For Brandi Carlile, launching “Returning to Myself” meant returning to a familiar, beloved venue … Easy Street Records. That’s where she chose to perform on release day for her new album, a special show for those buying “Returning to Myself” through Easy Street, a show that maxed out shortly after the surprise announcement earlier this week. Then those who got a spot lined up around the historic Hamm Building – here’s how it looked two hours before showtime:

(Photo sent by Hayk)

Once the doors opened at 6, it was a full house of fans:

And more looking in from the street, until the “garage door” was partly opened:

Carlile not only sang the title track and first single from “Returning to Myself,” but also one of her most-loved songs, “The Story“:

And back to the new album, with “Church and State“:

Carlile last took to the Easy Street stage in a surprise appearance with her longtime band members the Hanseroth Twins eleven months ago. Meantime, Easy Street has several in-store shows most weeks – go here to see who’s next.

West Seattle has a sizable community of ukulele players! Every week we feature at least one local meetup in the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar. And recently we received this tribute to The Ukes, sent by Betsy Henry on behalf of Quail Park-West Seattle (4515 41st SW; WSB sponsor):

Seattle’s beloved and long-standing ukulele group, The Ukes, has been spreading music and joy for decades, and they have a special monthly tradition that deserves to be celebrated. Each month, The Ukes visit Quail Park of West Seattle, a senior living community, sharing their music and positivity with the residents. With casual membership that ranges from a dozen to two dozen, The Ukes pick songs based on a monthly theme, take song requests and even sing Happy Birthday for residents celebrating.

Founded in 1995 at the Senior Center of West Seattle (now the Center for Active Living), The Ukes started as a fun, community-driven initiative. Tony Joslin, the organizer, explains that the center provided practice space in exchange for letting their members sing along.

A special part of the group’s monthly visit to Quail Park is their connection with Paula Green, a longtime member who is now a resident at the senior living community. Paula continues to play with The Ukes during their visits, and her presence reminds everyone of the group’s deep community ties. The residents at Quail Park join in the fun, singing along, clapping, and dancing, turning each visit into a joyous and engaging experience for all.

These visits illustrate the importance of human connection and the impact of community music programs. The residents’ smiles, the music, and the vibrant atmosphere make for a touching and lively event that showcases the power of music to bring people together. The Ukes are uplifting the spirits of the Quail Park residents while sharing their love of music and community.

Artist Mindi Katzman invites you to what you might call a “grand reopening”! Here’s what we received tonight:

My Little Free Art Gallery has been closed for a few weeks for some freshening up, but is now open again.

Anyone can drop off a small piece, either two- or three-dimensional (potters – think small seconds or firsts; painters – small pieces etc.)

This is for everyone and anyone. Take a piece, leave a piece, or both!!! But PLEASE, do not take the props (figures, easels, or bench).

It has been so wonderful to host this little gem, open since April 2021, and see people so delighted with it.

There will be a Little Free Opening with Little Free Snacks from 4 PM-5 PM, Saturday, October 4th.

The Little Free Art Gallery is in the Morgan Junction, 38th Avenue SW, between Morgan and Graham.

More than 60 quilts (and other textile creations) are on display right now, through 4 pm, at the Center for Active Living, during West Seattle Quilters‘ annual showcase. Everything has a story – and you can read the stories while admiring the creations! This one, for example, is a “Quilt of Valor,” made by Malinda for her friend Bob, an 83-year-old Vietnam veteran:

This one was made by Jane, who wrote that she bought the pattern years ago knowing that one day she would make it for her son Nicholas:

These portraits are the creation quilters who “made a portrait in 11 sections, (then) mixed up face sections to create a new portrait”:

There’s an incredible variety of subjects – from mountains to sports teams to herb gardens and, of course, pets:

Here are just a few other things we saw:

You can wander (and touch IF you use the disposable gloves they’re offering at the door) until 4 pm, free admission, upstairs at 4217 SW Oregon. (And if you’re a quilter but not yet connected with this group, you can find out how to do that too!)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Today was the third Sunday that Admiral Church worshipped in its temporary home at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church. It’s moved out of its longtime home at 4320 SW Hill, as has the preschool that had occupied its basement. All this, as the next step in the site’s transformation to affordable homeownership with a new home for the church and the community organizations it hosts.

While the plan in partnership with Homestead Community Land Trust is progressing, demolition is not imminent – midyear 2026 at the soonest. But you won’t see the old church building morph into a tagged, squatter-occupied shell of a building.

It’s already morphed, in fact … into the Admiral HUB.

Part of the HUB is a continued home, for now, for the aforementioned community organizations. You’ll see the Admiral Neighborhood Association there this Tuesday, for example; ANA has met there for years.

But it’s not just about meetings. What inspired us to ask for a chat about the building’s interim status was a reader tip about the heart of it: @ Bear Island.

At the heart of @ Bear Island is someone whose work you have probably seen, even if you don’t immediately recognize his name: Mike Henderson.

He’s an Admiral Church congregant, and prolific artist. We published an in-depth story about him by WSB senior contributor Christopher Boffoli last year, when he was still painting enigmatic messages in highly visible spots, such as a retaining wall on California south of Andover.

Admiral Church’s Anita Shaffer explained that when they decided against leaving the building vacant, after discussions with Homeland CLT and their insurance company, Henderson seemed like the ideal caretaker: “He’s such a creative guy.”

(Anita Shaffer and Mike Henderson in the HUB/Bear Island kitchen)

For starters, he and others have “been de-preschooling the basement,” as Shaffer puts it, although the colorfully painted rooms already seem naturally suited to creativity.

“So we have this massive space and at least seven months to make it up as we go along,” Henderson explains. “The exciting challenge is to use the whole buffalo.” That means opening the space to a wide range of possibilities, with people collaborating.

One of the early collaborators, Celeste, elaborates: “We want to bring the community together to see what people can do.” Workshops, for example, might not take the typical format that some might find “scary” when asked to teach what they know. Maybe just spending a little time planting a seed and sharing their skills.

Henderson recounts the thrill of inviting passersby to participate in his murals – “give people the (paint) roller and give them the chance to make art” – and hopes @ Bear Island will be a place where people can “try things.”

There’ll be music, too, a weekly jazz jam starting next month in what was the church sanctuary and will now be known as “the theater.” (The church’s pastor Rev. Andrew Conley-Holcom says they’ve had a ceremony to “de-consecrate” that space, and there’ll soon be a ceremony about removing the sanctuary’s cross and its “complicated” symbolism.) While the Admiral Church organ is going into storage for now, the piano is staying. The space will have “theatrical lighting and sound.” It’ll be open for rentals as a concert venue, too.

What Henderson most wants you to know is that, rather than fleshing out a set of ideas by finding people to make them happen, they want to find people and then let the ideas happen. “Just be in the same room and plug into the creative energy.” He expects it will be “magical.”

Rev. Conley-Holcom agrees – seeing it as a “play space” most of all.

So how do you get involved? Henderson says they have open hours during which you can just “wander in.”

Another participant in our conversation with the key players added, “It’s very easy to get plugged in here. Just show up!”

One possibility for the space is a continuously open “pay what you can” thrift shop to raise money for @ Bear Island; Celeste already has sparked some of that energy by having a vintage sale there. (Shaffer notes that the HUB remains under Admiral Church’s “nonprofit banner,” and that the church donated $1,000 to get it launched, as well as helping apply for grant money to underwrite the jazz jams.)

What @ Bear Island has in abundance already is the spirit of fun. Henderson laughs that while the @ Bear Island name is a tribute to the Native name Me-Kwa-Mooks, the mascot is not a bear but a rabbit. “I like the confusion!”

The pastor says what he likes most about it is that it “embodies one of my core values, relationship first” and Henderson, he says, is an ace relationship-builder: “He’ll introduce you to people HE didn’t even know.”

This will all lead to one thing, Henderson says:

“Joy.”

You can “wander in” 4-7 pm Tuesdays-Fridays for now; find @ Bear Island updates here.

12:46 PM: Look for banners like that one marking the 14 stops on this year’s free, self-guided West Seattle Art Tour, on until 5 pm today and again 10 am-5 pm tomorrow. Each stop has multiple artists, usually including the host whose studio/workspace is on the map. Our first stop today was the southernmost site, #4, where you’ll find printmaker Diane Kappa (WSB sponsor):

In her backyard studio, she showed us and other visitors a linoleum print she’s working on – she explained that it’s painstaking, but she puts on her headphones, turns on her music, and gets lost in her work.

(As noted here, Diane teaches classes too, so when you visit during the Art Tour, you can talk with her about those!)

She’s hosting three other artists at her Arbor Heights studio/backyard as part of the Art Tour, including another. printmaker, Sahily Anais Perez McMillan:

Sahily is also a printmaker, with subjects including birds, like this Spotted Towhee:

She told us she’s a bird advocate and has volunteered with Birds Connect Seattle, so they’re more than just subjects! Also at this site in Arbor Heights (see the map for the address) are artists Tanya Knannlein and Shelly Sazama, who both work in textiles. In addition to the clickable map we’ve linked to (which includes artists’ websites and short descriptions of their work), there’s a printable map on the Art Tour website too. We’re headed to the north end next and will add more Art Tour sights later.

2:50 PM: Thanks to Eddie for this photo from northernmost stop #12 on the map, in North Admiral:

This stop is hosted by colored-pencil artist Jan Koutsky, with visiting artists Johanna Lindsay (jewelry), relief block printer Theresa Neinas, and ceramics/pottery artist Jody Wally.

4 PM: Our last stop of the first day was Daniel Bernunzio‘s home studio in Highland Park, easternmost stop on the Art Tour, #1 on the map.

In our photo below is the host at center, with visiting artists Cat Brooks (left) and Eric Eschenbach (right) – all three are painters:

Each has an individual tent showcasing their work – Daniel:

Cat:

And Eric:

As with everyone else on the Art Tour, they’re there until 5 today, and again 10 am-5 pm on Sunday.