Three bands will play free blues at Boston Harbor Marina on Saturday, Sept. 12, raising money for the Olympia Film Society.
The concert runs 4 to 7 p.m. at the marina, 312 73rd Ave. NE. Admission is free, but organizers are encouraging donations to benefit the nonprofit, which operates Olympia's historic Capitol Theater. Headlining is Joel Astley, a harmonica player and singer-songwriter who swept the 2025 Washington Blues Society Awards with his four-piece band.
They took home Best Blues Band, Best Male Vocalist, Best Drummer and Best Blues Harmonica, according to the Oly Arts column by Molly Gilmore. Astley has collected 26 "Best of the Blues" awards from the Washington Blues Society over the past seven years, and his 2023 debut album, "Seattle To Greaseland," reached No. 7 on the Blues Billboard Top Ten.
His band features Joseph Barton on guitar, Tracy Wilkinson on bass and Don Montana on drums. They play a mix of blues, roots rock, funk and soul.
Johnny Burgin and Fishtrap round out the bill. Burgin plays blues guitar and harmonica; Fishtrap is an Olympia blues-rock outfit.
Gilmore wrote in her Sept. 9 column: "Picture this: You're relaxing by the water on a beautiful late-summer day, listening to the blues and gazing at the Olympic Mountains."
Harlequin closes 'Barefoot in the Park' this weekend
Across town, Harlequin Productions wraps its run of Neil Simon's "Barefoot in the Park" with three final performances at the State Theater, 202 4th Ave. E.
The closing weekend schedule: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11; 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13. The production, directed by Karen Lund of Seattle's Taproot Theatre Company, is a co-production between the two theater companies.
Tickets range from $35 to $49, with rush tickets available for $5 to $24.50 two hours before each show. Harlequin is offering 30% off regular prices with the code Barefoot30, according to the production's page.
The cast includes Kim Holm, a founding member of Theater Artists Olympia and a native Olympian performing in her 17th show alongside Russ Holm. He has appeared in 53 productions across 27 seasons at Harlequin. Andy Gordon, who has worked as a playwright, director and actor in Olympia for more than 35 years, rounds out the ensemble.
The blues benefit at Boston Harbor Marina starts at 4 p.m. Saturday, leaving time to catch Harlequin's 7:30 curtain across town.
