Decade in Review: Arts and Culture in the Inland Northwest

A lot can happen in 10 years. Here’s a look at a few moments you might have forgotten about, or want to relive, from Spokane’s arts and culture scene during the 2010s.

James Lowe replaces Eckart Preu at symphony

After 15 years with the Spokane Symphony, music director Eckart Preu announced in 2017 he was leaving the organization. After a two-year search that netted 188 applicants, James Lowe was named the new music director in June.

“It is incredibly rare to find an organization with all the stars aligned in the way they are here with the Spokane Symphony,” Lowe said during a news conference announcing his new gig.

Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center

The Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center opened on the Gonzaga University campus this year, funded by a $55 million gift Woldson – a decades-long supporter of GU – gave to the university upon her death at the age of 104 in 2014. The center hosts school events and touring acts.

The Bartlett

In 2013, Karli and Caleb Ingersoll opened the Bartlett, which quickly became a staple of downtown Spokane, a space for music fans and musicians, no matter where they were in their career. But all good things must come to an end, and earlier this year the Ingersolls announced they were closing the Bartlett.

“Six years of magic, laughter, new friends, old friends, disappointments, challenges and an unbelievable amount of incredible live music,” the pair wrote on Facebook.

The Ingersolls are now focusing on their second venue, Lucky You Lounge, in Browne’s Addition.

Allen Stone

Chewelah’s Allen Stone started the decade by self-releasing his debut album “Last to Speak.” But it was the following year’s “Allen Stone” that turned the soul singer from the Pacific Northwest’s little secret into a national name.

Television appearances followed the release of “Allen Stone,” as did work with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Stone released “Radius” in 2015 and twice appeared on “American Idol” in 2018. Most recently, Stone released “Building Balance” in November.

‘Tag’

In 2018, the appropriately titled “Tag,” a movie about a group of Gonzaga Prep graduates who carried on a decades-long game of tag, hit the big screen. The movie starred Ed Helms, Jake Johnson, Hannibal Buress, Jon Hamm and Jeremy Renner.

‘Z Nation’

For five seasons, the “Z Nation” team, including actors Kellita Smith, DJ Qualls, Michael Welch, Keith Allan and Anastasia Baranova, as well as numerous local actors, used Inland Northwest locales to bring a post-apocalyptic world to life. The action/horror/comedy show was canceled in December 2018.

Myles Kennedy

Thanks to his work with Alter Bridge, Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators and as a solo artist, Myles Kennedy’s discography grew considerably this decade. Kennedy, who moved to Spokane as a child, released four albums with Alter Bridge, three with Slash and one solo album. Alter Bridge will headline the Knitting Factory in February.

Theaters

Throughout the decade, Inland Northwest theaters had their fair share of trouble and triumph. Spokane Civic Theatre fired, then settled a wrongful termination suit with Yvonne A.K. Johnson. Executive Directors Keith Dixon and Lenny Bart followed, and now Jake Schaefer holds the position of creative director. The Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre shut its doors in August 2013 due to budget shortfalls before reopening that October. Unfortunately, the Modern Theater Spokane met a different fate, closing for good in 2016. Other companies have risen, too, including Spokane Valley Summer Theatre (headed by Johnson), as well as Ignite and Stage Left in Spokane and Aspire in Coeur d’Alene

Terrain

Terrain, co-founded by Ginger Ewing and Luke Baumgarten, began (and continues) as a one-night only exhibition of local artists. But over the decade, it’s expanded to include much more, including From Here (formerly known as the Pop Up Shop), Bazaar and Brrrzaar. During the most recent Brrrzaar, patrons bought more than $125,000 worth of art and handmade items.

First Interstate Center for the Arts

The building formerly known as the Spokane Opera House and the INB Performing Arts Center made its debut as the First Interstate Center for the Arts in 2018 after a six-month, $22.3 million renovation project.

Garth Brooks

The country legend sold out seven shows at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena in 2017.

“If every night goes like last night, seven shows ain’t going to be enough here,” Brooks told The Spokesman-Review the day after the first show. “That was a blast.”