🎤 Kool & the Gang Are Playing Tacoma This Saturday

If you grew up on funk, R&B, or basically any wedding playlist made between 1973 and 2010, this one's for you.

Kool & the Gang… yes, the Kool & the Gang, are bringing their hits to Emerald Queen Casino's EQC Event Center on Saturday, May 23, 2026.

🎶 Who They Are
Founded in 1964 in Jersey City by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, Kool & the Gang built one of the most consequential catalogs in American popular music. Some of the songs you absolutely know:

• "Celebration"

• "Jungle Boogie"

• "Ladies' Night"

• "Get Down On It"

• "Joanna"

• "Cherish"

• "Fresh"

Resume highlights:

• 25+ Top 40 hits

• Two Grammy Awards

• Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees

• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

• Sold an estimated 75+ million albums worldwide

This is the kind of show that draws across generations — boomers, Gen X, millennials who grew up with the songs in commercials, and Gen Z who knows them from TikTok.

📍 The Venue
The EQC Event Center at Emerald Queen Casino has become one of the South Sound's most consistent live entertainment venues — hosting national-touring music acts, comedians, and MMA events year-round.

The space accommodates ~2,000 seated, with both reserved and floor configurations depending on the show.

📅 Show Details

• Date: Saturday, May 23, 2026

• Doors: 7:00 PM

• Show: 8:00 PM

• Venue: EQC Event Center, 2920 East R Street, Tacoma

• Age: 21+ only

🎟 Tickets
Available at:

• Ticketmaster (online) tickets starting around $95, range up to $112 depending on seat

• EQC Gift Shop (in person) save up to 20% buying in person at the casino

Resale options also available via SeatGeek, Gametime, and Event Tickets Center, though prices vary.

📈 Why It Matters
The South Sound music scene has been quietly leveling up over the last few years. The Tacoma Dome and Greater Tacoma Convention Center get the bigger national tours, but EQC has been carving out a steady mid-tier lane — the kind of venue that gets you up close to artists with massive legacies in a 2,000-seat room instead of a 15,000-seat arena.

For one Saturday night, you can hear "Celebration" sung by the original artists in a room small enough to actually feel it.

📬 I'm Aaron Thomas, a local realtor sharing stories that connect us to the places we call home. Every Friday, we publish the South Sound Report, keeping you informed about what's happening in Tacoma, Olympia, DuPont, Puyallup, Lakewood, and the communities in between.

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