The Foot Stompers Brought It to the Pier

It started chilly. That particular kind of PNW summer morning that makes you wonder why you didn't bring a heavier jacket. But the Foot Stompers took the stage at Concerts on the Pier and within a song or two, nobody was thinking about the cold anymore.

Concerts on the Pier is one of those Port Angeles things that just works. The covered stage on the waterfront, the mountains behind town, people dragging out their camp chairs — it has a low-key, shows-up-every-summer kind of reliability. Wednesday nights on the pier are a fixture, and when the right band plays, the whole thing clicks.

The Foot Stompers are a trio — classic rock, country, and blues — and they play it like they mean it. These are not young men going through the motions. They're a bunch of guys who've clearly been doing this a long time and have zero interest in dialing it back.

The drummer is also the lead vocalist, which is a commitment. He's behind a custom-built kit — made from an old suitcase, which he apparently built with a friend. I caught him explaining the whole thing to a fan after the set. He seemed genuinely happy to talk about it. The kit has a handle. I got a photo of him holding it up. It's exactly as cool as it sounds.

The bassist wore a floral button-up that belonged firmly in 1974, and I mean that with complete respect. The shirt deserved its own billing. He played a five-string and sang, too — the whole band layers vocals in a way that fills up the pier without feeling cluttered.

And then there's the crowd. That's really what I was watching.

There was a woman in a full tie-dye jumpsuit, arms overhead, completely in it. A couple doing actual two-step on the concrete. Kids running laps. People sitting in camp chairs with their faces tipped toward the last of the afternoon sun. Nobody was on their phone.

The guitarist — black hat, mint-green Telecaster, the kind of worn-in instrument that looks like it's been through some things — plays with a calm that reads as total control. Switches between electric and acoustic depending on the song. He'd move into a riff and the drummer would grin at him from across the stage like they'd just shared a private joke.

They covered "Take It Easy" and the whole crowd knew it. That song has a specific effect on people — something about the Eagles, a summer evening, the Strait in the distance. Couples two-stepped, kids ran loops. The golden light was doing its thing. I ended the video clip on the observation tower because sometimes you just have to look out at the water and sit with it.

Yeah, we have it easy.

I've put together a short video from the evening — the "Take It Easy" cover especially is worth watching.

If you're around Port Angeles on a Wednesday evening this summer, Concerts on the Pier is worth showing up for. And if the Foot Stompers are on the bill — bring your dancing shoes.

If you're a local event organizer, venue, or festival that wants professional event photography on the Olympic Peninsula, get in touch. This is the kind of work I love doing.