Our gritty city continues to make noise through a uniquely shitty time.

By REV. ADAM McKINNEY

Tacoma’s always been a “one step forward, two steps back” kind of city, which is something I’ve written about for almost 15 years. The music scene worked in waves, with huge swells leading to times of incredible bands flooding ideal venues – while the lows of closed venues and talent leaving always lead to fallow periods.

As the Weekly Volcano got extinguished by the pandemic in 2020, we were once again in an uncertain time, as big claims by new venues had recently been made to the makeup of Tacoma’s arts scene, while older mainstays struggled to keep a toehold.

In short, three years is a lot of time for Tacoma, even at the best of times, let alone the rock-bottom worst. So, what’s gone down in the Tacoma music scene since then?

The closing of The Swiss in September of 2020 felt like it should have been the canary in the coal mine for Tacoma’s venues. For a place as firmly established in this town – as both a venue and a bar and restaurant – to shutter in a few months meant that the worst was yet to follow. And yet, somehow, Tacoma seemed to get stronger.

Even as shows themselves changed, became less frequent and less frequented, Tacoma’s music scene gritted its teeth and put its ever-present stubbornness to good use. Alma Mater (later known as, simply, ALMA) and McMenamin’s Spanish Ballroom were able to bring in far bigger acts and crowds than any other space in town, as well as provide space for smaller shows and acts to get some reps in. South Tacoma Way continued to grow into Tacoma’s newest hub for activity in the scene. The Plaid Pig, with its matte black walls, cozy moshing confines, and rotating door of heavy rock, metal, and punk acts, felt like a thrillingly old school Tacoma venue left standing, and the Airport Tavern boasted some similarly killer vibes. Real Art, meanwhile, got over some necessary hardships that face all-ages venues and has established itself the best of its kind in the area, and a community of its own.

Downtown, The Valley has remained a steady outlet for everything from outlaw country to art-rock. And, surprises of all surprises, The New Frontier both closed down and reopened in the time that we were away. The New Frontier, once my favorite venue in Tacoma, had been slowly fading away, but has now bounced back with something akin to its older self. Porchfest came around in 2022 – not a new idea, as Porchfests had been occurring all across the country, but one that seemed particularly suited for a time when seeing bands outdoors still felt safer than venturing inside. In 2023, though, Tacoma’s Porchfest blew up into an astonishing affair, showcasing 98 bands in a tiny, residential radius in the south side of 6th Ave. Bringing bands from all around the area, mixing genres and attitudes, and dropping them in the amenable arms of homeowners who wouldn’t mind their porches, lawns, and electricity used – it somehow felt like the most homespun Tacoma festival in years. This felt like proof that Tacoma’s music scene was healing.

While established talents like Mirrorgloss, Voxxy, Stephanie Anne Johnson, Kim Archer, and others have continued to find greater success, newer bands somehow managed to spring up in a wildly depressive time. Enumclaw, Race to the Light, Batangas!, Eel Jive, The Elecvnts, Sons of Ferdinand, Elegant Pleasures, Guilded Lilly, Bowler and Spoons, Vanilla, Walker Sherman and the Heresy, Salt Lick and others have raced in to fill the void that might have been left by bands dissolving or moving to another home.

The way Tacoma stands now, it feels like we’re teeing up for another boom period, with stars aligning for venues and bands to continue the time-honored process of building Tacoma up. Whether anything knocks that down remains to be seen, but it’s been my experience that Tacoma’s music scene can withstand a thousand blows and keep on swinging – and, at the moment, it seems like Tacoma’s getting another wind.