Putting together a music festival is an endeavor. Putting one on in a city that isn’t exactly a music festival hot spot only ups the difficulty. But if you’ve ever run into Boomjam Music Festival founder/director Tucker Miller at a local concert and got him talking about the fest he founded last year, it’s pretty easy to see he’s got the sort of energetically determined, always-on-the-grind mentality needed to give putting on an event like this any chance of succeeding.
After the first edition of the all-ages fest went down in a parking lot near Gonzaga in September 2024, Boomjam’s sophomore campaign takes place this Saturday, Sept. 20, at the Riverside Lawn & Terrace (the strip of land near Riverfront Park on the Centennial Trail, between the back of the Spokane Convention Center and the Spokane River).
Twelve acts will spread across two stages — the main Boom Stage on the lawn and the secondary Upper Decker stage on the property’s deck that overlooks the river — starting at 1 pm and going into the dark of night. The lineup boasts a mix of headlining rising out-of-town sounds like BLK ODYSSY’s R&B/hip-hop fusion and Oxis’ indie electronica pop, plus a host of local favorites.
Additionally, Boomjam will feature world cuisine by the always-stellar Feast World Kitchen, a pop-up vintage shop curated by Teleport Vintage, a record store bus, on-site tattoos and permanent jewelry via Mom’s Custom Tattoo & Body Piercing, art installations and various other diversions (sidewalk chalk, pingpong tables, etc.). Tickets cost $35 ($40 day of), children 12 and under get in free, and there is re-entry so you can bop around downtown for a bit and still return.
According to Miller, this year’s change of location is partly to try to connect the fest to the downtown hub while also creating “a more mellow space.”
“We decided to pivot to something that is more central and more picturesque, just so that it is a little bit more palatable for a wider audience,” he says. “We love the DIY punk, grungy aesthetic of the old parking lot that we were in, but also we want to make music as widely available for the entire Spokane community as possible.”
Miller’s most stoked about the lineup he’s curated, which focuses on acts he knows can deliver interesting and engaging live performances no matter what their genre.
“There were thousands of talented bands and individuals who reached out, and we had to narrow that down to 12,” Miller says. “And that is extremely exciting for me, because we feel like we picked the 12 that I am most excited to share with the Spokane community that we think are going to be able to reach furthest, as far as a multi-genre festival goes. … These bands are dope!”
With that in mind, here are a few of the dopest acts playing Boomjam that may be worth scoping out.
PANCHO
Upper Decker Stage, 1 pm
Folks who arrive early will be treated to a dose of Pancho as Boomjam’s sonic kickoff. The Gonzaga-formed quintet playfully blurs the line between indie, alt-rock and jam music in a polished way that belies its members’ ages.
DAIRYBABY
Boom Stage, 1:30 pm
You might recognize local teen Everett Noble as the bass player in his brother Hayes Noble’s terrific band, but when playing his own material as Dairybaby he taps into a much different sonic space than his sibling. A breezy blend of indie lo-fi pop rock, Dairybaby offers a soft landing to open up the Boom Stage.
SAINT AUGUSTINE
Boom Stage, 4:30 pm
Saint Augustine (aka Jackie Giroux) only has one song on streaming, but Miller specifically pointed the Austin genre-mashing pop artist out as a hidden Boomjam gem. “She is incredible. There are very, very few people in the world who have seen this before, and it is going to explode,” he says.
VIKA & THE VELVETS
Boom Stage, 6 pm
We’ve poured out plenty of praising words about Vika & the Velvets into the Inlander, but the band’s retro-pop-meets-smokey-indie-rock sound has probably never sounded tighter. After a busy August filled with touring in support of the group’s new album Like a Spade, Vika & the Velvets sounded extra sharp while winning over a crowd at Seattle’s Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival a few weeks ago.
DE LUX
Upper Decker Stage, 6:45 pm
Wanna dance? Well then get up those stairs to catch De Lux. The Los Angeles band provides a nonstop flow of pulsating sounds rooted in ’80s new wave pop and ’00s post-disco dance rock with a dash of Talking Heads-y art pop irreverence. Watching De Lux motionless would just feel wrong.
OXIS
Boom Stage, 7:30 pm
Indie electronica artist Oxis is essentially a one-person band. A looping maestro, she stacks layers of vocals, guitar lines, and electronic bleeps and beats to create oceans of sound that beg you to dive in and explore their deepest depths.
BLK ODYSSY
Boom Stage, 9 pm
BLK ODYSSY has one of those sounds that just feels fresh each listen. The Austin artist blends hip-hop and R&B with a dash of silky smooth ’90s jazz rap. Performing with a live band (which has been documented via both a Tiny Desk Concert and KEXP Session), he should make for a great headlining capper to the second edition of Boomjam. ♦
Boomjam Music Festival • Sat, Sept. 20 at 1 pm • $35-$40 •
All ages • Riverside Lawn & Terrace • 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. • boomjamfest.com
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.inlander.com ’
