For years, Ken Waldman, Alaska's Fiddling Poet, has been putting together roots music variety shows that are fun, inspiring, and full of surprises. He's thrilled to return to Tacoma and the Spanish Ballroom with hometown trio, Cosmo's Dream, and Olympic Peninsula multi-instrumentalist, Matt Sircely. The occasion is also a belated birthday party for Steve Knebel of Cosmo's Dream. We're expecting a celebratory evening with exceptional music (provided by the listed artists here), and exceptional food and drink (available at the Spanish Ballroom and elsewhere at the Elks Temple site). We're also expecting a few exceptional music guests joining us onstage throughout the evening.

Ken Waldman has drawn on 39 years as an Alaska resident to produce poems, stories, and fiddle tunes that combine into a performance uniquely his. 12 CDs mix Appalachian-style string-band music with original poetry. 20 books include 16 poetry collections, a memoir, a children's book, a creative writing manual, and a novel. Since 1995 he's toured full-time, performing at leading festivals, concert series, arts centers, and clubs from the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage to the Dodge Poetry Festival to the Woodford Folk Festival (Queensland, Australia). Much more at
"Like a Ken Burns movie . . . Always recommended" --Austin Chronicle

"Renegade Americana." --Denver Post

Website:

https://www.kenwaldman.com

Americana trio Cosmo's Dream sings original tales of foggy-mountain megamalls, trailer-park guns and guitars, big black cats, Iditarod sled dogs, rising rivers, grandmas online, dark days ahead, beautiful beer, and Superman's dilemma. This Tacoma-based trio, which features Gen Obata on flatpick guitar and mandolin, Steve Nebel on guitar, and Kristi Nebel on bass, blends acoustic musicianship with solo vocals and dynamic three-part harmonies. Steve and Kristi met Gen in 2012 at a local folk music event, quickly became friends, and started jamming and playing music together in 2014. They launched the trio Cosmo's Dream in early 2015 so are nearing their very special tenth anniversary.

Website:

https://cosmosdream.sknebel.com/

Matt Sircely is a Port Townsend songwriter and instrumentalist whose musical interests span the worlds of folk and fiddle music, classic blues and country, vintage swing and bluegrass, and music from around the world. His instrumental work blends traditional and new approaches to mandolin, guitar, and four-string tenor guitar. A founding member of the Seattle-based swing band Hot Club Sandwich, Matt toured the West Coast, performing and recording with the great Dan Hicks back in 2010. Other notables he's performed with include many of his major influences: David Grisman, David Bromberg, Buell Neidlinger and Danny Barnes. Currently he's following a deep passion for fiddle tunes from his ancestral home state of Pennsylvania.

Website:

https://mattsircely.com