Local jazz icon brings live music back to Olympia’s Washington Center

On Tuesday, April 20, jazz singer LaVon Hardison will take the stage at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts, and she’ll sing to a live audience.

The concert, “Uncorked & Unplugged: Pandemic Edition,” is a special event open only to center donors. It would have been no big deal in the days when, even in a town the size of Olympia, there were so many live performances that no one could have attended them all.

But that was a long time ago. On Tuesday, it will have been 404 days since an audience last sat in the theater seats — and it will have been about that long since Hardison has sung in a room with an audience of more than 10 people, as she did in a Seattle church last week.

In the months since it closed, the center — Olympia’s largest theater — has rescheduled events and rescheduled them again. It has planned events and canceled them, including a lineup of holiday films announced just before restrictions were tightened in November.

So the concert, to be performed before an audience of 100 and live streamed online, is a big deal.

“I do think it’s happening this time,” said center executive director Jill Barnes. “I’m optimistic.”

She’s describing the concert as an opportunity for healing and connection. “When my staff and I were discussing that it would be our first live event, we knew we wanted to have LaVon perform,” she told The Olympian. “It wasn’t even a question. She’s so talented and inspiring, and our community loves her.”

“The energy of live music is just such a necessary healing presence for everybody at this time,” Hardison said. “We’ve all watched a lot of livestreams, and those are wonderful. But there is something about the live experience that brings an energy both for the performer and for the audience.”

The Tuesday concert will be followed by several previously announced events in May, including comedy, a filmed ballet by Ballet Northwest and the rescheduled Center Salon, an evening of literature and music.

“Unplugged” is something of a test run as well as a treat for the donors who’ve helped to keep the center afloat. The audience will be limited to 100 people, and they’ll be masked and physically distanced, as will Hardison’s band, Eugene Bien on piano, Osama Afifi on bass and Steve Bentley on drums.

Other safety protocols include keeping concession stands closed, limiting capacity in the restrooms, frequent cleaning, and a ventilation system that meets recommendations for COVID-19 safety.

“We started planning this when we were still in Phase 2,” Barnes said. “We’re retraining our volunteers and our front-of-house staff, and it’s an opportunity to test our safety protocols with the least amount of risk to anyone.

“Patron and employee safety is our number one concern,” she added. “It’s not like everyone coming in will be a guinea pig, but it will be our first public audience.”

Uncorked & Unplugged: Pandemic Edition with LaVon Hardison

• What: Jazz singer Hardison headlines the Washington Center for the Performing Arts’ first live show in 13 months, a physically distanced event for Friends of the Center. Only donors can attend in person, but there’ll be a live stream open to all.
• When: 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 20
• Where: The Washington Center for the Performing Arts, 512 Washington St. SE, Olympia, and online
• Tickets: Free to watch online, with donations encouraged. To attend in person, you need to become a Friend of the Center, which requires a $100 minimum donation.
• Info: 360-753-8586 or https://www.washingtoncenter.org/event/uncorked-unplugged-21/

This story was originally published April 15, 2021 at 5:45 AM.