‘Mo-Wave! 2014 Preview: Still Tickets Available!
How is ‘Mo-Wave! 2014 not sold out? After scanning through the lineup – the auspicious side-eye rap from Zebra Katz, criminally underrated indie-rock demigods of TacocaT, a group called “Hypnotits” – my mind reeled at the quality of this festival’s programming.
After earning Seattle Weekly’s “Best Festival” last year, and after thousands of attendees celebrated a richly diverse lineup, ‘Mo-Wave returns this coming weekend to share premier queer talent to both celebrate and encourage “uniqueness as both a beacon and a shield.” The festival is curated by Jodi Ecklund, Seth Garrison, and Marcus Wilson; the visual arts are selected by Steven Miller and Davora Linder.
‘Mo-Wave itself stems from a queer music show booked by Ecklund during PrideFest and used to be held at The Funhouse, which has since closed. Since the event garnered a positive reaction, Ecklund, Garrison, and Wilson made it their goal to plan the festival as an annual celebration of queer music and arts. The name of the fest comes from a “mimosa-filled marathon” in which Ecklund and her constituents were working through different ideas for what to call their gathering. They settled on ‘Mo-Wave due to its similarity to No Wave, but “also suggests that Queers are a natural force moving across culture, making changes.”
While a celebration for queer arts, the lineup itself is universally magnetic, boasting raucous and undoubtedly entertaining musicians and performers. Ecklund, Garrison, and Wilson explain how they sought out diverse artists, trimming down the amount of acts in order to ensure a stronger, more impactful event. Still young, ‘Mo-Wave is growing incrementally and there’s mention of larger, more grandiose festivals in the future as their budget expands. For now, though, they’re quick to urge anyone interested in attending this year’s festival to buy tickets as soon as possible and I cannot agree more.
(Follow our ‘Mo Wave 2014 coverage here as well as on our Twitter and Flickr pages.)