News Tribune columnist Matt Driscoll’s legacy to be honored at Tacoma concert
A little over a year since the passing of News Tribune columnist and opinion editor Matt Driscoll, proceeds from a Tacoma concert this week will support a grassroots campaign in his honor.
To honor Driscoll’s work and his love for music, his former classmates at the American Leadership Forum initiated a project called Music & Movement.
“We wanted to honor him in a way that reflects his work,” Lace Smith, one of the former classmates, told The News Tribune on July 30. “I don’t think he would be satisfied with being just missed.”
Music & Movement aims to “bring inclusive recreation to life for children with intellectual and physical disabilities in Tacoma,” according to the Tacoma Parks Foundation’s website. This effort will support unified sports programs and other inclusive activity clubs, creating opportunities for children with disabilities to play in safe and welcoming environments with others.
“Matt’s storytelling could be deeply personal,” Parks Tacoma spokesperson Stacia Glenn told The News Tribune in an email on July 29. “As a father of a child with a disability, he understood firsthand the barrier families can face in accessing inclusive recreation and wrote passionately about real people and challenges rather than policy and statistics.”
The unofficial kickoff of Music & Movement will take place on Friday, Aug. 1, at Dune Peninsula at Point Defiance Park, according to Glenn.
Showbox Outdoor Concerts is hosting the concert with band, CAAMP, performing as the headline act, according to Parks Tacoma’s website. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the concert will begin at 6 p.m.
There will be a tent at the concert for Music & Movement, where visitors will have the opportunity to learn more about the project and make donations.
All donations and a portion of ticket sales will go toward the effort. People can also donate to the project through the Tacoma Parks Foundation website. $1.50 of every concert ticket will go to the Music & Movement campaign, Glenn said.
This is an ongoing grassroots effort, so there will be more opportunities to participate in the campaign in the future. There isn’t another concert scheduled yet, but Smith said the campaign hopes to partner with Parks Tacoma again next summer for another music event.
This story was originally published July 30, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
