James DeJoie has appeared on Seaprog stages more than almost any other individual musician, having played with Moraine, Zhongyu, Zubatto Syndicate, Reaven Trio, and Rik Wright’s Fundamental Forces, among others. The Army of Experimental Children is a project centered around his vocal music, and features an ensemble combining strings, woodwinds, a rhythm section, and electronic manipulation.
Hearty thanks to all of the remarkable musicians and open-eared attendees who made Seaprog’s first event at Kenyon Hall a smashing success!
Fian started things off with an intense set featuring just keyboard, drums, and vocals, but the energy was high, and the crowd was held rapt by the group’s compelling and creative songwriting.
Rik Wright’s Fundamental Forces on stage at Kenyon Hall 27 June 2026
Switching gears somewhat, we had Rik Wright’s Fundamental Forces, who floored the capacity audience with their set of electric jazz. The tasty grooves were topped by outstanding solo work from all four musicians. The music on their newest release, Fool’s Fate, was brought to life in an outstanding way, proving that getting out to see musicians play live is the best way to experience music.
Immensity Crumb on stage at Kenyon Hall 27 June 2026
And then we had Immensity Crumb (with string quartet and additional musicians and dancers, no less), who celebrated small things in a grandiose way. Their music may be mostly acoustic, but there’s electricity in their playing, and the arrangements for string quartet and oboe enhanced their sound in a beautiful way. Between the projected visuals, the costumes, and the dancers who joined them, it was an experience to remember.
Kenyon proved an ideal setting for Seaprog’s signature blend of multi-genre adventurous music. A special shout to Kenyon steward Murphy Janssen for welcoming us and most ably wearing many chapeaus.
Kenyon’s convivial atmosphere harks back to Seaprog’s storied run at Columbia City Theater; gladly, we have more events coming up there, starting with Dennis’ “Golden Jubilee” celebration on Saturday 7/11 and another bill in planning for 9/19.
Join us on July 11 for a really special night of music celebrating one of Seaprog’s founders, Dennis Rea. He’s been active on the Seattle music scene for 50 years, and he’s throwing a party to mark the milestone.
These days, Dennis has three main musical projects that will perform at Kenyon Hall, which means the audience gets a wonderful show of varied music while Dennis gets no rest.
Advance tickets are on sale for this all-ages event, and you can find more details on the event page.
2026 has been a year of ups and downs, and it’s only May as of this writing. The next up is a show we’re really looking forward to for several reasons.
First off, it’s the first of what we hope will be many events at Kenyon Hall in West Seattle. This lovely neighborhood theater is recently remodeled and upgraded, and should be an excellent venue for our artists. It’s run as a non-profit, so it fits in with our artistic vision. And there are a couple of handy establishments next door for food and drink.
As for the bill, we’ve got an especially varied combination of artists. There’s the progressive chamber folk of Immensity Crumb, the theatrical art rock of Fian, and the boundary-stretching electric jazz of Rik Wright’s Fundamental Forces.
Fian is a band based in Seattle, Orcas Island, and LA. From day one, Fian has pursued its chaotic and flagrant vision with an adamantine belligerence. For better or for worse, Fian has never considered any tastes beyond their own. The result is something out of place and time, something that doesn’t make much sense. They tend to create songs in linear structures that twist and convulse their way through polyvalent lyrical narratives, varying time and key signatures, and musical styles.
Low end virtuoso, Harrison Scannell leads the musical side of things on bass, Chapman stick, and Warr guitar with the occasional brass instrument to round it out. Drummer and gear nerd, Christian Rider uses his jazz background and subtle empathic touch to give a soft thrum or resounding thunder to the songs as they require. Robert Keene, lives in the woodshed and applies a dense knowledge of theory along with a demented imagination to give every melody a startling counterpoint. Joshua Nelson takes the sustained tone of Gilmour as his starting point and infuses jazz, metal, world music scales, and pedal alchemy to bind everything together with a beautiful distorted ¼”. Vocalist Jonathan Wilson uses the full breadth of his five octave range to whisper, scream, croon, and bellow his way through dense lyrical passages in lively conversation with existential philosophy, the modernists, the Bible, and of course Dostoevsky. Fian attempts to deftly dodge the various generic manacles that get bandied about but if under duress, they might consent to be under the wide umbrella of the term “progressive” though their lineage stems much more from King Crimson than Genesis or Yes. They are also heavily influenced by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, MewithoutYou, The Mountain Goats, and Sondheim.
