Northwest Folklife partners with Tacoma Arts Live to produce Live at The Eleanor, a new series at the Tacoma Armory. Offering an intimate, candlelit lounge experience with performances across genres—from music to poetry to dance—accompanied by craft beverages and light concessions. Every Friday and Saturday evening in the historic Eleanor Room.
Duo Takinai, May 2nd
Takinai is a mix of two words, the Quechua (Bolivian indigenous language) word “Takina” meaning “music”, and the Chinese word “ai 爱” meaning “love.” Joined by the love for music, Duo Takinai (Ke and Reynaldo) interprets traditional and contemporary repertoire from Latin America, Eastern Mediterranean, and East Asia. From their own distinct cultural heritages and musical backgrounds, the two multi-instrumentalists employ a wide variety of instruments such as the Andean and Asian wind instruments, world percussions, guitar, harp, piano, and more.
Artist Statement:
As a duo, we create an intimate and organic musical experience, weaving together the rich folk traditions of East Asia, the Andes, and Sephardic cultures. Through a diverse array of acoustic instruments, we explore the soulful melodies and timeless stories carried through these traditions, honoring their roots while embracing the connections they share.
Our music is a journey across landscapes and histories, a dialogue between cultures that have long expressed their joys, sorrows, and resilience through sound. In each performance, we invite the audience into a space where past and present meet, where the warmth of acoustic resonance brings ancient traditions to life. At the heart of our work is the belief that music transcends borders, carrying with it the shared human experience. Through our performances, we hope to create moments of reflection, connection, and discovery—bridging worlds through the power of sound.
Rouge, May 3rd
Vocalist Janet Rayor, Accordionist Toby Hanson, Pianist Clayton Murray.
The joy, pathos, sensuality and romance, of classic cobblestone French music beguiled Rouge's founder Janet Rayor. Yet the relationship with the audience matters as much to this vocalist/dancer. The charismatic, elfin performer began singing Rouge music almost 28 yrs. ago, gaining Toby Hanson, an award-winning accordionist/composer, and Clayton Murray, a consummate accompanist and melodic jazz pianist, 15 years on, to create an experience that is alive and new!
"[Rayor] charmed the audience, . . . a pitch-perfect chanteuse, dancing through the audience . . . connecting with young and old alike. . . musicianship was nothing short of superb!"
~ My Edmonds News
Fantastique! . . an exquisitely talented performer...a cut above. . Liza Minelli, Juliet Prowse, and Zsa Zsa Gabor. Her vocal range is magnifique, but her mixture of humor and pathos, dramatic gestures, dead pan, comic asides, teasing flirtations, and audience connection is electrifying! Her dancing prowess is a graceful, a sensual display of poetic athleticism. . .
The pianist and accordion player are virtuosos in their own right . .
~ John Shephard, Cottage Lake Concert Series
Correo Aereo, May 10th
Correo Aereo, (Air Mail), Austin Music Award winning Latin American/World music group, performs traditional music from Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela and beyond, combining a stunning array of string and percussive instruments with silken vocal harmonies described as “…locked in carnal embrace.” by the Austin Chronicle. Their repertoire from these lineages draws from their Indigenous American roots, and the African, N. African & Sephardic diasporas, and inspires their own original offerings as well. Hailed for exciting musical virtuosity and profoundly moving performances through landscapes of Latin America, their music is both viscerally ancient and vibrantly contemporary! Abel Rocha plays Venezuelan and Mexican harp, guitar, cuatro, quinta huapanguera and vocals. Madeleine Sosin offers violin, maracas, bombo, jarana, quijada and vocals. They are joined by ‘Award winning Amy Denio (The Tiptons and Kulture Shock), on clarinet, accordion and vocals. Their music is richly polyrhythmic and soulfully melodic – soaring, fiery, haunting and joyful…this is the universal language; world music at it’s finest. Perfect for all audiences and ages!
Cafecito, May 24th
Cafecito plays a mix of traditional tango for dancing, Latin American folklore, and classical music