Information is provided about the "nightlife" music scene in Tri-Cities WA (Kennewick, Pasco, Richland, West Richland) that includes local bands and musicians, venues, and music event calendars.
Check out the following topics:
Music Event Calendars
Check the following calendars to find out who's performing at the various venues in the Tri-Cities:
Nightlife Music Venues
The following is a list of some of the venues in the Tri-Cities that feature live music entertainment throughout the year. The venues denoted with (*) offer live music during the Spring/Summer months.
(*) 3 Eyed Fish Wine Bar (Richland) 
At Michele's (Richland)
Badger Canyon Dugout (Kennewick)
Branding Iron (Kennewick)
(*) Clover Island Inn (Kennewick)
Copper Top Tap House and Growler Fills (Kennewick)
D's Wicked Cider (Kennewick)
Iconic Brewing (Richland)
Kennewick Eagles 2485 (Kennewick)
Rattlesnake Mountain Brewing Company (Richland)
Rewster's Craft Bar & Grill (Richland)
Richland Dugout Bar & Grill (Richland)
Soi 705 (Richland - formerly Mezzo Thai)
(*) Tagaris Winery (Richland)
The Chicken Shack (West Richland)
The Emerald of Siam (Richland)
Tin Hat Tavern (Kennewick)
Whiskey River Bar & Grill (Richland)
Wine Social (Richland)
Are you planning to go to Pendleton, Prosser, Walla Walla or Yakima for an evening? If so, check out the following venues:
Pendleton
- Wildhorse Resort & Casino (46510 Wildhorse Blvd.)
Prosser
- Brewminatti (713 6th St.)
Walla Walla
- Henry Earl Estate Wines (25 E. Main St.)
- Night Life Walla Walla (calendar)
- Plumb Cellars (39 E. Main St.)
Yakima
- (*) Gilbert Cellars (5 N. Front St.) (Music in the Vines)
- Yakima Sports Center (214 E. Yakima Ave.)
- Yakima Valley Live (calendar)
Bands & Musicians
The following is a list of some of the muscians that perform acoustic, blues, funk, jazz, Latin jazz, alternative, country, hip hop, metal, rhythm & blues, rock, and Christian music in the Tri-Cities.
Badger Mountain Dry Band (bluegrass)
Badlandz (music that feels good)
Barefoot Randy (singer/song writer)
Bent on Blues (blues, R&B, classic rock)
BlueZette (60's & 70's retro pop)
Bobby & Faith (acoustic duo)
Colorblind (rock and roll)
Dan Myers (acoustic and synthetic arrangements)
Doug Rice Guitarist (acoustic fingerstyle, jazz, rock, funk, and blues)
Fallout (rock and roll)
Fat Fox (pop, rock, classic rock)
Frazer Wambeke (soul, blues, funk, jazz, instrumental)
Groove Principal (rock and roll)
Jack Jones (vintage country, swing, Latin, old jazz)
Jack Rothwell (acoustic rock/pop - open mic host)
Jamie Nasario (vocals - old school soul & blues)
Jeff Peterson (trumpet player)
Lawrence Huntley (international folk instrumentals)
Melissa Cunnington (jazz/pop singer)
Naughty Pine (acoustic reggae)
Pamela Thomas-Martin (Americana, rock, folk)
Paul Carter / Riverside Rhythm & Bluez Review (R&B, funk, blues)
Quinell Oucharek (acoustic folk/rock)
Stompin' Ground (country rock, classic country & rock-n-roll)
SwingShift (classic rock, country, swing and standards)
Swing Unlimited (big band swing)
The Decantors (acoustic rock)
The Knutzen Brothers (originals, standards, country, pop)
The Outsiders Band (classic rock)
The Shades (classic rock, pop)
Trillium 239 (acoustic singer-songwriter trio with cello)
Tupelo Joe (acoustic country, folk, pop, rock)
Vaughn Jensen Band (blues, southern rock, indie)
Wabi Sabi (jazz fusion)
Jam/Open Mic Community
Tri-Cities Jam/Open Mic Community
Looking for a place to try out a new song or just want to play and have no gig? Tri-Cities Jam/Open Mic Community publishes Jam/Open Mic events in the Tri-Cities area.
Mid-Columbia Bluegrass Association
The Mid-Columbia Bluegrass Association sponsors several jams that start in September and run through May. These are family-oriented events and everyone is welcome. So, bring your instruments and family members and be ready to enjoy a wonderful evening of music.
Three Rivers Folklife Society
Three Rivers Folklife Society (3RFS) has an open mic at their monthly coffeehouse. Presented the second Friday of each month from September through May or June, at 7:30 p.m. Performances begin with an open mic session that may include music, poetry, etc, followed by the featured performer. Sign-ups for the open mic session begin at 7:00 p.m., first come, first served, limit four performers, and two songs each.
Washington Old Time Fiddlers
The Washington Old Time Fiddlers (District 12) holds a monthly jam session and show the second Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Richland.
Karaoke
Looking for Karaoke venues in the Tri-Cities? If so, check out Tri City Karaoke where you can find a calendar that shows what's happening at different venues.
Heavy Metal Band Performances
Heavy metal band performances are taking place at Eagles 2485 or The Tin Hat in Kennewick. Must be 21+ and there is typically a $5 cover charge to attend.
Ray's Golden Lion
Update - January 9, 2023
The legendary Ray's Golden Lion has new owners with a dream to revitalize the Tri-Cities music scene according to an article in the Tri-City Herald published on January 9, 2023. From their days playing on the stage to bringing it back to life, two Tri-Cities men are pouring everything they have into reopening the iconic Tri-Cities venue - Ray's Golden Lion.
Talon Yager and Andrew McVay have bought Ray's Golden Lion in Richland, a place they grew up at listening to music. They are working to resurrect the bar and bring the music scene back to Tri-Cities. They're planning to operate as a restaurant during the day, and move into bar mode around 9 p.m. They plan to open around July 1, 2023.
History
Ray Chin opened Ray's Golden Lion in 1963 in Uptown Richland and turned his venue into a hot spot for food and entertainment. Ray's was different, a restaurant by day and a club by night, booking big-time musicians like Frank Sinatra Junior and Ike and Tina Turner.
It was in the early 2000's that Ray saw the transformation into a place for punk, rock and rap music for not just young adults but those under 21, as well. Ray's featured a stage in the bar that provided many local bands with a venue to play for the first time. Ray's Golden Lion closed in October 2015 after more than 50 years of business. Ray died on February 14, 2016 as a result of injuries he suffered after being struck by a car a few days earlier. Ray's Golden Lion closed in 2016.
Local photographer, Scott Butner, photographed a number of bands over a period of 4-5 years prior to the closing of Ray's, and compiled a list of photo albums from the shows he could find in What he gave us...
Tri-City Music Archive
The Tri-City Music Archive was an ambitious project that started in 2005 to serve as a visual history of underground and independent music from the Tri-Cities.
The last flyer archive update was in August 2006. The archive currently has 468 flyers going back to the early '90s associated with 576 bands and 56 venues.
