Rewind Back 2 the 80s at Concerts on the Pier, Port Angeles

Tuesday nights in summer, Port Angeles has somewhere to be. Wednesday, actually - every Wednesday from late June through August, the City Pier pavilion fills up with whoever feels like showing up. Kids with sidewalk chalk. Couples with cans of something cold. Grandparents who still know how to move. It's free, it's outside, and it's exactly the kind of thing I show up for with a camera.

On July 1st, Rewind Back 2 the 80s took the stage, and the day delivered. It had been overcast most of the week, but the sun came out right on cue and stayed long enough to cast that warm late-evening gold across the whole pier. You couldn't have planned it.

Rewind is a full band - vocals, sax, bass, keys, drums, lead guitar - and they came dressed for the decade. Tiger print. Sequins. Neon pink. A white blazer over a hot pink tee that felt pulled straight from a Miami Vice rerun. The stage backdrop said it all: bold retro lettering, bright colors, pure 80s energy.

The lead singer was fully committed - tiger print pants, a gold sequin bomber, mirrored shades that reflected the whole crowd back at you if you got close enough. She was moving the entire set. When they played True Colors, the crowd got quiet in the best way. Not checked-out quiet - the kind where everyone's actually listening.

The guitarist in the white blazer was having a good time. That's the honest description. He was grinning through most of the set, and it showed in the crowd - that energy moves.

The keyboard player was beaming the whole set - green hair, paint-splatter top, neon fingerless gloves. She looked like she was exactly where she wanted to be. The whole band did, honestly.

But the real show was in front of the stage.

Kids dancing. Parents dancing. A woman in an "I'm with the Drummer" shirt pulling a kid onto the floor. People who'd probably just walked over from downtown, still in their work clothes, doing their best running man. As the sun dropped lower, the golden tones hit everyone differently - faces lit up, shadows long, that particular PNW summer glow that only shows up for a couple months a year.

This is the photo I kept coming back to. She was fully in it - arms out, laughing, not a care. Behind her: kids in puffy coats bouncing around, older couples swaying. The pier pavilion backdrop with the mountain mural. All of it.

I've also put together a short video from this session - it's at the end of this post.

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Concerts on the Pier runs every Wednesday, 6–8pm, from June 24 through August 26, 2026, at the pavilion on the Port Angeles City Pier. It's free. All ages. You can bring your own food and non-alcoholic drinks, or grab something on-site. Parking fills up, so walk if you can or get there a little early. Once you're done, the pier observation tower is worth a climb, and downtown is right there - PNWonderland Wine Bar is a short walk if you want to wind down the evening properly.

I come to these not as a hired shooter, but because this is my town and these are the kinds of evenings I want to document. If you're a local business, event organizer, or musician who could use photos that actually look like the Peninsula - not like a stock photo of somewhere generic - I'd be glad to talk.