BY SUZY STUMP for WEEKLY VOLCANO 9/5/25 |
Tacoma’s own Nolan Garrett will take the stage at The Spar this Saturday, September 6, at 7 p.m. with a show that threads through the arc of his musical transformation from garage-band prodigy to dreamy psych-pop songwriter, and back.
Garrett’s musical path is a full-circle journey full of adventure and nostalgia. As a child in Tacoma, he picked up the guitar at eight, writing his first song at nine inspired by a Dr. Seuss tale. In one of his earliest gigs, he performed “Folsom Prison Blues” in front of a crowd of 200—his first audience outside of family. Between ages nine and sixteen, he relentlessly gigged, wrote, toured the Pacific Northwest, and even opened for acts like Chris Isaak at a sold-out show at Chateau St. Michelle.
“In terms of how my music evolved,” Garrett reflected in a recent interview, “it’s evolved a lot and also not at all. The music I record and release is very different and always changing. At the same time I still play some of the same songs live as I did when I first started at eight.” He embodies both growth and rootedness in his performance.
In 2016, fresh out of high school, Garrett made the leap to Liverpool, UK, to attend the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts—an opportunity he never anticipated until it landed on his doorstep. “It changed everything for me,” he said. “My life was here in Tacoma, and going over there was starting over from scratch both professionally and personally.”
His time in Liverpool, birthplace of The Beatles, legendary location of the Cavern Club, and the homeland of The Wombats and Circa Waves, sparked stylistic explorations where he swapped grunge-tinged blues for introspective, dreamy psych-pop. He wrote and recorded in DIY mode—alone in his flat—distilling personal reflections into songs. This period shaped a new style of songwriting with fewer rules about genre and style.
Upon returning to the Pacific Northwest, Garrett released a three-song EP titled The Camel on Minerva Music, the label of RAC and Goldroom. And though he’s now shifted into more solo work, his creative gears remain collaborative. His newest single, Wilting, is released under the band name Just the Pit—a duo featuring Tacoma musician Elizabeth Hume. Garrett shared wryly, “There’s not much of a story…we have a bunch of tunes and this was the one that ended up getting finished first. I will say it went through quite a few makeovers and renditions before we got to the final version.”
Innovation, to him, is organic—not formulaic. “When I sit down to write, I’m always going with whatever is exciting me in the moment, it could be anything. I’ve never been able to find any sort of routine, it all just comes out when it feels like it.”
Still, despite his growing catalog and geographical travels, Garrett remains deeply rooted in Tacoma. He recalls early mentors like Randy Oxford, who ran a jam night at Jazzbones when Garrett was nine or ten—a place where he soaked up stagecraft. “I learned so much playing with him and the band there,” Garrett said. Guitarist Rafael Tranquillino and performer David Keys also shaped his conception of what performance could be. “Paul Manuel, who ran PSMFYA, is the reason I started a band in the first place,” he added, listing Reed Riley, Dan Rankin, Raymond Hayden, Bill Bungard, Larry Williams, Louie G, Mike & Deb Miles, Rachel Hogan, and his parents among those who supported him through his beginnings. “All these people took their time and energy to help me, and I can only express my gratitude.”
Nolan’s musical identity today reflects the styles he grew up on, even as he filters newer influences through that lens. Lately, he’s found himself revisiting early-2000s radio he describes as “songs I remember hearing in the car with my mom driving to school”—and chasing that nostalgic vibe in his music.
Garrett’s live shows are known for their energy. “What I love about playing live,” he writes on his GigTown profile, “is that people get to see you expressing your art in its purest form… when the crowd is feeding off your energy and vice versa. It’s really one of the best things on the planet for me.”
This Saturday’s performance at The Spar promises to deliver that energy—but with nuance. Set in a cozy venue in Old Town Tacoma at 2121 N. 30th Street, it marks a homecoming with the tonal shifts he’s navigated over the past decade.
When asked what’s next after the gig, Garrett said: “More recording and writing for sure. Maybe some more gigs. I don’t plan very far ahead, so we’ll see what happens.” Dreaming big is part of his DNA, though he keeps it open-ended. “I’m not sure exactly where, but I hope it takes me further.”
And to young aspiring musicians, his advice is simple: “Music is effort just like anything else. You have to apply yourself. Not saying you have to do twelve hours a day, but you can’t expect to sit down and be amazing on day one…It just takes time and consistency. Aside from that, find joy and have fun.”
The Spar, 2121 N. 30th St., Tacoma. Saturday, Sept. 6, 7 p.m.
www.thespartavern.com
