Spar Stars
The Spar Café: It’s been a saloon, a rooming house for rowdy sailors, a billiard hall, a bowling alley and even a haven for gambling. It’s been a meeting place for longshoremen and politicians, students and native Olympians. And now, while maybe less raucous than it used to be, the Spar is re-instating a staple of its past: Live music.
Beginning tonight, the Spar will host live music from a variety of local musicians, every Thursday and Friday, from 8 to 11 p.m. (Shows shift from all-ages to 21 & over at 10 p.m.) the lineup includes roots, rock and jazz musicians.
Things kick off this evening with the Oly Mountain Boys, a bluegrass band that’s equal parts Smokey Mountain throwback and modern Americana. Well-versed in the old-school tradition of Bill Monroe and the like, the Oly Mountain Boys bring a youthful flair of their own to the genre. Maybe call it “future-roots.”
A special highlight of the upcoming calendar is local jazz guitar great (and we don’t use that word lightly) Vince Brown, who’ll play every third Thursday.
Clad in his dapper brown suit, his white beard just a touch long, Brown looks every part the venerable, life-long musician. He has mastered jazz guitar; he can make a hollow-body sing like a swingin’ siren, or rip staccato riffs with such lithe skill, they skip straight off the fretboard and into your ears.
Brown and the Oly Boys are but a smidge of what Spar music has to offer. For the full lineup, visit the Spar Music & Event schedule.
All these shows are meant to be family-friendly, a reason for locals to gather over a pint and reminisce, or to have yet another pint and look toward the future -and, with the musical acts we have planned, the future of the Spar looks stellar. We’ll see ya at the Spar!