The Quilcene Lantern: The De Koch Family’s Mission to Illuminate the Peninsula’s Music Scene
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Quilcene Lantern’s intimate winter concert space [/caption]
By Michael Peter Clarke
On a beautiful historic property in Quilcene stands the nearly 100-year-old barn that may be a key to the future of music in Jefferson County. In 1935, the Iseri family, who immigrated to the US from Japan, built the barn on their land that stands solid to this day. This historical structure survived the tumultuous times of its origin, through nearly forty years of the Olympic Music Festival, into its new beginnings as a beaconing light within the native forest’s present permaculture.
Enter the Quilcene Lantern in 2024 and meet the new land stewards, Laurie, Steve, Willem, and Bergen De Koch, who’ve been busting their humps since January to serve up Jefferson County with some twinkling limelight we all can step into. Meeting with brothers Willem and Bergen, the generational youngers in the family unit, a spotlight can be shed on what it takes to make your working dreams come true in a day and age of dilapidated infrastructures and inflated prices in production.
“This is the hardest I’ve ever worked in my entire life, moving out here, also living on the property.” Willem says, “Trying to renovate this place and get it open for the season so we could bring in and have programming. Our dad’s a builder and an architect, Bergen has a lot of building experience, I come from the music world, and my mom comes from the nonprofit world. So, we’re doing the construction, we’re doing the books, we’re building out the programming, and we’re trying to renovate our living spaces. So, it was, it’s been…” Willem takes a deep breath, “…it was a really intense spring.”
The De Koch’s are continuing the work of running a family business founded upon what the Iseri family started when they purchased the land in 1913. The Iseri family built the barn and farmed on that land until 1942, when the Japanese American family was forcibly incarcerated under Executive Order 9066, allowing their land to be seized by the US government. It was parceled out and sold, leaving them with nothing to show for their stewardship of the land, the building of their majestic barn, and a flourishing dairy and berry farm.
People in the present have zero control over people’s actions in the past.
“It’d be awesome to be at a stable point with bread and butter events, to be able to create accessible programming and keep bringing acts we really admire and are passionate about”
— Bergen De Koch
From the ashes of past misuses of its people and the land, Concerts in the barn still thrives after thirty-two seasons, from its origins as the Olympic Music Festival, inside the historic barn built by the Iseri family circa 1935. This area and its inhabitants have been affected by the positive, art-filled movements happening since the 1970’s by creative individuals like Alan Iglitzin who moved to Quilcene in 1976, cleaned up the barn, built a stage and started the OMF in 1984. Alan is a good example of a willing worker who becomes a worthy local by stewarding the land in healthy manners that propagate inclusiveness via gatherings of like-minded groups entering historical places created by humankind.
Tarboo Fest, a De Koch family’s labor of love, supported 18 bands over the course of their inaugural weekend. Willem continues, “We averaged about 200 people a day. It was not sold out by any means, but it was cool to just see anybody show up at all because no one knew who we were, and it was our introduction to the community and the community’s introduction to the space and all this work we’ve been doing on it.”
After six months of wearing all the hats, the De Koch family has opened the Lantern’s doors for live, electrified shows. Since June, the venue has provided a safe space for nearly twenty gigs highlighting different music genres, Tarboo Fest being one of their events slated for annual continuance. Concerts in the barn will also keep its annual gathering place at the Quilcene Lantern for the foreseeable future. The local production of electronic dance music, As Above So Below, was the most attended live event this year at the Lantern. Part of the local cross pollination-connection of show production that is helping the De Koch family succeed in their growth within the Jefferson County community. Bergen big-ups, As Above So Below, by saying, “They do great productions, and have good ideas about how to accommodate a larger crowd and create interesting elements. So, it’s cool to host a production like that.”
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The farmhouse’s wood stove now warms concertgoers in the barn [/caption]
The De Koch family is forging ahead into the winter months of Quilcene’s darkest days so the Lantern’s illumination can shine upon local musician’s talents and their passionate drive to share their art and culture. More opening doors to opportunities, allocating artistic and spatial warmth within the community as precession wobbles the earth into its chilliest season here in the Pacific Northwest. Willem discusses some plans to finish off the rest of the year, “Now, the work we’re doing is insulating the milk shed [bar area with winter performance space], putting the wood stove and heater in so that we can have these wintertime shows. We’ll keep programming the venue and keep creating a cozy kind of vibe .”
How can the local community aid in keeping this historical space open to the public for decades? Successful live shows will help cover some production costs, especially if attendance can reach capacity for their annual events. The Quilcene Lantern is still trying to find the balance between booking bands with large draws and providing locally sourced shows to the community. Breaking even on the live gigs is a minimal necessity and future goal that the De Koch production crew can achieve. Selling out multiple events would be a helpful way to keep this Lantern ablaze for more generations to behold. Willem shares real talk about his wishes for their shows, “The biggest priority for us, and I think for local promoters like Mark (As Above So Below), is making sure the artists get paid. As far as making a business work in a place like this, the big money makers are things like weddings and private event rentals.” Bergen adds, “It’d be awesome to be at a stable point with bread and butter events, to be able to create accessible programming and keep bringing acts we really admire and are passionate about. ”
Special futuristic plans are already in the works as the De Koch team builds upon the foundations of the Lantern’s legacy, envisioning new infrastructure upgrades and technological additions that’ll add value and versatility to the different spaces on their property. Helping connect this rural community with its urban surroundings by hosting resident artists who can stay on the property to record live in the barn. Willem says, “We want to figure out ways to create live performance videos and a recording studio. We’ve been talking about starting a record label to have a home for all the really super-fucking-awesome bands out here. Every band that’s come through here has been stoked because we only use the farmhouse for artist housing right now. So, they come through, they play a show, they get a place to stay comfy, a bed to sleep in. And the local audience here is awesome. People show up and turn out to the shows and have a great time. I think any band is always surprised, they roll up to a place in the woods, people come out, and you have an amazing show.”
Keeping live music, arts, and culture in our communities depends greatly on workers maintaining operational spaces where people can safely gather around like-minded entertainment, pursuits, and passions. Spread the word about what these new locals are doing for this area. Go experience a show at the Quilcene Lantern that interests you and buy a ticket for a friend or two, to join in the fun.
The Quilcene Lantern is at 7360 Center Rd. Quilcene, WA 98506. You can buy tickets and find more information at https://www.quilcenelantern.com/
All photos by Michael Peter Clarke
