Summer arrives in Walla Walla, with 91 degrees forecast for the hight today. The kids are out of school - check out Anna's graduation picture from preschool - and Ben's from 5 years ago! Crazy. Next fall begins the only school year that they will be at the same school - Ben in 5th grade, Anna a kinder. Even more crazy!
Live music plays downtown all weekend starting today - local 'good time' band Vintage plays the Downtown Sounds concert after work. And the Foundation also has started a Sundays LIVE concert series; I'm particularly looking forward to seeing Vicky and the Velvet Tones this week.
There has been some great live music events in Walla Walla this spring - In May, Raining Jane played an acoustic set at one of my favorite restaurants, T. Maccarone's, then an electric set at the Whitman coffeehouse stage. Raining Jane is an LA-based group of 4 very talented and gorgeous women writing tight harmony and thoughtful music that you can dance and dream to. I love them. They were incredibly accessible and friendly, and they love Walla Walla. They opened for Guster when they played at Whitman several years ago, and try to come back every time they do a northwest college tour. They'll be back in the fall and I'll be in the front row. And in early June, and electronica/hip hop band performed at the Red Eye - I couldn't make the show, but I heard they were fantastic. On their way from Boise to Seattle, Walla Walla was a great stop to pick up another live performance.
We have entertainment options that we've never had before - Weekly live music with an accomplished jazz showman over Indian food at Backstage Bistro, the Piano Bar with a wide variety of area musicians at Sapolil Cellars, Sunday concerts - it's a little crazy, and a lot of fun. I wrote for the Foundation newsletter that when I graduated from Whitman and worked downtown the first time 17 years ago, it seemed as though our summer concert series and the symphony was about it for live music events beyond the occasional - now, there are things to see, music to hear, dancing to do nearly every weekend.
And I have to share that I have a new mixtape from Micah. Micah is the way cool Program Coordinator who works with me. All the tracks are delightful in their own way. And I must thank him for introducing me to Chromeo. He played me samples from their MySpace page and my immediate response was, "Disco!" I recommend a listen to my friends who, like me, can't really let go of the BEST DANCE MUSIC EVER.
