Gary – For two cool, clear nights last weekend I wandered downtown Ballard, visiting storied music venues. On display were a number of Pacific Northwest artists on the Freakout Records label. This is the Freakout Festival’s fifth year and based on the talent, venue participation and audience response, you should expect it to be around for years to come.
Darren Selector, Grit Rock – 2009 was the 20th anniversary of Paul’s Boutique. To celebrate, the Beastie Boys reissued a large part of their discography: Paul’s Boutique, Check Your Head, Ill Communication, and Hello Nasty. All the releases would be remastered, available on cd and vinyl, include commentary, and all but Paul’s Boutique included bonus tracks. Very ambitious.
Gemma Alexander – Until this year, I’d never heard of Freakout Festival, even though the wintertime festival created by Seattle record label Freakout Records has been around for five years. The two-day festival is hosted in different parts of the city each year. This year it was in Ballard, filling the void left by Macefield’s year off.
By Graham Isaac – A large man pounds his Rainier and slams the can on the bar at Conor Byrne, one of the four main venues at Freakout! Fest in Ballard. His friend thumbs a schedule. The next band starts and I don’t hear which Ballard Avenue venue they choose.
Julia Olson – Local talent and acoustic guitar extraordinaire Jason McCue just announced his upcoming release PANGAEA in the wake of his recent 2017 Sound Off win and Bumbershoot performance.
