The Side Project to play in Moses Lake – for real, this time
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 2 months AGO
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | June 17, 2025 1:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — When The Side Project takes the stage June 20, the city of Moses Lake’s Summer Concert Series will pick up where it left off, sort of.
“They were supposed to be our last concert last summer,” said Jenni Shelton, creative programs coordinator for the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center. “It was the night of a really bad storm, and we had to cancel for the weather. It was one of the nights they even evacuated to the Gorge (Amphitheatre).”
The Side Project consists of wife-and-husband Suzie and Ben Bradford, according to its website. The duo, originally from Spokane, have recorded six albums and have performed up and down the west coast for 20 years, according to the announcement. Their music has been broadcast in Starbucks and featured on television shows “Dancing with the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance,” as well as scoring a positive review in Music Connection Magazine.
The Bradfords perform as a duo act or with as many as six backup players, according to the website. Shelton wasn’t certain how many other musicians, if any, would be at next week’s performance.
The Summer Concert Series was revived in 2023 after many years’ hiatus, and Shelton said so far, it’s worked out well.
“We're loving bringing this to the community,” she said.
Consistency of scheduling is something the city is trying to improve this year, she said.
“We kind of peppered them throughout the summer (last year), and our attendance wasn't super great,” she said. “This year what we're doing is a six-week run. So, we're hoping that people can get in the mindset that for six weeks, every Friday night, there'll be a concert in the park.”
The exception to that will be Thursday, July 3, she said, when Moses Lake holds its Independence Day Red, White and Boom celebration. There will be two concerts by local bands at that event, Dimestore Prophets and Lake City Blues.
People attending The Side Project’s show are encouraged to bring their own blankets and chairs, Shelton said. All the concerts are family-friendly, she said. Each show, the city has a little giveaway for the children, she added, and at this concert it will be bubbles.
“It's just beautiful seeing people at the park enjoying the music,” Shelton said. “My favorite part is when we get down to the park and we're setting up, and when I see that first kid rolling down the hill, it just makes me so happy.”
The Side Project
Moses Lake
McCosh Park Centennial Amphitheater
June 20
8 p.m.
Free
The heart of The Side Project is the wife-and-husband team of Suzie Bradford, left, and Ben Bradford.ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
QUINCY — Quincy’s National Night Out was more compact this year, which worked out well, said QPD Sgt. Joe Westby, who’s in charge of event planning for the Quincy Police Department. “National Night Out is a big event, and the fact that we’re able to shrink it up is like a breath of fresh air,” Westby said. “If you're always doing the same thing, it's kind of nice to switch things up and see how it works.” National Night Out took place Thursday on the block of C Street next to the police station, a shift from previous years when it was held at Lauzier Park. The smaller space meant fewer emergency vehicles for children to explore, but it also meant less walking for attendees. Grant County Fire District 5 brought a fire truck, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office had a patrol boat. Renew, the Grant County behavioral health agency, had a booth and so did Quincy Partnership for Youth. Veterans Operation Creation sang the national anthem, and the Quincy Animal Shelter brought kittens that piled over each other making friends with passersby. As before, the QPD served grilled hot dogs.
Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.
Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.