Tired of the cold, wet weather we’ve enjoyed this winter? If so, you probably have a good case of the gray sky blues, and we have the cure!
The first annual Gray Sky Blues Music Festival will be a fun way to welcome Spring and the brighter days ahead. Catch more than 15 Northwest artists performing throughout the day at a dozen or more venues.
You’ll enjoy a full day of fantastic entertainment, beginning with the Daffodil Festival Grand Floral Parade on Pacific Avenue between 10th and 21st Streets beginning at 10:30 am. You can get a preview look at the floats at the staging area between South 7th and 10th on Pacific Avenue before the parade starts.
Beginning immediately after the parade, head out to one of the dozen or so Gray Sky Blues Music Festival venues for lunch, a favorite beverage, and some great music! Festival admission is FREE, so it’s easy to sample the great food and beverages available, or do some shopping at the participating retail stores downtown.
Venues include:
The Harmon Brewery The Swiss Pub
Cutters Point Coffee La Costs Mexican Restaurant
Indochine Restaurant Urban X Change
Paddy Coyne’s Irish Pub The Learning Sprout
THE CURE FOR THE GRAY SKY BLUES
The first annual Gray Sky Blues Music Festival will be a fun way to welcome spring and the brighter days ahead, and will be held on Saturday, April 12, 2008 in downtown Tacoma.
The best way to start shaking off those gray sky blues is find a good spot along Pacific Avenue between 10th and 21st Streets before 10:30 AM and enjoy the annual Grand Floral Daffodil Parade. The floats can be previewed between South 7th and 10th on Pacific Avenue before the parade starts.
After the parade, the thing to do is head for one of the dozen or so Gray Sky Blues Music Festival venues for lunch, a favorite beverage, and some great music! Festival Admission is FREE, so it’s easy to sample the great food and beverages available, or do some shopping at the participating retail stores downtown. The event’s live music venues include The Harmon Brewery, The Swiss Pub, Cutter’s Point Coffee, La Costa Mexican Restaurant, Indochine Restaurant, Urban X Change, Paddy Coyne’s Irish Pub, The Learning Sprout, and Varsity Grill.
More than 15 Northwest entertainment acts will perform throughout the day at nine or more downtown venues. The headliner for the festival is Blues guitarist Teddy Lee Hooker from Long Beach, California. Teddy Lee was voted best Blues artist of the year in 2005 at the South Bay Music Awards, and was one of the top ten finalists at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennesse, in 2007.
OTHER FUN ACTIVITIES
The day’s events include a Classic Mustang Car Show, sponsored by The Harmon Bicycle Club, and located across the street from the Harmon Brewery. At The Swiss Pub, a Classic Corvette Car Show will be held on Jefferson Street in front of The Swiss. You can catch Teddy Lee Hooker at The Swiss Pub beginning at 6:00 pm.
BLUES IN THE SCHOOLS
Saturday, April 12 — Noon to 3 pm
1950 Pacific Avenue (School of the Arts)
High School students interested in learning more about the Blues can learn from a master Blues musician at a FREE clinic during the Gray Sky Blues Music Festival. Seating is limited, and on a first-come, first-served basis for this clinic.
Tacoma Events Commission is partnering with the non-profit Pacific NW Blues in the Schools to offer students in the South Sound an opportunity to learn the Blues from a master Blues musician, James Curley Cooke, on Saturday, April 12th from noon to 3 pm at the School of the Arts Visual Arts & Science building at 1950 Pacific Avenue in Tacoma.
Presented in conjunction with the Gray Sky Blues Music Festival in downtown Tacoma (produced by the Tacoma Events Commission), Cooke, an award- winning Blues guitarist and songwriter, will conduct a free clinic for high school students interested in learning more about the Blues. Although the clinic is free to students, space is limited and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. The clinic will be held at 1950 Pacific Avenue (sponsored by the Tacoma School of the Arts.
Pacific NW Blues in the Schools is a non-profit organization in the Greater Seattle area that is one of the most successful and comprehensive "Blues in the Schools" programs existing in the US today. The program’s mission is to design and deliver an interdisciplinary musical experience for students that through playing, singing, and writing Blues, will also teach them the history and heritage of this original African/American art form.
James Curley Cooke is a multi-award winning guitarist and songwriter whose 40-year career in the music business started in Wausau, Wisconsin, playing with local bands and going on the road in the midwest in 1963-1964. He was a founding member of the Steve Miller Band in 1966-67. In 1974, Curley completed a major tour with Miller and recorded tracks for legendary albums Fly Like an Eagle and Book of Dreams. During these years, he also performed and recorded with such greats as Chuck Berry, Jerry Garcia, Ben Sidran, John Lee Hooker, James Cotton, Freddie King, Boz Scaggs, and many others. He has been honored by his peers in the Washington Blues Society as “Best Acoustic Guitar” in 1995, 2001, and 2007.
A seasoned music instructor whose experience includes developing and teaching courses in community colleges, designing a Blues Guitar instructional book, presenting guest lectures, and providing private instruction. He is also the founder of the highly successful non-profit organization, Pacific Northwest Blues in the Schools, which presents a full music instruction program to students in middle schools, high schools, and correctional facilities.