Sharing the Stage is a music performance and mentorship project where young people seeking skills, encouragement, and validation of their creative interests work closely with professional musicians who have traveled similar paths themselves.

At a Sharing the Stage show, students serve as the opening acts for a professional headlining band in a club venue. They perform—either as solo artists or in bands—their own original songs. These songs emerge through rehearsal, collaboration, and thoughtful feedback from peers and mentors. The experience calls for vulnerability and often results in joy, pride, trust, and lasting connections. Over time, both students and mentors develop a deep and sustaining relationship with Sharing the Stage.

Sharing the Stage began in 2010 as a passion project and operated continuously for 12 years before becoming a nonprofit organization in 2022.

Guests

Fred Strong is an educator with a lifelong love of the local music scene. In 2010, he co-founded Sharing the Stage with Rob Bordner and Harris Levinson. Fred and his wife Rebecca moved to Vashon in 1990 and raised their daughter Emma on the island. Fred commuted by bike to Seattle Academy on Capitol Hill—where he still works. Although Fred and Rebecca moved to Seattle in 2012, he maintains strong ties to the Vashon community.

Kate Atwell, now 27, attended Vashon High School from 2012–2016 and participated in three Sharing the Stage performances during her high school years. Those early experiences helped spark a lifelong passion for songwriting, performance, and community-based art. Kate continues to write and perform, building a strong and growing repertoire of original music.

Quinn McTighe moved to Vashon around the age of nine and graduated from Vashon High School in 2016. During high school, he played in the band Ten Cent Time Machine and participated in multiple Sharing the Stage shows. Quinn now lives in Beacon Hill and works as a paralegal in Burien.

Sharing the Stage’s Home for the Holidays concert will be at 4 pm on December 21st at O space. Doors open at 3 pm. Tickets $25 at O Space.