Year after year we see new music festivals crop up all across

Year after year we see new music festivals crop up all across the country. It’s hard to know where is your best bet for a great time and a as much bang for your buck as possible. The big ones will get you some really big names. The small boutique ones will give you an intimate experience and very possibly get you up close and personal with the musicians that moments before you were swooing over. The unfortunate side effect of both these festivals is cost. To keep the small ones small, they have to charge a lot to make up for fewer tickets and the bigger fests have to deal with an insane amount of overhead cost and so their tickets are pricey as well. What can you do when you just want to see lots of good music for a cost that won’t empty your account.

Fisherman’s Village Music Festival up in Everett did a great job of fitting into this niche. While only in their first year, they were able to grab a few bigger names like Gardens & Villa, Rose Windows and La Luz. The majority of the acts were Seattle-centric, solid, and looking to be seen and heard. I think Fisherman’s Village (with its kitchy but fun nautical theme) did exactly what it should do… not over-reach but bring great groups to a smaller town that doesn’t get the opportunity to see so much music. Seattle is a bit pampered, hell I’ll say it, we’re spoiled. Many of us don’t really appreciated what a unique situation we have with music playing every single night of the week. Everett, only twenty minutes north (without traffic), feels like an eternity away and overlooked by most traveling acts. There seemed to be very few snafus, some bands running late but that’s typical with nearly every fest, and enough great music to bring out Seattleites for a sunny weekend with our neighbors to the North.

There’s one act that I was particuarly excited to see, a trio of sisters named Joseph. While I’m not particularly interested in classic folk with heavy harmonies, for some reason these ladies caught my attention. On the advice of a friend I checked out their Kickstarter a few months ago and damned if I didn’t find myself whistling along to the two songs they had released to that point. I was hungry for more, and thankfully their album was fully funded and hit my email soon after. I knew I had to see them live; it sounded great on a recording but experiencing a band like this in person would be otherworldly, and I wasn’t disappointed. They’re off on tour this month on both the west and east coasts, but will be back to play at the Fremont Abbey on June 19th. That’ll give you plenty of time to give them a listen and plan your next trip to the Abbey.

Don’t forget to check out the slideshow for the entire weekend here, it’ll make you wish you made the trip to spend a sunny weekend in Everett.

Gorgeous as ever, Shelby Earl’s voice eminated throughout the old Everett Theater.

Marco Collins was the Emcee for the “main stage” at the Historic Everett Theater.

While I had seen both Andrew and Emily perform in other bands, this was my first taste of SISTERS, and I really liked what they had to offer.

Joseph was definitely my most highly anticipated act of the weekend. I’d been following them for a while but had yet to see a live show.

This was definitely a departure from the two musicians’ other music projects and I’m looking forward to seeing where SISTERS is headed.

While classic folk isn’t exactly my thing, the trio of sisters in Joseph blew me away. So glad their local so we get to see them more often.

Even though I’d just seen them at EMP’s SoundOFF! where they were runners up, I just had to catch Fauna Shade’s set.

Shelby Earl always brings the right amount of sass and swagger to the party. This was no exception.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with Ole Tinder, they were a complete unknown, but some good old fashioned country hit the spot.

I don’t know what it is about really good slide guitar, but it makes me wanna grab a whiskey and slouch down in a booth. Then again, that’s one of my favorite things to do.

I’d of course heard Vox Mod’s music, but I didn’t know I’d been visually entertained too. He has a hell of a lot of energy!

It’s so true, I enjoy a DJ set ten times more when the artist is really enjoying himself and hopping around the stage; that’s exactly what Vox Mod does.

Kairos was my other highly anticipated act of the weekend, and while they’re still somewhat newly formed, they’ve already tight quality sound.

With members from Charms, La Luz, Kithkin and Katie Kate, you can’t go wrong with Kairos. They’ve got a show tonight and you really should be there.

Lena Simon heads up Kairos and while she’s a busy busy woman, she’s obviously made time for good music.

Trick Candles took the stage at The Cannery and I was already hooked when I saw the lead singer Prisilla playing a keytar.

While some songs were refreshingly just instrumental, adding lyrics to others didn’t detract from The Choir of Cricket’s music. Solid set all around.

DJs aren’t my forte, but I’m always down for a performer instead of someone just sitting idly behind a laptop; Amerigo Gazeway did just that.

The Smokey Brights have a consistency that’s like comfortable jacket. It gives you warm fuzzies and makes you smile every time you’re wrapped in it.

There’s definitely a different feel to Lemolo now that the lineup has changed a bit, but it was a beautiful set.

Despite the early slot on Friday, The Smokey Brights had a decent audience in the beautiful Everett Historical Theater.

The Silver Torches were a new one to me, it was a solid set. Looking forward to seeing where this goes.

The Silvers Torches had a sound you could dance to with passers by crouching down to catch a glimpse and have a listen.

The We Shared Milk got Everett’s newest venue, The Cannerty, grooving. It was so new, I could still smell the fresh coat of paint.

The first show we encountered was Choir of Crickets at Kroakers, it started the weekend off right.

This was my forst foray into The We Shared Milk and it left me wanting to check out more of what they have to offer.

They are apparently brand spankin’ new according to their Facebook page, and looking to make some danceable music. Mission accomplished.

When it’s a day I get to hear Cumulus perform live, then it’s always a good one. In the Everett Theater their music bounced off of every nook and cranny beautifully.