. The program is supported by King County’s 4Culture and other funders. VCA will also distribute tickets through a partnership with Vashon Youth and Family Services.
A complete schedule and ticket information are available at vashoncenterforthearts.org.
