We've been lucky to have some big new festivals starting here in recent years, but it's also important to celebrate the locals. To that end, West Sound Records' Kairos has put together a completely homegrown festival comprised of some of the best bands Bellingham and Seattle's DIY rock and hip-hop scene has to offer. . It's called West Sound Fest and will be held from May 17th to 19th at venues across downtown.
There are no festival passes to purchase (just cover for each show). The venue is all ages or 18+. Shows are strategically timed and structured to maximize your daily musical enjoyment.
Friday begins with evening shows at Ritual Records and Karate Church, then moves to Make Shift and the Blue Room around 8 p.m., featuring headliner Zuckroth at Mothership (1211 Cornwall Ave.) It concludes with a late night show.Doors open at 10pm
Saturday begins with an early morning show at the Happy Place (1215 Cornwall Ave.), returns to Make.Shift and the Blue Room, and a late night hip-hop show featuring CHRVNS and Ca$h McClane at the Mothership. Among other things.
On Sunday, there will be early shows at Wink Wink with Girl Parallel and Harbor Day. It all ends with a final explosion in the Blue Room containing Smithers and Sour Fuzz.
Most of the bands participating are connected to the house show scene, but Ross wanted the festival to be completely open to the public, and only used venues that fell within this range.
I can't say I fully understand why, but fans of a lot of young, punk-ish bands have been very accepting of creepy clown makeup lately. If you go to these shows, that might be the aesthetic. (Or, if you don't go but happen to be walking downtown that weekend, don't be surprised to see a crowd of music fans in such a configuration.)
West Sound Records' Instagram is the best place to find out more about the festival. It's worth following for photos and news from the show.
news
The Linden Heritage Museum in Linden has opened an exhibit on the history of country music in Whatcom County. While Loretta Lynn's local roots are the focus, there's plenty more to learn, including information about his current country and bluegrass bands.
On the other side of our coverage area, the La Conner Guitar Festival will be held from May 17th to 19th. This event is all about the guitar itself, with top luthiers from around the world gathering in Maple Hall to demonstrate and sell their work, but the Civic Garden Club also hosts some really great concerts and workshops will be done. It primarily focuses on acoustic fingerstyle and jazz playing, so lovers of these genres should definitely check out the product.
A cool new release has been released with local connections. Legendary He Funk keyboardist Bernie Worrell eventually lived in Whatcom County until his passing in 2016. His new double album, Wave from the WOOniverse, is a compilation of a bunch of his unreleased recordings, with the help of an all-star crew. A number of funkaters including Bootsy Collins, Fred Wesley, Leo Nocentelli, and even Fred Schneider of the B-52s. It premiered on Record Store Day, but I'm sure copies are still out there.
Jesse Stanton's music column, “The Beat Goes On,” is published weekly with an edited list of live music events in Whatcom County. Please contact us at jsbhammusic@gmail.com. @JSBhamMusic. Please check with each venue to ensure that the event is still running as scheduled.