Arts & Entertainment Community
Summer Sounds at Skansie 2026 schedule set
The 2026 Summer Sounds at Skansie concert series will have a patriotic kick-off as the nation celebrates its semiquincentennial, or 250th anniversary.
The popular summer concert series launches July 7 with a performance by the 133D Army Band. The Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce and Visit Gig Harbor announced the schedule last week.
The 133D is a 40-member U.S. Army National Guard band based at Camp Murray near Tacoma. According to its website, the band plays about 90 gigs per year, including military ceremonies, community festivals, at schools and at sporting events.
This year is the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Summer Sounds concerts start at 6 p.m. Tuesdays during July and August at Skansie Brothers Park in Gig Harbor.
The full lineup for 2026:
July 7: 133D Army Band
July 14: Chicago Transit Experience, a tribute band performing songs originally recorded by 1970s and ’80s hitmakers Chicago. Like the original group, Chicago Transit Experience is a “rock and roll band with horns.”
July 21: The Shy Boys and a Girl, who describe themselves as “Gig Harbor’s No. 1 cover band.” Their published song list includes everything from “Margaritaville” to “Eye of the Tiger” to “Friends in Low Places.”
July 28: Boogie Blvd, a 10-piece disco band “recreating the dance/pop and R&B hits of the 1970s.” Their song list runs the gamut from The Commodores to Michael Jackson to Amy Winehouse.
Aug. 4: The Mixed Tape is the only band to return from the 2025 lineup. The local favorites — featuring Marc Johnson, Joey Niemann, Cameron Smith and Kyle Uecker — plays country, pop, R&B and rock. Their version of ZZ Top’s “Sharp Dressed Man” blares when you visit their website.
Kyle Uecker, center, of The Mixed Tape, plays during the first evening of 2025’s Summer Sounds concerts. Photo by Carolyn Bick. © Carolyn Bick
Aug. 11: Hair Nation calls itself “the Northwest’s premier ’80s rock tribute band.”
Aug. 18: Brian James Was Here, a country act whose eponymous singer hails from Montesano in Grays Harbor County. The group plays originals and covers.
Aug. 25: Non Jovi is an Aerosmith cover band. Just kidding, it’s obviously a Bon Jovi tribute band.