Concert Night @ Olympic Sculpture Park

Looking for a Thursday evening that hits all the right notes? Summer at SAM: Concert Night returns Aug. 7 to the Gates Amphitheater at the Olympic Sculpture Park, blending innovative music, hands-on creativity and rare access to one of Seattle’s most fascinating living artworks.

Start your evening with a set from DJ Clover, whose shimmering remixes set the mood while you try your hand at art-making activities (faerie tchotchkes, anyone?) led by local creatives from the Cutie Foundation.​​ Then, don’t miss the rare chance to tour Mark Dion’s “Neukom Vivarium” — a 60-foot fallen hemlock nestled in a glass greenhouse, transformed into an immersive microcosm of fungi, microbes and insects. Usually viewable only on weekends (and when volunteers are available), this living sculpture-art-laboratory hybrid is a marvel of natural decay and renewal.

As the sun dips, settle in for a musical experiment: the Passenger String Quartet takes the stage at 7 p.m. with brand-new collaborations featuring a stellar lineup of Seattle-related artists. Revel in the synthy shadows of Dark Chisme, the tender harmonies of Cumulus, the alt-pop brilliance of Akira Galaxy and the lyrical edge of Oble Reed. This is no ordinary string performance — it’s classical meets contemporary under the open sky.

So, bring your picnic blanket (but leave the booze at home), grab dinner from Off the Rez or Kottu food trucks, find a patch of grass and let the music carry you into the summer night. It’s a great chance to soak up all the summer magic you can before we start veering toward those 5 p.m. sunsets.