Sam Chapman – Laura Marling looks fragile. It’s a Friday afternoon and the sun’s finally shining outside, but at the moment, the KEXP performance space is illuminated by hundreds of small bulbs that dance behind Marling and her band as they play. She wears a skirt and a red blouse- floral-patterned, feminine, borderline frilly. When she speaks, her face placid, she seems thoughtful but reserved. She doesn’t smile much.
Promote This is a long-running NadaMucho.com feature wherein we write about songs and videos by emerging and unsigned bands. This installment includes Basement Surfers, Tim Turner and Tim Held.
The whole time all those yuppies and tech wankers were hobnobbing around Pioneer Square drinking $9 microbrews and watching bands they didn’t really care about, NadaMucho.com’s favorite underground venue Substation hosted a weekend of counter-programmed goodness called Downstream. Bands were encouraged to submit their rejection letters from Upstream!, Paul Allen’s innaguaral “SXSW for the Northwest,” for inclusion and the whole affair had a decidedly counter-culture type of attitude in both the promotion and the programming.
Andy Bookwalter – When I was a kid, Pioneer Square seemed like a magical grownup party wonderland. There were bars on every corner and a joint cover, so for a few bucks you could hang out in any of the 1000 clubs… every single one of them featuring live music from Jr. Cadillac. Every once in a while, we’d drive in from the sticks so my parents could look at art or something, and, after the sun went down, the whole area that hosted the 2017 Upstream! Music Festival sparkled with what I now know was 100 percent hobo pee.
Cameron Deuel – Seattle is home to countless music festivals that not only range in genre, but also in purpose. Upstream Music Fest + Summit is meant to serve as a microcosm of the music scene in the Pacific Northwest, boasting thoughtful discussions led by music industry experts and creative collaborators, which are neatly tied together with music programming that highlights both regional artists on the come-up and established artists alike.
