Inclusion Festival
There’s a new festival in town which, while not primarily a music festival, should be worth checking out for just about anyone looking for a fun day out. The Inclusion Festival, happening Sunday, July 26 at Zuanich Point Park, is a free event sponsored by Whatcom Center for Early Learning. The event celebrates “diversity pride, neurodiversity, inclusion, access and belonging.”
Performers include hip hop and pop covers from SpaceBand, rock from Marla Hooch, plus funk, rock and R&B with Brushpopper. You also get the joyous happening known as Out of The Ashes, a music therapy program that incorporates developmentally disabled musicians into a raucous rock and roll celebration. There will also be games, art, food trucks and all sorts of things to make it a party. I have a sneaking suspicion that this may end up being one of the most positive and enjoyable events of the summer.
Events
I thought my last column was a pretty comprehensive look at summer musical events in the area, but of course there’s been a bunch more news since then.
The After Sounds series, formerly at Boundary Bay on Wednesday nights after Downtown Sounds, has found a new home at Aslan Depot. This event always used to pack the beer garden for the best local and regional hip hop MCs and DJs, and I suspect the move won’t change that. It’s curated by the folks at Black Noise Records.
The Radio Forever Festival, which debuted last year as a presentation of Make.Shift and KZAX, is back on July 18. This year’s headliners include Filth is Eternal and Last Spring, plus a whole bunch of other bands and DJs. The event takes place at Make.Shift, so of course it’s all ages. It’s also free, and goes all day long.
The Acid Ball Psych Rock Music Fest is also coming back this year, on Aug. 1. This is a big festival of sounds under the loose umbrella of psychedelic rock. This year’s headliners are L.A.-based rockers Death Valley Girls, who recently celebrated the 10-year anniversary of their album “Glow in the Dark.”
The Whatcom County Library System announced the return of their annual Whatcom Grooves series, bringing live music to pretty much every last corner of Whatcom County.
Finally, Mount Baker Theatre recently released its schedule for the coming year. Some of the music highlights include soul legend Mavis Staples on Jan. 16, 2027, Pink Martini on Jan. 24, bluegrass virtuosos Trampled by Turtles on Feb. 18, and countryfolk favorites The Wailin’ Jennys on May 8. A lesser known act on the side stage that I’m really excited for is Swedish folk virtuosos Vasen on April 14.
Other news
As part of the Anacortes Music Project making the old Art Center at Buxton’s their permanent home, they’ve changed the name. That space is now The Globe. I’ll keep including both names in the calendar for a couple months until we all get used to it.
Singers’ Sundays are back at a new home, at Zen Sushi in Barkley Village at 4 p.m. Sundays. This is an event hosted by Cheryl Hodge, where she’s at the piano accompanying a rotating cast of excellent singers. It’s not an open mic, but if you’re a good singer, you could check it out and ask her about performing.
New releases
Jenner Fox and Jeremy Elliott gave me a sneak peak at their new album, “Beauty in Strange Colors.” It’s got all the beautiful lyricism we’ve come to expect from Fox, in a more stripped-down setting than the lushness of the Jenner Fox Band. It’s even got a couple of really nice acoustic guitar instrumentals. That will be out July 10.
Three for Silver also just released a new one, “O! For a Muse of Fire,” featuring their most recent lineup: band leader Lucas Warford plus Strangely on accordion, Del Ruhl on whistles and Mark Powers on drums. What I really appreciate about this one is the way Ruhl’s vocal harmonies and whistle melodies create a nice contrast to the gruffness of Warford’s voice and the dissonance of some of the music. It ends up being a very interesting, multi-dimensional blend. It’s some of Warford’s best songwriting, too.
Jesse Stanton’s music column, The Beat Goes On, appears monthly. Reach him at [email protected]; @JSBhamMusic. Check with individual venues to make sure events are still taking place as scheduled.
Click here for Jesse’s listing of live music events in Whatcom County.
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