That big collective groan you may have heard or felt reverberating throughout Tacoma was for the loss of preeminent music promoter Ted Brown who passed away Sept. 25. He was 61. I can't remember the exact moment I met Ted because I feel like I've known him all my life. He had that kind of personality, like a favorite uncle you couldn't wait to see at the holidays. I might have met Ted at one of the early Old Town Blues Fest shows he and Mike Mitchell founded. The Weekly Volcano was a sponsor for many years. We also sponsored Brown's Old Town Jazz and Wine Festival. Most Likely, I met Ted sitting next to him on a Sunday night at The Spar. Ted booked the music for the popular Sunday night blues shows at the historic Old Town Tacoma watering hole. Ted's inextinguishable enthusiasm and zest for music made him instantly familiar with everyone he met. A memorial will be held Sunday, Oct. 13 at the Immanuel Presbyterian Church. A Blues Vespers show will be held in conjunction, which is how Ted would have wanted it.

TED BROWN MEMORIAL/BLUES VESPERS, 2 p.m., Immanuel Presbyterian Church, 901 N. J St., Tacoma