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Fisherman’s Village 2015: How Many Bands Are You In?

Posted by Nada Staff May 25th, 2015 No Comments »

Fisherman’s Village Music Festival
May 15-17, 2015 in Everett, Washington
By Stephanie Dore

When you’re from the pacific northwest, the question isn’t whether you’re in a band, but how many, and it seemed the second annual installment of the Fisherman’s Village Music Festival aimed to prove it.

Begun by the Everett Music Initiative to bring music alive in the growing city, the event featured more than 70 bands, mostly local, with a smattering of artists from British Columbia, Oregon and Colorado. We watched as solo performers joined friends on stage and artists from one band backed up another. The weekend proved a musical haven, one where you were literally strolling with one band to check out the next.

Saturday afternoon saw Each & All take the stage of the historic Everett Theatre, all gorgeous vocals and folk-rock fun. Then Pepper Proud played poignant folk ballads to a cafe crowd. The Spider Ferns brought their light installations and played a trippy set, filling The Cannery with their electronic, boundary-pushing sound. Then came Ruler, a band that host Marco Collins (former 107.7 The End DJ and local tastemaker) introduced as a “Seattle super-group,” which was in fact the case based on their performance.

Halfway through the day, the the stages had fallen behind schedule, which meant we were lucky to catch a song or two where possible, but we trekked on.

Maiah Manser created a freakishly-unique vocal atmosphere, while Ravenna Woods drummed in the crowd and got everyone dancing. Portland’s Minden kept it weird, Prom Queen kept it retro while surprising us with a twangy, slowed-down cover of Madonna’s “Justify My Love,” and Deep Sea Diver brought a puppy onstage.

Minden @ Fisherman's Village Music Festival by Sunny Martini on Nada Mucho

Minden. Photo by Sunny Martini.

Cataldo brought the full band. Telekinesis brought the beats. The Helio Sequence had fans who made the trip just for their brand of kaleidoscopic pop, while Summer Cannibals and Everett locals Fauna Shade closed out the night with shredding guitars and psych-pop.

Summer Cannibals @ Fisherman's Village Music Festival by Sunny Martini for Nada Mucho

Summer Cannibals. Photo by Sunny Martini.

Sunday was quieter. The crowd was thinner, the energy slower. The acoustic showcase at the Silver Cup Cafe was on point with Jess Lambert, Adventurous Sleeping, Edmund Wayne, and Erin Austin all delivering solid sets.

Back at the theatre Spokane’s Cathedral Pearls brought us their adorable, double husband and wife indie rock and Jherek Bischoff presented a spooky set of completely original work.

Jherek Bischoff @ Fisherman's Village Music Festival by Tori Dickson for Nada Mucho

Jherek Bischoff. Photo by Tori Dickson.

Colorado’s Brent Coles brought out Erin Austin for a fantastic cover of “Valerie,” and Oregon sisters Joseph created harmonies I didn’t know were possible. We closed out the weekend with the seething blues-rock of My Goodness, and discovered another new band to watch: Stubborn Son, whose debut album will be released later this year.

Brent Coles. Photo by Alex Crick.

While I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what next year holds, I think the lineup could use some tweaking, better mixing up the acoustic and solo acts with the bigger bands and harder rocking sounds, introducing things to audiences who might not otherwise have shown up. But big hand of applause to founders Ryan Crowther and Steven Graham for pulling it all together, along with all the volunteers, bands and fans who made it a great weekend full of friends, puppies, discovering new music and enjoying favorites.